2832 Recognizing the supernatural....
July 31, 1943: Book 37
Everything supernatural seems unacceptable to the human being, but only as long as he is turned towards the earthly and does not strive for spiritual perfection. For then he also does not believe in the survival of the soul and therefore also not in a spiritual realm that extends into the earthly realm, i.e. is connected to it. Supernatural things are always sparks of light from the spiritual kingdom as soon as they appear to the human being, visibly or also emotionally. For the beings of the spiritual kingdom sometimes express themselves tangibly to people, they communicate with them or they make themselves recognizable to them in some other way in order to induce them to enter into contact with them. They make themselves known to them in a way that cannot be explained with human senses; they are certainly perceptible but not with the physical senses alone, instead the will to penetrate the spiritual kingdom has to open people's spiritual eyes and ears in order to be able to hear or see the beings of this kingdom. The spiritual beings can express themselves as soon as people expect them to do so, and therefore there is a certain danger in the attempts to make contact with the beings when no thirst for knowledge but only curiosity motivates people to establish a connection with the spiritual world, because such a desire utilizes those spiritual beings which are still imperfect. That they express themselves can indeed be advantageous insofar as that man now learns to believe in a survival after death, but he will receive no valuable announcement or enlightenment for him, because he also does not demand such; and he will also be easily inclined to reject all experiences in this respect again, therefore he is not firmly convinced that there is a spiritual kingdom whose inhabitants want to get into contact with men. Nevertheless, he does not completely reject the supernatural. The man of the world, on the other hand, scoffs at the people who enter that realm and live in constant contact with the beings.... He sees and hears nothing supernatural because he lacks all ability to grasp the spiritual and also has no will to penetrate knowledge that touches a supernatural realm and is conveyed to people in a supernatural way. He does not recognize any spiritual kingdom, consequently also no results from it. And thus he denies everything supersensible, everything he is unable to grasp with his senses. Hence he will not allow himself to be taught either, for he only ever judges according to his intellectual thinking because he does not want to accept the voice of the spirit. And intellectual thinking will always oppose the messages from the beyond. The more earthly-minded a person is, the less he understands things that touch the spiritual realm. But God is a spirit and those who want to find Him must seek Him in a spiritual way. And that is why the worldly man is also so quickly prepared to deny God completely, and he substantiates his views with intellectual reasons which can only be refuted with spiritual knowledge which he does not recognize. And yet, every human being could convince himself that there are things which he is unable to grasp with his mere senses as soon as he himself attempts to make contact with the world beyond.... as soon as he surrenders himself without reluctance to the inhabitants of the spiritual world.... If only the desire for truth is the cause of such an attempt, he will very soon be convinced of the existence of spiritual beings in a way that does not harm his spiritual development. He will feel that there is something else living besides him and what is visible to him.... He will experience things which he cannot dismiss with his worldly knowledge and which will cause him to reflect seriously. But the man of the world is not filled with the desire for truth, and then such attempts will only lead him into other doubts and he will remain ignorant as long as he does not allow himself to be taught by those who know. What reaches down to earth from the beyond will always signify increased knowledge because it provides information about the spiritual world, about the activity of spiritual beings and about God's reign and activity.... But it is to be seen with eyes and heard with ears, which open themselves, therefore want to see and hear, and which therefore can also be considered according to their desire. Everything earthly can be proven, everything spiritual, supernatural has to be believed, since no proof can be provided for the sake of the human being's freedom of faith and will. And that is why the knowledge of the supernatural cannot be established as a doctrine, but it is up to each individual to decide how he feels about it. However, the person who does not recognize anything supernatural is unspeakably poor in knowledge. The divine rule and activity remains hidden from him, the truth remains hidden from him, and his life is empty as long as he only pursues earthly goals and pays no attention to or rejects what comes to him from the realm of the supernatural. His knowledge is small and limited, however great it may be in the earthly realm.... it never reaches the depth and scope that would be offered to him from the spiritual realm if he were to recognize the latter and allow himself to be taught by those who belong to this spiritual realm.
amen
This proclamation
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