Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/3215

3215 Happily effect of spiritual gifts on soul and body....

August 8, 1944: Book 42

The bliss of receiving is not so unusually perceptible to the human being physically as long as earthly life still makes its demands on him and he therefore cannot completely switch off the physical senses. Then the soul lives a separate life, so to speak, which only comes into its own when the body is not occupied. Then it feels the happiness of the connection with God, then it is also receptive to the extent that the intellect also grasps what the spirit imparts to the soul.... Then the soul will also glow with love and feel the need to be active, because then the strength of love will flow through it. Nevertheless, the soul does not remain untouched by the effect of spiritual gifts even if it does not consciously feel the delightful sensation; it absorbs a knowledge which remains with it and suddenly emerges when it needs this knowledge. It is, so to speak, constantly fed, and the spiritual nourishment promotes its growth, its maturing and thus its upward development. For every transmission is a supply of strength which is received with full will, even if not always with the same ability of understanding. The soul cannot always separate itself from its earthly surroundings, from a sphere which is little suitable for a purely spiritual life, yet if it establishes contact with God in the will to receive truth and to serve God, the gift of grace will flow to it, and a divine gift will always have its effect as soon as it is not opposed. Yet the human being should seriously strive to detach himself from earth as much as possible, he should try to increase his faith to such an extent that he will be completely unimpressed by the demands of the world, trusting that God will arrange everything as it should be, and he should devote himself all the more intensively to spiritual work, then he will also soon feel the purely physical pleasing sensation, because the strength from God has to refresh him as soon as the body surrenders to its effect. The person's way of life certainly contributes to the extent to which the body is involved or uninvolved in receiving the gifts from above. The living out of the divine word carries the blessing in itself, the lived word of God makes the body and soul quiet, calm and peaceful, and then every spiritual gift in the feeling of spiritual communion with God must also trigger a feeling of happiness, for restlessness, worldly worries, the lack of inner peace burden the body so that it cannot participate in receiving the spiritual gifts, that therefore only the soul receives and this is not or only slightly noticeable physically. Yet the human being is not spared these trials, for he should try to pass them himself, he should eagerly fight against being dependent on the body; again and again he should try to separate himself from all earthly thoughts, he should take refuge with the heavenly father, present his adversity to Him and listen entirely to His voice, for only He is able to banish earthly adversity Who also allows it in order to win His children's hearts. The earthly task God sets for the human being is never unfulfillable as soon as the human being asks for God's help. Then every previously seemingly inextricable knot will be easy to untie, the human being will succeed in every task, he will master life because he first pays attention to his spiritual task.... he establishes the connection with God.... God has assured people of earthly help and His promises will be fulfilled, yet he has to work on his own initiative to shape his soul, and he does this as soon as he often withdraws into himself and communes with the father in heaven, as soon as he requests spiritual nourishment from Him and allows himself to be taught in humble devotion to Him. And the strength from God will never emanate ineffectively but always benefit the soul, however, it will only be felt when the body completely surrenders itself to Him and disregards the earth, when it strives together with the soul to unite with the spirit within itself and thus strives to fulfil its actual task on earth.... to overcome matter and to assimilate itself to the eternal deity, Which instructs it through the inner word so that the attainment of the aim will be easy for it and it will become perfect....

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers