Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/3269

3269 Submitting the will to God's will....

September 25, 1944: Book 42

Whoever completely submits to God's will can no longer want anything other than what God wants. This complete submission of the will is a process which has nothing to do with lack of will or weakness of will but rather requires a strong will, a will which overcomes itself, which completely surrenders itself, which humbles itself and puts all its own desires behind. And such a surrender of one's own will requires love for God, which is therefore stronger than love for oneself, to which the human being sacrifices everything that otherwise seems desirable to him. And therefore the surrender of the will is already a sign of spiritual progress, of a special degree of maturity and also a sign that the human being has entered the path to perfection. For as soon as God's will takes hold of him he has to progress inexorably on the path of his spiritual development. The will devoted to God guarantees complete spiritual success, for God now guides the human being and truly the right path which leads to Him. Nevertheless, the human being's will itself remains active, only that the human being can be unconcerned to always want and do what is right. As soon as he has placed himself at God's fullest disposal, as soon as he asks Him to be allowed to use his weak strength for God-oriented activity, as soon as he hands himself over to His guidance daily and hourly, God's love also takes hold of him and guides and directs him.... his ways, his thoughts, his words and his works. For God only requires people to relinquish their own will because it had previously turned away from God and had His adversary as its aim. If the human being is now willing to hand himself over to God he will have recognized the earthly purpose and his life on earth will only be in accordance with God's will, he will mature to the highest perfection the deeper and more intimate his devotion to God is. For this reason a person who has subordinated his will to God can also live his life calmly and carefree, for he will then always carry out what corresponds to God's will, even if it seems as if this is disadvantageous for the human being on earth. As soon as the human being has expressed his love for God by applying for spiritual work, God will never leave him unattended, for He draws His children, who see their father in Him, to Himself with all the strength of His love, and His means are truly successful if the human will no longer opposes Him. And thus the desire to belong to God must arise in the innermost heart. The human being must devote himself to Him in deepest humility, he must feel love for God and acknowledge Him as the mighty creator of heaven and earth, as the most loving father of His living creations, and as a child he must hand himself over to the father. He must be willing to accept everything from His father's hand as a gift of grace, be it joy or suffering; he must always endeavour to shape himself according to divine will and remain in intimate contact with Him through prayer.... Then his will will no longer rebel against God's will, then he will have completely subordinated it to divine will, and then his earthly life will be successful for his soul because he will no longer walk alone but with God, and because his path can then never ever lead astray. And therefore the subordination of the will to God's will is the first demand God makes, which can never remain unfulfilled if the human being wants to mature in his soul.... For as long as his will is still opposed to God he neither accepts grace nor takes recourse to prayer, and then he can never be permeated by God's strength which secures his spiritual ascent. And therefore selfish love must first be overcome before the human being is able to muster the strength of will in order to subordinate himself to divine will.

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers