Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/3319

3319 Redemption of matter.... idleness.... activity....

November 5, 1944: Book 43

What serves the body for its preservation will at the same time mature spiritually, for it fulfils its assigned purpose and thus follows the course of ascent development. And that is why every object, every matter, is assigned a task, and this task must be a useful one, it must signify a work of love for the work of creation to which the object is applied, the latter must require precisely these things for its preservation, then one can speak of a serving purpose of matter. And the human being should promote the maturing of the spiritual in matter by contributing to the transformation of it into useful objects, by creating and shaping according to his ability, by producing things which serve fellow human beings or other works of creation according to their nature. The human being himself should be active in serving neighbourly love, and he should also help matter to serve, so that a general process of redemption takes place, which always presupposes a serving activity. And love must underlie everything. For as soon as something is created to the detriment of fellow human beings or other works of creation, the spiritual substance will not be redeemed but forced into God-opposing actions, and it can never develop upwards but, after its release from the form, it has to animate the same form again until this form has fulfilled its serving purpose.... This means a prolonged stay in a shell which becomes a torment for the spiritual. And the spiritual takes revenge on the human being who let the form come into being in order to harm his fellow human beings; it takes revenge in the most diverse ways, however it will always afflict the soul more than the body, the human being will spiritually sink into the depths of darkness, just as conversely a human being who helps a lot of matter to be of service and thus contributes towards its redemption will be supported in his spiritual striving by the spiritual which has been released through human help. The human being can contribute a great deal to the redemption of matter, but he also finds support himself through it in his ascent development. For a great deal of matter is dependent on human help, it is waiting to be processed, to be transformed into useful objects in which the spiritual can now fulfil its serving task, as is its destiny. For this reason a regulated activity, a constant utilization of matter, will always carry its blessing, just as idleness does not correspond to God's will, for the human being does not fulfil his purpose, he does not serve in love.... An idler will also not feel love within himself, otherwise love would drive him to activity. He will also not achieve spiritual success because the latter only causes love.... love for his fellow human being, which expresses itself in service. A serving task is inherent in every work of creation, even if the spiritual serves it in a state of compulsion; but the human being is free to be active in a serving way, yet he has countless opportunities to contribute to the preservation of the works of creation, just as he also has countless opportunities to prove himself useful to his fellow human being. And thus he can express his love, he can be active in creating and shaping and create countless things which fulfil a serving purpose.... He can contribute to the higher development of the spiritual, which is embodied in the forms his hands have created, and this spiritual will thank him eternally....

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers