Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/5611

5611 Slow course of development....

February 27, 1953: Book 62

Everything needs its time.... The development of the spiritual cannot take place suddenly because the path from the abyss to the height is too long, so that a sudden return would only be possible through an act of grace by God which, however, would eliminate the being's free will, for the being in the abyss does not have the will to ascend. It must now first be slowly changed, and even if this happens at first in the law of compulsion, it will nevertheless one day have to express itself again in freedom. However, the being has already carried away something on the long path, it has already partly atoned for its wrong will, which was a sin, by carrying out, albeit involuntarily, construction work which contributed to the preservation of that which has a redeeming purpose, and the insertion into the divine order, into His will, has already become somewhat easier for the being. Reduced resistance is recognizable to God and is also immediately reciprocated with His love, by the spiritual being is allowed to change its external form more quickly and thus also reaches ascent more quickly. But every being must pass the test of will in all freedom, for only this decides the degree of maturity, which liberates from every form. Thus the being itself determines the duration of its development, because the being itself has to reduce the distance from God in the state as a human being, and then it truly still has enough to wrestle and fight, but it is also able to do so through the measure of grace at its disposal. But it would never be able to work its way up from the deepest depth on its own; for this it needs help which is granted to it by God precisely through the path through creation in the law of compulsion, which puts it into that state where it can do so by its own strength if only it wants to.... i.e., where it can acquire strength for itself through its own will to meet the demands which are made in order to be able to become completely free from the form. Everything needs its time.... But before God a thousand years are like a day.... It's about eternity, about a blessed life that lasts forever.... And whether a being still falls back into the depths so often, whether its course of development remains unsuccessful again and again, whether it is thus in an unfree state for an endlessly long time.... the longest time can still be called short compared to eternity, and it will certainly reach the aim once.... God does everything to shorten this bound state, yet He does not touch freedom of will because He wants to draw children for Himself who shall become His image. But the human being can reach his aim in the short time on earth, his will alone decides, and as his will is, so is his fate....

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers