Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/5998

5998 Power of the will through Jesus' death on the cross....

September 10, 1954: Book 65

Every human being can reach his aim on earth if he wants to.... For for this the human being Jesus offered Himself on the cross as a sacrifice, so that no human being lacked the strength he needed for his ascent to height. And the will also experiences a strengthening through the grace of the act of salvation, but it remains eternally free, thus the human being himself is the deciding factor. His will is tested during his earthly life, but it can also remain in resistance, but then the soul also has to bear the consequences of it. Before Jesus' death on the cross the souls were bound, they lay on the ground and could not raise themselves.... But the divine redeemer walks past all of them and offers them His hand so that they can lift themselves up and follow Him without God's adversary being able to hinder them.... Anyone who grasps His hand escapes that power and becomes free, for anyone who follows Jesus Christ is introduced into a kingdom of light, and light and strength are also his portion.... Yet whether he grasps His hand is entirely up to him, and thus you humans will realize that you have to do something yourselves in order to become free, that your will has to become active, that it is up to you yourselves whether you become free and blissful creatures. And therefore it is your own failure, your own fault, if you do not reach the aim, and no-one will be able to say that it was not possible for him.... For this reason you are responsible for your soul as long as you live on earth, where you are constantly informed that you only live on earth for the purpose of liberating yourselves from the power which holds you captive, and that you can also do so with the help of Jesus Christ. You are constantly pointed to Him and only need to make use of the blessings which He acquired for you and which are abundantly at your disposal.... But you must acknowledge Him, you must consciously call upon Him for help in the realization of your own weakness and helplessness.... You must consciously turn away from His adversary and push towards Him.... Then His love will take hold of you and you will safely reach the aim by His hand. Without Him, however, your earthly life is an empty run, and in the end you will still stand where you stood in the beginning when you were allowed to embody yourselves as a human being.... And you cannot be absolved of the guilt of not having used your will correctly, and now you will also receive your reward for this guilt, which your own will has earned for you....

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers