Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/6071

6071 Sin is an offence against love....

October 6, 1954: Book 65

In a world of lovelessness, sin must also abound, for sin is everything that goes against love. Sin is everything that is against the divine order, which is built on love. Now the less people live in love, the more obviously they step out of the divine order.... they sin and thereby give themselves into the hand of the one who brought sin into the world.... Sin is any wrong that has its origin in unkindness. Every sinner rebels against God, against eternal love, because he consciously does something contrary to God.... and his self-love tempts him to do so. He loves himself more than God.... he certainly also has a love within himself which, however, is wrongly directed, which he took over from God's adversary who likewise sinned against God because he placed himself above God and therefore fell. A person who lives in love cannot sin.... He can indeed fall, thus succumb in weakness to the adversary's temptations, but love will always let him rise again, he will want to right his wrongs, he will recognize his wrongdoing and repent of it, and he will find forgiveness because his nature itself rebels against sin, against conscious offences against love.... A sinner is without love, and he will also only recognize and repent of his sins when love is kindled in him.... Only then will he turn away from sin, only then will he enter into the law of eternal order. As long as people are dominated by unkindness, injustice will spread, people will seek their own advantages at the expense of their fellow human beings, the stronger will harass and exploit the weaker, property will not be respected, there will no longer be brotherhood among people, but one will regard the other as an enemy and openly or covertly act against him.... Men are servants of satan, but no longer children of God, which they should be and become.... And therefore sin abounds the nearer it is to the end, because love dwindles among men, and therefore it itself draws near to the day of judgment.... For when everything has gone out of order, an end must also come in accordance with the law.... so that order may be restored according to divine plan.... so that love may reign again on earth and justice....

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers