Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/7316

7316 Sensations of body and soul during word reception....

March 25, 1959: Book 77

The worldly-directed human being only feels with his physical senses, whereas the spiritually striving person feels with his spiritual sense, and although the body is not aware of this the soul is in a state of bliss as soon as it establishes contact with Me in order to hear My word. And to provide the soul with this state quite often should be your constant endeavour, you should use every free minute to send your thoughts into the spiritual kingdom, and your soul will truly derive great benefit from it, even if you don't physically feel anything of an elevation of the soul. But if the latter were the case, the contact with Me would already be subject to a slight compulsion or would arise more from an egoistic urge, because the body would like to create a sense of well-being for itself and for the sake of which it only desired the exchange between Me and itself. But the will should decide completely freely, and therefore every exchange will always presuppose a willingness to make a small sacrifice as long as the human being himself is not filled with such a strong desire to hear Me and My word that this very desire drives him into contact with Me. This state is indeed the right one in which I gladly communicate with My child, however, I also allow Myself to be satisfied if I have the opportunity to express Myself to you humans at all, because I recognize the importance and urgency of proclaiming the pure gospel to people again, and because this requires the very intimate bond which the human being has to establish of his own free will. He cannot be forced into it, nor can he be arbitrarily placed by Me into a state where he mechanically only fulfils My will and accepts My word from above.... He has to seek contact with Me completely freely of his own accord and want Me to speak to him for the blessing of all those to whom he now wants to convey My word. And I will instruct him and again and again supply him with spiritual nourishment for himself and for all souls which want to satisfy themselves with the bread of heaven. And even if his senses feel nothing of a union, but the soul is delighted and enriched and delights in the gifts which flow to it abundantly as evidence of My love, which the soul feels. Again and again the human being has to seek the bond with Me of his own accord in order to be strengthened anew again and again by My supply of strength, yet one day it will experience the blessing that its own will was strong enough to establish the bond with Me and to allow itself to be addressed by Me. It will receive the reward, but the reward must never be so openly noticeable that the bond is only established for the sake of the reward. And that is why every reception of the word is always preceded by the activity of the will, which has to declare itself willing to listen and thus to accept the bread of heaven, the right food and the right drink for the soul.... And this will experience great blessings and be able to constantly mature, for My word is not without effect, My word is blessed with My strength which helps you all to attain perfection....

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers