Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/7359

7359 'The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence....'

May 9, 1959: Book 78

Remember, you humans, that you only live for a short time on this earth but that your soul, which is your real Self, is everlasting, and then it will also be understandable to you that you must provide for your well-being in eternity and not for the short time of earthly life, which can end even faster than you would naturally assume. For not one of you can be certain that he will live to see the next day and everyone must take into account the thought that they might be suddenly recalled from this earth one day. If you seriously thought about it you would also become conscious of the great responsibility you have taken upon your soul, thus for yourselves, during this short time of your life on earth. And you would ask yourselves how much you have done already for your soul's benefit.... For this is a question you should really seriously asks yourselves for once, it would truly only be a blessing for you if you thought about this for a little while. You can create incomparable riches for your soul if only you are of good will; you need only ever make an effort to live a life of love, to love God above all else and to consider your neighbour like a brother and help him when he is in trouble.... Nothing more is expected of you from God than this love for Him and your neighbour. And if your will is good then you should ask yourselves to what extent you comply with God's will in your daily life and you will still discover a lot that is not according to God's will if you look at your way of life critically and honestly.

For the human being still loves too selfishly, he loves himself more than his neighbour and yet he should give the same love to him that he grants to himself. And that requires a person's firm will, the will to attain perfection and to submit himself to God's will. But the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and only the violent take it by force.... The will must be strong and assert itself, then the human being uses force in order to attain the kingdom of heaven.... But then again, Jesus gave people the promise 'My yoke is easy, and My burden is light....' And that, too, is right, since a person who is willing to love will find it easy to fulfil God's commandments, he need not use a lot of force, because love is in him and love is strength, so that he will acquire the kingdom of heaven for certain, because he no longer lacks firmness of will through his life of love.... And just for once you should seriously think about the extent to which you still have to use 'force' or whether it has already become your nature to help your neighbour with love as a matter of fact.... In that case you will also know what you require, for then you will first have to appeal to God for strength in order to be able to comply with his requirements, because it is still difficult for you.... However, you will receive it, and what initially is a great effort becomes easy and will no longer be experienced by you as a burden.... You will not be under a yoke which you deem difficult to bear. You will not experience a burden because through love you will constantly receive strength from God and then easily attain maturity of soul, which it needs to live the real life in light and strength and beatitude.... But prior to this you must give account to yourselves so that the hour of death will not take you by surprise and your soul will not have to enter the kingdom of the beyond in a poor and wretched state.... For no-one will know when his hour has come....

Amen

Translated by Heidi Hanna