Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/7445

7445 Thoughts of death are favourable for the soul....

November 3, 1959: Book 78

Again and again you are admonished to think of your temporal end, for you only live consciously on this earth when you think of the time after your physical death, which you create for yourselves during earthly life for a state of bliss or also for a state of distress and agony. If you often think about death then you will also try to fathom the purpose of your earthly life because it seems incomprehensible to you that you should only exist for the short time on earth, which is also of indeterminate duration for every human being.... And emotionally you will already have to acknowledge the continued existence of your soul, for your I, your soul, resists the thought of a complete extinction.... It feels that it lives on, and therefore the human being will nevertheless live responsibly on earth if he remembers that his time is limited according to God's will. That is why such thoughts are only ever useful for your soul, since you deal with the once certain death, for they can only spur you on to do soul work out of the inner impulse to bring it to perfection while it still dwells on earth. For no human being knows how long he will still be granted a life on this earth.... But not everyone is moved by such thoughts, for he who is lured and held captive by the world will always reject such thoughts and want to gain whatever is possible from life. And it is these who arrive in the kingdom of the beyond without any spiritual wealth, who find themselves poor and meagre on the other side in darkness and complete lack of strength.... You should be warned of this fate, and you will certainly try to change your life if you concern yourselves more with thoughts of death, for you will emotionally fear death in powerlessness and darkness and seek to acquire light and strength beforehand already, because the spirit impels you from within as soon as you are only willing to listen to it for a short time, which always favours spiritual thoughts, because every thought of death and the aftermath is already a spiritually directed thought which will always have a favourable effect if the human being's will is good. And these are addressed in particular because they often have a weak will which is to be prompted into action through words or example. Think often of the fact that you will have to die, and think of improving the state of your soul after death while you are still on this earth. And you will only benefit your soul, for it will involuntarily make an effort to lead its way of life well, i.e. in the spirit of God, because it feels the responsibility. The human being can certainly have the grace to reach a great age, but his earthly life can also only last for a very short time, and he should always be ready for the entrance into the kingdom of light, for he can also mature and progress in his development in a short time, but he must also have the will to do so and cover his earthly life with a spiritually directed gaze; and then he will also not need to fear the hour of death, it will only signify a change of his stay, a change of sphere, which now receives the soul...: the kingdom of light and bliss, where it will live and need no longer fear death for ever....

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers