Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/7785

7785 Overcoming matter....

January 1, 1961: Book 81

Anyone who cannot leave the world will not acquire the kingdom of heaven; anyone who clings to the earthly kingdom will not be able to enter the spiritual kingdom of light, even though every human being must once take off his earthly garment and enter the kingdom of the beyond.... but this will be according to his desire on earth. No soul will be allowed to enjoy the light which has not sought the light on earth, for the kingdom of the world is the realm of the prince of darkness, the earthly kingdom cannot radiate spiritual light, matter darkens the human being's spirit, and he goes blindly through earthly life in spirit for as long as earthly matter still keeps him bound.... And anyone who desires the world with its goods does not desire light either, for light comes from above, from the spiritual kingdom, and can only reach him who has detached himself from matter, who turns his back on the world. The world is the kingdom of God's adversary, for all matter harbours unredeemed spiritual substances, all matter imprisons the spiritual substances which still lie in the adversary's bonds, which are still his possession and which therefore have to be overcome by the human being who one day wants to enter the kingdom of light. All of you have passed through this matter, all of you had already liberated yourselves from its encasement, but as a human being you strive again for that which you have long since overcome.... And that is your disaster, for if the soul does not succeed in freeing itself from the desire for earthly goods it will return to the realm it had overcome.... it can be banished anew in hard matter, and a renewed course through creation can be its dreadful fate. And therefore the human being can only ever be warned to chain himself to matter, to only strive for earthly goods and thereby to become ever more devoted to the lord of this material world. The human being can only ever be presented with the bitter fate of a new banishment into matter, so that he will reflect and try to free himself in order to one day be able to discard the material body and enter the spiritual kingdom in complete freedom. And he truly does not give much away when he tries to detach himself from the world and its goods, for these are transient and he cannot keep them when his physical life is over.... he cannot take any of it over into the spiritual kingdom if he is still called away before the end of this earth.... He will enter that kingdom poor and bare, and poverty will weigh heavily upon him when he realizes that he has put his earthly life behind him in vain, which could have brought him great spiritual wealth. But the human being cannot possess both together: spiritual goods and earthly-material values, if these still captivate his whole heart.... But once he has overcome them, once his desire for them has been released, then they will no longer harm him, for then he will only use the material goods according to God's will; he will perform works of love with them and increase his spiritual goods. But he can only attain spiritual goods when his soul no longer desires matter. And therefore earthly poverty is often a means to overcome the desire for the earthly world, and then poverty can only be evaluated as help to attain maturity of soul and spiritual goods, which are imperishable. But it can also increase a person's desire for earthly possessions, and then the person has to muster a strong will to master this desire and to be able to emerge victorious.... But then he will be able to achieve great spiritual success, and then he will not have lived his earthly life in vain...._>Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers