Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/0865

0865 Suppression of desires advantage for soul.... commandments.... renounce....

April 15, 1939: Book 17

To act against divine will can never be of use to the soul, even though the body gains an advantage from it. And therefore the divine commandments will almost always be an obstacle to earthly well-being; they will always demand a certain renunciation or relinquishment from the human being and will therefore rarely be accepted where people try to enjoy life to the full. But indisputably a benefit is done to the soul where the commandments are fulfilled with physical pleasures being put on the back burner. The soul tries to dismiss everything that hinders it and feels unspeakably good in a free state, which, however, is not beneficial for the body during its time on earth, for all advantages of the soul only have a purely spiritual effect and therefore cannot be felt by the earthly body. And therefore the soul's life must be completely separated from the body's life of feeling. But the soul's repeated consideration of the body will to a certain extent harm it, for if the body's earthly desire is satisfied, matter will increase at the same time and therefore also the bondage in which the soul still languishes. And the human being should redeem himself from matter, he should avoid everything and withdraw it from the body in order to only become free from matter which has held him captive for thousands of years. Anyone who considers this will also be able to appreciate the danger which lies in the fulfilment of earthly desires.... He will use all his willpower in order to be able to resist the body's desire, and he will assist the soul in its adversity and help it to free itself from the bondage of matter. In every earthly situation the human being naturally seeks to exploit the greatest possible advantage for himself, he always first thinks of making his earthly existence bearable and does not see the danger which lies precisely in such endeavour. If he would think of his soul first and consider the possible consequences for it, it would certainly become much easier for him to forego many earthly advantages and be satisfied with the advancement of his soul. But if the human being pays little or no attention to all spiritual thoughts he will only ever be interested in making his earthly life as comfortable and carefree as possible and otherwise reject everything spiritual in the mistaken opinion that he is thereby relieved of all responsibility. That is why the busy work of the beings in the beyond is always aimed at clarifying the human being's actual destiny. Once this has become clear to the human being he will see an advantage for his soul in the suppression of his own desire, he will be more active for the very salvation of his soul, to the same extent he will also lose his desire for the world and for the sake of his soul he will also renounce where he lusts for the fulfilment of his desires....

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers