Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/1794

1794 Speaking gift and right application....

January 29, 1941: Book 27

God has often denied the human being the gift of speech in order to make him small and humble, for an exceptionally well-developed gift of speech will usually also make the human being arrogant. It is also a work of the adversary that he often makes the eloquent person submissive to his will and then uses him as a representative of everything that is directed against God. For a good speaker will find considerably more followers than a person who lacks the words to make his opinion known. The man who lacks words, on the other hand, will usually think more deeply, and thus the pure truth will also be more easily recognized by him, while the eloquent man speaks more superficially about everything that moves him and, since he likes to hear himself speak, uses his eloquence to talk ramblingly about trivial matters, so that his speeches are of no particular value. A certain self-love is often to be found in such people, and therefore they will never accept other people's opinions, but will only be satisfied if their opinion is recognized. And that is why they talk incessantly, to please themselves, but without conveying anything of value to their fellow human beings. If they wanted to use their gift of oratory by speaking for the lord, spreading the teachings of Christ and helping erring souls onto the right path, then they would use God's gift properly and it would only bring blessings for humanity and for the speaker himself. But precisely such people want to hear little of this and are more willing to speak against what is God's will, for where self-love is represented there is a lack of realization of the truth and they are therefore of little faith, which is why they cannot represent with conviction what they themselves do not understand and therefore do not believe. And therefore God has to awaken people and give them the gift of speech so that they should stand up for Him and His name and confess God's activity in the world. And these will speak according to His will, they will fight with the sword of their mouth, and their gift of speech will convince people because arrogance no longer speaks from those proclaiming the divine will but their wisdom was received in deepest humility of heart. And so the value of the spoken word can be recognized by whether humility or arrogance speaks from the speaker, and the effect on fellow human beings will be accordingly. The blind and ignorant will accept the speech of the arrogant, but those who see, to whom the light of the spirit already shines, will recognize divine truth if it is offered to them by speakers who want to serve God. If a person wants to pass on the word of God to his fellow human beings he will be able to speak as if with the tongues of angels, the words will be put into his mouth, as it were, and he will be able to speak like the greatest speakers and represent what he speaks to people with full persuasiveness. And thus the gift of speech can serve to reproduce the adversary's whisperings, but it can also be a divine gift of grace in order to represent divine wisdom. And the characteristic of both speakers will be love for one's neighbour or self-love....

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers