Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/4444

4444 (Can God suffer?) Love of God....

September 27, 1948: Book 52

He Who makes Himself known to you out of immense love, He courts you with all perseverance and does not give you up because you have been His for eternity. His love is unchanging but it is also law in itself, i.e. only love can join love, and since God is eternal love Himself He also desires love and therefore seeks to shape all His creations into love so that He can unite with them. And thus He seeks to win the love of His creations and has no other aim for ever, because the union in love means beatitude for the creature and also constantly increases God's beatitude. God is perfect and, as a perfect being, able to give unlimited beatitude, but conversely He also wants to receive it from His creations which have emerged from His strength of love. But preparing beatitude always presupposes love. Hence, if God desires His living creations' love because He wants to give Himself to them, the lack of love must also restrict the giving love, thus, although it cannot diminish itself, its strength will nevertheless be limited, which also signifies diminished bliss.... in the abundance of divine love only worth mentioning when almost all creatures turn away from Him, thus deny Him their love.... a state which occurred at the end of a redemption period in creation.... (28.9.1948) Then an incomparable longing takes the place of beatitude, which, although it is not suffering as on earth, nevertheless brings increased will to help and exceedingly great mercy to be released. God can never suffer, however, the increasing distance of His beings from Him will result in an increased development of strength, thus God's love will constantly woo His living creations' love because He will not abandon them, even if eternities will pass until they turn to Him in love. A state of suffering would only occur if.... what once originated from God's love were irretrievably lost to His adversary.... which, however, is never possible because the abundance of divine love allows nothing to be lost, indeed, it even wins His adversary itself, albeit in an infinitely distant time for which no human estimate is possible anymore. The fact that God's love ever decreases is completely eliminated, because love is something so powerful that it forces everything and the power of divine love would be enough to immediately make His creatures inclined towards Himself if He wanted to let it work in all its fullness. But His beatitude increases when His creatures themselves come to Him and offer Him their love. And that is why He only influences them to the smallest degree, always trying to stimulate the will so that it pushes towards Him. If the human being's will turns away from God, God's strength of love also diminishes but nevertheless does not abandon him. Courting the love of His creatures is likewise an act of beatitude, which is only comprehensible to people when they themselves are in reciprocating love, which will also never stop courting the love of the other. Fulfilled love is bliss, unrequited love, however, a state of loneliness, which has the effect of a lack of strength or an increased generation of strength.... depending on the strength of love, which is why the beings of the kingdom of light can constantly work in love, even though they often meet resistance on the part of people.... because they are filled with love and even unrequited love is not a diminution of their strength but only increased incentive for activity. People on earth still need an influx of strength which comes to them through love and therefore lack of love also means lack of strength and urge to be active for them, thus it is felt as a state of suffering. Yet the human being remains aware at all times that he is assured of God's love, that the human being's love will always be reciprocated if it is meant for Him, and that His love is the true beatitude for everyone who desires it....

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers