Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/5198

5198 Particles of soul.... Process of development on earth and in the beyond....

August 27, 1951: Book 58

Matter is judged spiritual substance which, in turn, shelters spiritual substance within itself that travels the path of development according to God's eternal plan of Salvation. This spiritual substance, which is detained by the material external form, always joins up with similar substances on its path of development and can be described as particles of soul which animate the individual works of creation again. Every work of creation, be it solid matter or the plant and animal world, contains such particles of soul which seek to unite with others as a whole in a new external form which more and more resembles the form of a human being. An infinitely long period of time goes by until, after passing through the course of the entire creation, all particles of soul have found each other again in order to then enter an external form as a human soul, which is given a specific task in order to gain complete freedom from any kind of outer cover. Thus, the human body is the soul's surrounding outer cover whose task it is to help its indwelling soul reach maturity. The maturing process takes place in a way that the human being of his own free will, which is the sign of his divine origin, endeavours to guide all soul substances into God's right order.... i.e., by creating a God-pleasing basis for all characteristics of the untold tiny souls, hence by directing all instincts towards God. All cravings which are adverse to God must be changed into God-inclined emotions, which is the conscious work of improving the soul expected to be carried out by the human being during his earthly life.

In practice, this means that everything which still adheres to the soul from former embodiments has to be discarded, hence, animal instincts have to be overcome, just as the desire for matter has to be stifled, because all instincts came from the preliminary development and still cling to the soul as traits of the earlier stages of development. All inclinations from past embodiments must be discarded if higher development is to be successful, and everything that points to progressive development should be endeavoured towards.... spiritually-divine attributes such as humility, meekness, patience and compassion, peacefulness and righteousness.... For all these qualities originate from love, which should be developed into highest perfection during earthly life. Thereby a very clear guideline was given for the human being's task on earth, God's will is revealed to people through His Word.... The soul is, to a certain extent, still disordered spiritual essence which should be guided into back into order, however, it can make its own decision because it lives in the state of free will. It certainly is able to return to order but is not forced to do so. But as soon as it has put itself in order the spirit of God will have access, which cannot penetrate a chaos of instincts and disorderly substances, or rather, it may not interfere by bringing order if the will is missing. Order will be established when the most prominent individual attributes, which characterise a prior embodiment, are reversed into the opposite, since all souls are imperfect at the start of their development and becoming-perfect is the purpose and goal of their embodiment. Thus, recognisable characteristics from past embodiments can never be in harmony with divine order, but they must be changed into the opposite.... until only love, kindness, humility, meekness, righteousness and compassion are the human being's nature and indicate his aspired perfection, until the divine order is recognisable and the human being's soul has reached its goal and can leave its outer shell in order to strive as a spiritual being towards ascent in possession of light and strength, which further its progress in the beyond surprisingly fast....

My spirit is constantly at work in order to guide you into truth, but you must also allow yourselves to be guided without resistance, that is, you should not use your already acquired knowledge as a foundation which My revelations should fit in with, but you must hear My revelations first and then compare them with your knowledge. If they concur then they will also complement each other, then this prior knowledge of yours will have flowed to you from a spiritual source and serves the same purpose of guiding you into truth.... And so continue: The higher development of individual souls in the kingdom of the beyond differs. Every soul effectively has other tendencies, other abilities at its disposal tending either upwards or downwards, which have to be developed or fought against and this is always the result of realisation, because as long as the soul does not recognise its state it will be unable to muster the will for change. For this reason it must already have been touched by a small ray of light so as to reach this realisation.... on account of which intercession for souls in the beyond is so tremendously important so that they will receive a ray of realisation, only then will they actively strive to ascend. A soul which already achieved a degree of realisation on earth, which thus tackles its work of improving itself on earth already, is surrounded by so many beings of light in the spiritual kingdom that it will always find help and quickly attain higher maturity. Hence it is particularly important that a soul gains realisation on earth, thus knows its earthly task and its own still inadequate state. For realisation is a big step towards perfection and allows it to rapidly move through the regions of the spiritual kingdom, whereas a soul lacking realisation often remains an incredibly long time below, because it is imperative that it must have the basic knowledge which it will reject for a long time before it is willing to be taught.

And this state of ignorance is extremely painful and can only be remedied by loving intercession. Even these souls are supported by beings of light, yet they remain close to them in disguise and cannot successfully influence them because the soul's free will has to be maintained. However, despite realising its own inadequacies, despite knowing its faults, weaknesses and cravings, the soul is unable to advance without help. And this help is Jesus Christ, on earth as well as in the spiritual kingdom.... If He is called upon with the serious will to ascend, success can be expected with certainty.... He helps where personal strength does not suffice, He not only forgives the sins of the person who appeals to Him for forgiveness, He is also the Provider of strength in the battle as a conqueror.... No being is able to lift itself out of the abyss without His strength, for an imperfect being is and will remain weak precisely because of its imperfection. Only the bond with Jesus Christ imparts it with strength and makes its struggle for perfection easier and also successful. Anyone who does not come to Jesus Christ on earth must rush to Him in the beyond, or he will forever remain below.... And, again, this has to be understood such that every soul must come to love.... For Jesus Christ is the embodied love. Thus love is the redeeming strength, love also acknowledges Jesus Christ, love has to be practised on earth in order to ensure a flight of ascent in the beyond. But it also has to be the driving force in the beyond, otherwise the soul would never be able to achieve a higher degree of maturity. And therefore love is the only means to discard all weaknesses and faults, for anyone who has love recognises himself and consciously strives towards perfection, because he longs for the One Who is love Itself, and this One will always help him, because love strives towards love and the union in love is eternal bliss....

Amen

Translated by Heidi Hanna