Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/6631

6631 God's word unusual resource....

August 30, 1956: Book 71

An unusual hardship requires unusual help.... And that people's hardship is unusually great is beyond doubt, for it is not about earthly hardship which only affects a part of people but about spiritual hardship which is far worse because its consequences extend into eternity. Admittedly, only the earthly adversity will be obvious to people and they will not try to remedy it either, which would certainly be within their power.... For they have too little love for their fellow human beings, they don't want to help unselfishly, and this is also the great spiritual adversity, that people lack love. For without love they are in the power of God's adversary, without love they face a dreadful fate, without love they end up in the abyss. But people nevertheless don't believe and therefore do nothing to remedy the great spiritual adversity.... Therefore, if they are to be helped this has to be done in an unusual way, because there is not much time left until the end and otherwise there is no prospect that a change of their attitude will be aspired to of its own accord. And this unusual aid is the great gift of grace of the divine word which God Himself conveys to earth and which could certainly bring about a change if it were listened to and taken to heart. Admittedly, the latter is also dependent on the human being's free will, but even a person of good will would no longer take the path to God without an obvious grace as long as He appears to be far away from him.... which, however, is also the case in recent times due to people's unkindness. And the proclamation of the word in the hitherto customary way can hardly cause a person to establish a closer bond with Him, which, however, His direct address can still achieve. It is an unusual act of help because the spiritual need is unusually great but God's love still uses every means to control this need. What empty words without spirit and life can no longer achieve, a living word can still achieve: that the person thinks about it, goes into himself and changes.... This is the only thing God wants to achieve through the transmission of His word, that the ear and heart are touched, that the word does not fall on the ears, because a dead proclamation of the word is completely without power and because power is necessary in order to bring about a change.... The water flows slowly and sluggishly, it already carries a lot of impurities with it, it has neither a cleansing nor a revitalising effect, and where no attempt is made to free it from impurities or additives it will soon be unable to fulfil its actual purpose.... But the fresh, clear water which flows from the spring is different and has an exceedingly beneficial, invigorating and revitalizing effect.... And therefore God opens the spring and lets His word flow to people in all purity, so that those who had already fallen prey to death will come to life, if only they withdraw their strength from the precious gift of life.... if they willingly listen to the living word of God and live according to it.... Through this unusual remedy spiritual hardship can truly be remedied, and countless souls could still be saved before the end.... But no compulsion will be done to them either.... God gives delicacies, and He gives abundantly.... But anyone who is satisfied with dead proclamations of the word cannot eternally recover or awaken to life. He is in deep spiritual distress, for he lacks one thing: the love which would also let him realize that his life is an empty run.... He first has to let himself be addressed by God Himself, Who will present love to him as the first and most important thing he has to practice.... And if he allows himself to be addressed by God Himself, then he will be touched by God's love and feel its strength.... And then he, too, will change, his will will turn towards God, and he will draw from the well of life, he will recover and grow stronger.... he will come to life and will no longer lose life....

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers