I Appeal to You
... through Bertha Dudde  - 07.01.1959 

7248   Suffering purifies the soul ....

You will be given far more than is taken away from you, for you will receive spiritual possessions in exchange for relinquishing earthly goods. Thus you will feel apparently neglected, you will think yourselves weighed down, you will feel earthly under duress and depressed, but just as certainly you will ‘receive’ spiritually .... even if you just receive ever greater purification of your soul as a gift in return for these earthly limitations or all kinds of oppositions. You can only mature through opposition. If, however, your earthly life proceeds smoothly there will be few or no opportunities for maturing and your soul’s development will lag behind. But as soon as you feel encumbered turn to Jesus Christ and he will help you carry the weight or take it from you. And be in no doubt whatsoever that he will hear you .... He knows why you have to struggle on this earth, and therefore He always stands beside you just waiting for your call which offers Him the opportunity to place Himself between you and the enemy .... This request has to come from yourselves but then it will certainly be successful. However, your weakness of faith or the smallest doubt will time and again give God’s adversary the right to encroach on you and to steadily weaken you .... And then you will have to defend yourselves by handing yourselves over to Jesus Christ, by calling upon His help to displace him and to protect you from him. And truly, no appeal will be in vain .... For His love does not leave you but it requires your love and request for Him in order to take effect.

But every successful test provides your soul significant advancement and one day you will realise how much these inner struggles contributed towards the soul’s purification, which yearns for its perfection and still has to assert itself until the end of its life. Therefore bless every hour of your suffering on earth, physically or psychologically, and know that you are nevertheless advantaged compared to those who go through earthly life cheerfully and unburdened and don’t experience this purification process of the soul because they don’t seriously aspire towards it and are therefore still offered many attractions in earthly life to take pleasure in. They don’t surrender anything and therefore cannot receive anything either .... They get out of the world whatever they can and their souls’ condition is of no interest to them, on account of which the soul does not suffer, yet it will have to suffer twice as much at a later time when it realises its imperfection and has to admit that it had done nothing to purify itself on earth. Every suffering human being on earth is advantaged compared to those who live an easy and carefree earthly life .... Nevertheless, a true Christian can also be cheerful in confidence of the fact that he only ever needs to encumber Jesus Christ with his worries and burden and that life will also always become bearable. For his trust will not be disappointed, and the certainty of always having a helper by his side will also result in this cheerful joy which should grace every good Christian. Therefore, once again: Bless the suffering as long as it impels you towards Jesus Christ, to Him Who will help you carry your cross providing you appeal to Him for it ....

Amen