fr-Chapter 42 - Guilt and Atonement, Trials and Sufferings

The Necessity of Repentance and Atonement

1. When I often allow you to drink from the same cup that you have given to your fellow human beings, it is because only in this way do some come to understand the evil they have caused; and by undergoing the same trial they caused others to endure, they will come to know the pain they caused others to feel. This will enlighten their souls and lead to understanding, repentance, and consequently, the fulfillment of My Law.

2. But if you wish to avoid suffering or drinking from the cup of bitterness, you can achieve this by atoning for your guilt through repentance, through good deeds, and through everything your conscience tells you to do. In this way, you will repay a debt of love, and you will restore the honor, life, peace, health, joy, or bread that you have at some time taken from your fellow human beings.

3. See how different the reality of My justice is from the image you had formed of your Father!

4. Do not forget: When I told you that none of you will be lost, I certainly also told you that every debt must be paid and every transgression must be erased from the Book of Life. It is up to you to choose the path to reach Me. You still possess free will.

5. If you prefer the law of retribution of olden times, as the people of the proud nations still practice it, then look at their results!

6. If you wish that the measure by which you judge your fellow human beings should also be used to judge you, you need not even wait until you enter the afterlife to receive My justice; for here (on Earth), when you least expect it, you will find yourselves in the very same critical situation into which you have placed your fellow human beings.

7. But if you wish for a higher law to come to your aid—not only to free you from the pain you fear most, but also to instill noble thoughts and good feelings within you—then pray, call upon Me, and then walk your path of struggle to become ever better, to be strong in trials —in a word: to repay with love the debt you owe to your Father and your neighbors. (16, 53-59)

8. I am often asked by someone: "Master, if You forgive our transgressions—why then do You allow us to atone for them with pain?" To this I say to you: I forgive you, but it is necessary to make amends for those transgressions so that you may restore purity to your soul. (64, 14)

9. I have told you that even the last stain will be erased from the human heart, yet I also tell you that each person must wash away their own blemishes. Remember that I told you: "With the measure you use, you will be measured," and: "What one sows, one must reap." (150, 47)

10. Of the material offerings that humanity presents to Me, I accept only the good intention, if it is truly good; for a generous and noble intention is not always expressed in a gift. How often do people offer Me their sacrifices to cover up their misdeeds or to demand something from Me in return. That is why I tell you that the peace of the soul cannot be bought, that your dark spots cannot be washed away by material wealth, even if you could offer Me the greatest treasure.

11. Repentance, sorrow for having offended Me, renewal, improvement, making amends for the wrongs committed—all this with the humility I have taught you—yes, then people offer Me the true sacrifices of the heart, the soul, and the mind, which are infinitely more pleasing to your Father 508 Chapter 42 than incense, flowers, and candles. (36, 27-28)

The Law of Atonement

12. You have had one opportunity after another, and in this you can recognize My infinite love for you; for I have bestowed gifts upon you and granted your being the opportunity to make amends for mistakes, to purify and perfect your soul, rather than to punish you or condemn you eternally, as you were accustomed to thinking in the past.

13. Who, knowing these teachings and believing them to be true, would dare to turn their back on their mission on Earth, even though they know that by doing so they would bring about an even harsher atonement for their soul?

14. For although it is true that My justice offers you new opportunities to remove blemishes and make amends for mistakes, it is also true that with each opportunity the number of trials increases and that the hardships and sufferings become more intense each time, just as the mistakes committed have become more serious.

15. Your duty—one should not speak of punishment—will consist in restoring, renewing, making amends, and settling every last debt. No one—neither your Heavenly Father nor your brothers and sisters on earth or in the "Spiritual Valley"—will do what only you yourselves must do, although I tell you that I will always answer your call. When you feel lonely and forsaken, you will feel My presence, and the Spiritual World will always come to support you in bearing the weight of your cross. (289, 45–47)

16. Only My love and My justice can protect those today who hunger and thirst for them. I alone, in My perfect justice, am able to receive the one who takes his own life.

17. If they knew that the abandonment of the soul is more terrible than loneliness in this world, they would persevere patiently and courageously until the last day of their earthly existence. (165, 73-74)

18. I do not destroy any of My children, no matter how much they hurt Me; I sustain them and give them the opportunity to make amends for their transgressions and return to the path they had abandoned. Yet, even though I have forgiven them, they are confronted with the fruit of their deeds, and it is these that judge them and show them the right path. (96, 55)

The Cause of Trials and Suffering

19. Know yourselves! I have observed the existence of people throughout the ages and know what has been the cause of all their pain and misfortune.

20. From the earliest times, I have seen how people have taken each other's lives out of envy, materialism, and a lust for power; they have always neglected their souls, believing themselves to be merely matter, and when the hour came to leave their human form behind on earth, all that remained was what they had created in their material lives, without reaping any bliss for the spirit; for they did not seek it, did not think of it, and cared neither for the virtues of the spirit nor for knowledge. They were content to live without seeking the path that leads them to God. (11, 42–43)

21. Today, despite the progress of your civilization, you have distanced yourselves more and more from the material realm, as well as from the spiritual, from the pure, from that which is of God. Therefore, with every stage of your life, you fall into ever greater weakness, into ever greater suffering, despite your desire to become stronger and happier with every day you spend on Earth. But you will now take a step forward in fulfilling My Law, O inhabitants of the earth! (16, 35)

22. The trials you encounter on your life's journey are no accident; I have sent them to you so that you may earn merit. Not a leaf on the tree moves without My will, and I am present in both the great and the small works of creation.

23. Watch and pray, that you may learn to understand what fruit you are to reap from every trial, so that your atonement may be shorter. Take up your cross with love, and I will cause you to bear your atonement with patience. (25:6)

24. When people forget Me—and even deny Me—amid laughter, pleasures, and vanities, why do they despair and tremble when they reap the harvest of tears that torments their soul and body? Then they blaspheme, saying that there is no God.

25. Man is bold enough to sin, determined to stray from the path of My Law; yet I assure you that he is exceedingly cowardly when it comes to atoning and paying his debts. Yet I strengthen you in your cowardice, protect you in your weaknesses, rouse you from your lethargy, dry your tears, and give you new opportunities so that you may regain the lost light and rediscover the forgotten path of My Law.

26. I come to bring you, as in the "Second Era," the bread and wine of life, both for the soul and for the body, so that you may live in harmony with all that your Father has created.

27. On My paths, virtues flourish; on yours, however, there are thorns, abysses, and bitterness.

28. Whoever says that the ways of the Lord are full of thorns does not know what he is saying, for I have not created pain for any of My children; yet those who have strayed from the path of light and peace will have to suffer the consequences of their guilt upon returning to it.

29. Why have you drunk the cup of suffering? Why have you forgotten the Lord's commandment as well as the mission I entrusted to you? Because you have replaced My law with your own, and here are the results of your vain wisdom: bitter suffering, war, fanaticism, disappointments, and lies that suffocate you and fill you with despair. And what is most painful for the materialistic person—for the one who subjects everything to his calculations and subjugates it to the material laws of this world—is that even after this life, he will still carry the burden of his errors and inclinations with him. Then the suffering of your soul will be very great.

30. Shake off the burden of your sins here, fulfill My law, and come soon. Ask forgiveness of all whom you have hurt, and leave the rest to Me; for your time to love will be brief if you truly decide to do so. (17, 37-43)

31. Come to Me, all of you who carry a hidden sorrow in your hearts. You secretly bear within you a pain inflicted by betrayal, and your bitterness is great because it was a person you loved dearly who hurt you deeply.

32. Become still within yourselves, so that prayer may enlighten you and you may discover whether you were not, at some point, the reason why you were betrayed. Then prayer will strengthen you in the conviction that you must forgive those who have betrayed you in your love, your faith, and your trust.

33. Truly, I tell you, at the very moment you forgive the one who has offended you, you will feel My peace fully; for at that moment your spirit will have united with Mine, and I will spread My mantle to forgive you and enfold both of you in My love. (312, 49–51)

34. In truth, the Master tells you: I have prepared a kingdom of peace and perfection for every soul. Yet this kingdom that I have prepared is opposed by another kingdom: the world. While My kingdom is attained through humility, love, and virtue, the possession of the other kingdom requires arrogance, ambition, pride, greed, selfishness, and malice.

35. At all times the world has opposed My Kingdom; at all times those who follow Me have been harassed on their path and led into temptation, whether by visible influences or invisible forces.

36. This is not the only time you have walked over thorns to reach Me; it is not the first time your soul has stumbled in its effort to reach My presence. At all times you have waged the battle within the depths of your being.

37. The inspiration of My Spirit illuminates your inner being and has ignited a battle against the dark forces, against the false lights, the false virtues, against matter, against all that is superfluous, against all the false glory of this world. (327, 3)

38. I bless the pain you have endured for My sake, for all that you suffer for My sake will make you worthy for eternity. (338, 61)

Faith, Resignation, and Humility in Trials

39. Human life is for the soul the crucible in which it is purified and the anvil on which it is forged. It is essential that a person have an ideal in their spirit, faith in their Creator, and love for their destiny, in order to carry their cross with patience to the summit of their Calvary.

40. Without faith in eternal life, man falls into despair amid all the heavy trials; without lofty ideals, he sinks into materialism; and without the strength to endure disappointment, he perishes in despondency or vice. (99, 38-39)

41. I tell you that you must love your cross; for if you rebel against it while you must carry it on your shoulders, the pain will tear a deep wound in your hearts. I truly love My cross, O people; yet do you know what I call My cross? My cross consists of you, O people, whom I love so dearly. (144, 20)

42. Faith, submission, and humility toward what I have ordained will shorten the path of trial, for then you will not have to walk the path of suffering more than once. But if rebellion, discontent, or even blasphemy arise during the trials, the affliction will last longer, for you will then have to walk that path anew until the lesson is learned. (139, 49)

43. I tell you: The trials that man has brought upon himself in this time are very difficult, for they are necessary for his salvation.

44. Divine justice will be carried out upon the most beloved of every person to demand an accounting for the deeds of every human being.

45. How important it is for man to attain the understanding of what spiritual atonement means, so that, in the knowledge that the soul has a past known only to God, he may accept his cup of suffering with love, patience, respect, and even joy—knowing that thereby he washes away past and present blemishes, settles debts, and earns merits before the Law.

46. There will be no spiritual elevation in pain as long as one does not suffer with love, with respect for My justice, and with resignation to what each has brought upon themselves. Yet only this elevation amidst trials will be able to give people the understanding of what the law of spiritual reparation is. (352, 36–37, 42–43)

The Meaning of Suffering and Pain

47. If you attribute life's trials to chance, you will find it difficult to be strong. But if you have an understanding of what atonement is, what justice and reparation are, you will find elevation and resignation in your faith to triumph in the trials.

48. It is My will to test your soul in various ways, for I am shaping, forming, and perfecting it. To this end, I make use of all things and all people; as instruments, I use both the righteous and the wicked. At one time I make use of the light; at another, I make darkness My servant. Therefore, I say to you: When you find yourselves in a critical situation, think of Me, your Master, who will explain to you with all love the reason for that trial.

49. There are cups that all must drink; some sooner and others later, so that all may learn to understand and love Me. Misery, sickness, slander, and dishonor are very bitter cups that do not reach only the lips of the sinner. Remember that the Most Righteous One, in that "Second Era," emptied the bitterest cup you can imagine. The obedience, humility, and love with which the cup of suffering is drunk will make the cross lighter and allow the trial to pass more quickly. (54, 4-6)

50. Everything that surrounds you is intended to purify you, yet not all have understood it this way. Do not let the pain you drink from your cup of suffering be fruitless. From pain you can gain light, which is wisdom, gentleness, strength, and sensitivity. (81, 59)

51. Know, disciples, that pain removes the bad fruits from your hearts, grants you experience, and causes your errors to be corrected.

52. In this way your Father tests you, so that your mind may be enlightened. But if you do not understand and suffer in vain because you fail to discover the meaning of My wise lessons, your pain is meaningless, and you do not make use of the lesson. (258, 57–58)

53. People cry out: "If there is a God of mercy and love—why then must the good suffer at the hands of the wicked, the righteous at the hands of sinners?"

54. Truly, I tell you, my children: No one comes into this world merely to attain their own salvation. They are not isolated individuals, but part of a whole.

55. Does not a healthy and perfect organ in a human body suffer when the other organs are sick?

56. This is a material comparison so that you may understand the relationship that exists between every person and others. The good must suffer among the wicked, but the good are not entirely innocent if they do not work for the spiritual progress of their brothers and sisters. Yet as an individual, each has his own responsibility, and since he is part of My Spirit and like to Him, he possesses the will and intelligence to contribute to the progress of all. (358, 18-19)

57. Interpret My teaching correctly; do not think that My Spirit rejoices when He sees your sufferings on earth, or that I wish to deprive you of all that is pleasant to you in order to take delight in it. I come to en e you to recognize and observe My laws, for they are worthy of your respect and attention, and because their observance will bring you eternal bliss and eternal peace. (25, 80)

58. I must tell you that as long as you dwell on earth, you may strive to make your existence here as pleasant as possible. It is not necessary to weep, suffer, and "bleed" ceaselessly in order to earn peace in the hereafter.

59. If you could transform this earth from a valley of tears into a world of happiness, where you would love one another, where you would strive to do good and live within My law—truly, I tell you, this life would be even more meritorious and noble in my eyes than an existence full of suffering, misfortune, and tears, no matter how great your willingness to endure it may be. (219, 15-16)

60. Rejoice that no pain lasts forever; your sufferings are temporary and will pass very soon.

61. The time of atonement and purification is fleeting for those who view trials with spiritualization; for those, on the other hand, who are wholly absorbed in materialism, what is in reality very soon over will seem to last a long time.

62. Just as the beats of your heart pass, so does human life pass in infinity.

63. There is no reason to fear, for just as a sigh escapes from someone, just as a tear is shed, or just as a word is spoken, so too do the sufferings of man pass away.

64. In God's infinite tenderness, all your pains and sorrows must dissolve into nothingness. (12:5–9)