BD.6649
September 20, 1956

CHRISTIANITY OF THE HOURS - THE WAY TO GOD'S HEART

Only few people find the way to My heart and few are willing to walk it although they claim to be faithful Christians outwardly belonging to those who are members of church organizations and therefore called religious. All these have started on the way but have stopped in their progress before reaching My heart.

You will understand this if you take a closer look at your earthly life, which puts the world in the first place and your physical well-being if you seriously take into account, how little time you allow yourselves to remember Me and the purpose of your life. Usually you give Me only the traditionally assigned time: a short morning, mid-day and evening-prayer or an hour for the officially divine service.

But only seldom your thoughts seek Me of your own accord to converse with Me; only seldom you desire to come closer to Me. Your thoughts will always be filled with earthly concerns, worldly plans and worldly joys. I am not the main purport of your thoughts, even if you believe in Me as your creator and preserver. But you do not see in Me the Father to whom you are drawn by your love. Therefore, you only seldom take the way to My heart, that you talk like 'children to their father', that you want to have Him with you in all situations, that you, so to say, live your life in close association with Me. Then you would also talk about Me more often, your conversations would take a different course from the present one. I am hardly mentioned in your daily life, and those who do mention Me are smiled at scornfully and not taken seriously.

This is the true situation with you people. I Myself cannot often be present because you do not remember Me and even less assemble in My name. Only seldom an hour is sacrificed to Me due to an 'inner need'. And therefore I say: only few people walk on the way to My heart; to only few I can be 'their constant companion' on this earth.

And their 'Christianity of the hours' can bring men no spiritual progress for while it consists only in traditional visits to a church and performance of its rites it cannot be a voluntary association with Me.

Only a 'living relationship', the inner craving of your free will can help you to perfection: the desire to hear My Word and give nourishment to the soul can be rated as a longing for Me and can be fulfilled. Everyone should give account to himself what his innermost feelings about Me are like and to what extent he is only observing traditional requirements which are part of his upbringing and whether he is fulfilling them only traditionally.

I look into the hearts and no one can deceive Me, but have a desire for all these hearts and am not satisfied with the second or third place. And while the world and its demands are still occupying the first place, you belong to the 'dead Christians'; a 'living Christianity' expresses itself differently. It consists in an unceasing 'activity of love', an activity with Me, and to whom I can be present through love, he will also remember Me all the time. He puts Me before all worldly things and will do nothing without having lovingly united with Me.

But there are only few of these, although many people believe to live righteously, because they fulfill the demands of their church. However, all these will not stand their ground at the time of the last decision, for they will lack the strength which they have to receive from Me and for which they need a 'loving union with Me'. Let Me point out to you that the time will come when you will be asked to make your decision and your distress will be great if you do not possess the 'living faith' which requires that you find the way to My heart and proceed on it; for I alone can supply you with strength. But you need My presence, and therefore you must lovingly unite with Me.

AMEN