Recently, our sister ministry, Mother of Mercy Messengers, spearheaded by Dave and Joan Maroney, asked me to give a talk to their group regarding Divine Mercy and the “Flame of Love” movement. The messages have been welcomed by Cardinal Peter Erdo, and are spreading rapidly. The Flame of Love Ministry developed from the writings of a Hungarian woman, Elizabeth Kindelmann, from 1961-82. She is considered a modernday mystic. She lived from 1913-85, and was an orphan and a humble mother of six children. Her mission was to communicate the Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a unique grace from the Eternal Father. The spiritual diary received an Imprimatur from Cardinal Peter Erdo and the messages are locally approved for devotional use. Elizabeth came from a poor family. Her father was Protestant and her mother Catholic. She started working at an early age, and often worked long hours and multiple jobs at one time to survive. At times she had to beg for food. As she approached age 50, she thought her life would enter a more calm and pleasant period, but this wasn’t meant to be. The Lord Jesus and the Blessed Mother began speaking to her. She wrote, “After a period of serious doubts and torments for my soul, I accepted that the Will of God be done. My soul was so overwhelmed with grace that I was unable to utter a single word.” This is similar to St. Faustina as she realized doing God’s will was paramount, and on one page she crossed out with a large X and wrote in entry 374, “From now on, my will no longer exists.” Jesus told Elizabeth, “Ask for abundant graces. The more you ask, the more you will receive. Ask for others and do not fear that you ask for too much! Accept faithfully the graces that I ask of you for My Cause. Many ask repeatedly to share in My works, but when they must accept a sacrifice from My own hands, they are afraid of Me.” Flame of Love is a grace that comes from Mary’s heart that blinds Satan, making him powerless, and the flame puts our hearts on fire with the love of God! Our Lady told Elizabeth, “I place a beam of light in your hands; it is the Flame of Love of my heart. Add your love to this flame and pass it on to others.” Elizabeth wrote, “In spite of all my efforts, O Lord, I see no progress in myself.” I can relate to that quote as in my own walk some days I make one step forward, and the next I make two steps backwards. But Jesus told her, “Do not worry! Begin anew each day. Our Mother will help you. Ask everything from her. She knows how to please Me.” On another occasion, “The Blessed Virgin revealed that the light of her Flame of Love filled not only me, but all my family members, and the Evil One could not lead them into sin. That is why their souls are strengthened and prepared to receive even more graces.” Our Lady told her, “I place a beam in your hands: it is the flame of love of my heart. Add your love to this flame and pass on to others, my little, my little one. Take this flame, my daughter, you are the first one I am handing it to. It is the Flame of Love of my heart. Add your love to this flame and pass it on to others.” The Flame of Love is a signal grace, a grace that may seem like a coincidence but can change our heart and lives and is recognizable. It is not just a message; this grace is obtained from Heaven from Our Lady’s Heart and instills a passionate love for God. And Jesus told Elizabeth on Feb. 14, 1964, “I expand your heart by the power of My Divine Love.” The heat of the love of God that Mary’s gives us expands our hearts to receive more grace. Mary’s love for Jesus is so perfect and it is this intense love for her Son that she passes on. This is similar to the story of St. Philip Neri, the apostle of joy, when on the day of Pentecost, 1544, he suddenly felt an intense joy while praying. He was bursting with God’s love. The outward physical signs of this overflowing emotion were a combination of shaking, feeling warm, and his heart beating so fast that it caused the pew on which he was sitting to vibrate! After his death, his chest was found to be abnormally deformed, forming a protuberance where his heart had been, the ribs having been broken. Our Lady told Elizabeth, “With this Flame full of graces that I give you from my heart, ignite all the hearts in the entire country. Let this flame go from heart to heart. This is the miracle becoming the blaze whose dazzling love will blind Satan. This is the fire of love of union which I obtained from the heavenly Father through the merits of the wounds of His Divine Mercy.” Mary added, “We will put out fire with fire: the fire of hatred with the fire of love.” That quote struck me as similar to one of my favorite quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Hatred cannot drive out hatred, only love can.” The Divine Mercy message is about love as God is love, and we must let the rays of mercy penetrate our hardened hearts and turn our hearts of stone to hearts of love. Mary’s love is so perfect as she is united to God’s will, and she wants to pass the Flame of Love to us. The Flame of Love signals graces that blind Satan and sets people free! Jesus said, “The flame of love in the heart of My Mother is Noah’s ark.” The Blessed Mother also told Elizabeth that she is in the process of accomplishing her greatest miracle. There are three prayers in the prayer groups of reparation: In the Sign of the Cross one contemplates on His five wounds; adding an ejaculation to the Hail Mary regarding Flame of Love; and a Unity Prayer. Elizabeth’s diary ends with a petition from Our Lady: “My children, pray for one another without ceasing. Let the outpouring of my graces produce its effect in souls.” Let us pray, fast, and live and lead a sacramental life and be like St. Philip Neri, filled with joy as our hearts are filled with the love of God! For more information on Flame of Love, visit FlameofLove.us. Quotes taken from “The Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary — The Spiritual Diary” of Elizabeth Kindelmann, copyright 2019, The Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. 5 14510020 © 2025 Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M. Divine Mercy and the ‘Flame of Love’ By Bryan Thatcher, MD
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