As your newly appointed National Director, I would like to share a little of my faith journey with you so that I may give testimony to my love of Mother Mary, God’s Glory, and the transformative power of Grace and Mercy.
I never had a desire to be a Catholic until I heard and answered the call in 2009. After 10 years of being married to a cradle Catholic, raising 2 kids catholic, attending Mass each Sunday, and even serving in many Catholic ministries, I had zero interest in joining the Church. Why? I could not embrace the reality of the True Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. And the biggest obstacle for me was not the theology but other Catholics! I watched my brothers and sisters for 10 years receive GOD in their bodies as if they were popping a tic-toc in their mouths. It was after a powerful encounter with the Spirit of Conviction, the Holy Spirit, that I heard the calling to become Catholic and was able to open my heart with one simple prayer… “LORD, I do not desire it but if you want this for me, make me want it, change my heart.” I asked and prayed for a clear sign. And HE answered me by using my youngest son and a red beaded rosary in the shape of hearts one night. As I tucked my son into bed, he was hiding under the covers and I was acting like I was searching for him… “where are you, son… where are you?” I called in a soft voice. Suddenly, he threw his blanket off and said “here I am!” I went over and hugged him and said, ” Oh son, I’m so happy I found you!”
He instantly reached his little hands up to me, clutching this little red rosary and said, ” Here mom, I want you to have this.” What was so special about this rosary was that he was going through First Communion prep and had just learned about the Rosary.
I knew in that moment, that God was speaking to me through my little boy. I could only think to answer, “Here I am Lord.”
That same year I started RCIA, asked a thousand questions and in 2010 I became Catholic! I had such a love and transformative experience, my pastor asked me to be the RCIA coordinator soon after and I served in that role for 7 years! He changed my doubts into conviction and He gave me the greatest confirmation Saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, whose deep love of the Holy Eucharist literally transformed her into a great Saint. I attend Holy Mass now as often as possible and receiving Jesus in the Eucharist still brings me to tears. I look forward to supporting the US in this time of Eucharistic Revival in the days ahead!
Soon after I came into the Church, the Holy Spirit convicted me again, this time with a constant prompting to LOVE MORE. To be honest this really annoyed me because I had just spent a year in RCIA, and became even more dedicated to service to the Church than ever before. So, each time I heard this prompting, I would ask Jesus how to do this with a rather salty heart. I received the same interior answer each and every time, GO ASK MY MOTHER. For 6 months, this prompting became a constant response to my prayers… “go ask My Mother” and so my response became the same as it had when He called me into the Church… “give me the grace to desire it.” And He did! One day during Adoration I laid it all down saying something like, ” Lord, I need you. I can’t go on like this, so if you need me to ask Your Mother, send Her to me and show me how to do what You’re asking.” And He did! Within 2 hours! I received a text on the way out of the Church saying that I really needed to read this new book on Marian Consecration. At lunch that day with my girlfriend the same book landed in my lap, as she brought it to me as a gift! And later that evening, I received an email from the Marians of the Immaculate Conception about Consecration to the Blessed Mother through a new book called, 33 Days to Morning Glory. On the Feast of the Holy Rosary in 2011, I gave my heart to Mary, but it wasn’t until doing the consecration for 3 years straight, that I truly gave Mary everything. I spent 3 whole years learning how to trust Her to do what She promised to do, which was be a TRUE MOTHER to me, a mother to my kids, a mother to my husband and my marriage, a mother to my brokenness. If you have not consecrated your life to Mary yet, please pray about this and ask the Lord to guide you, and trust me, HE WILL!
Years later in 2019, after a lot of healing, being baptized in the Holy Spirit and receiving the Flame of Love signal grace, Mother Mary sealed the deal with me when She called me to Medjugorje. There I had a powerful and personal encounter with the Blessed Virgin. During this trip she called me even deeper into Her Heart and deeper into Flame of Love. It was in Medjugorje that I was invited by Lori Brown to join her regional team for the National movement. Lori was the same person who gave me the Flame of Love in 2018 so of course I said YES.
In June of 2020, I was asked by John Sullivan and Eileen Piergiovanni to become the Communication Director and now, 3 years later, here we are. Mary has chosen me as her very own. She made me new through grace. Mary has chosen us all!
THE MIRACLE OF THE FLAME OF LOVE
“I would like to place in your hands a new instrument, which I want you to accept and appreciate the importance of, because my heart looks upon my country with great affliction. . .
She goes on to say…
“With this Flame full of graces that I give you from my heart, ignite all the hearts of the entire country. Let this flame go from heart to heart. This is the miracle becoming the blaze whose dazzling light 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 my Divine Son.”
Good Friday in 1962 we read a message from the Mother of God to Elizabeth Kindelmann
This passage from the Diary perfectly sums up Mary’s entire plan to save us in these latter times. As the Mediatrix of Grace, Mary has the power, which God has given Her, to do just that!
“The earth has been covered in darkness because of the lack of faith in the soul of humanity and therefore will experience a great jolt. Following that, people will believe. This jolt, by the power of faith, will create a new world. Through the Flame of Love of the Blessed Virgin, faith will take root in souls, and the face of the earth will be renewed, because “nothing like it has happened ever since the Word became Flesh.” The renewal of the earth, although flooded with sufferings, will come about by the power of intercession of the Blessed Virgin.”
Jesus told Elizabeth on March 27, 1963
God has given us a new instrument, the Flame of Love from Mary’s Immaculate Heart, so that we can live in a new world where children are innocent again, men are courageous and chaste, like St Joseph and women emulate the virtues of purity and grace, just like Mary. “This miracle is the repeated coming of the Holy Spirit that many await, and the light of His grace will spread and penetrate the whole earth.” The Blessed Mother and the Holy Spirit want to rescue and restore us so that we can become what we consume at Holy Mass and live in God’s Divine Will.
So why aren’t we there yet!? What must we do?
We aren’t there yet because we haven’t allowed Mary and the Holy Spirit to fully form us into Christ.
And why not? Well, just like in my own journey, we are blinded in many ways to the spiritual truths of Heaven. As we see, even within our own families, our church… people are clinging to darkness ( fear, lust, laziness, greed) and the things that appear as “comforts” and no one is willing to suffer. This is of the world, not Heaven. Even many good Catholics are seeking out signs and wonders, rather than fasting and rosaries.
Mary wants to transform our wounds and sin into powerful weapons in this battle for souls, making sinners into saints! When we repent and unite our sufferings to the merits of the cross, we ourselves become a new instrument of grace and mercy.
In the Diary, Jesus and Mary help dear Elizabeth understand this and achieve in her this perfect union. The Diary gives us divine instructions from Heaven.
“You know that you must always gather with Me. Now, here in this silence, you can gather with Me; also, in the quiet of the night, while you are watching. I teach you so you learn and teach others how to gather souls. The will of the soul is love, and love can do everything. You must just desire with all your strength. May our thoughts be always in unison – to save souls from eternal damnation. Only in this way can you lessen My cruel sorrow. Let that not be boring to you. I have repeated it to you over and over: Suffer with Me.”
At this time, He shared with me the precious sorrow of His Soul as a precious gift of His grace.
On another occasion, He said:
“Do you know how much My Soul suffers because souls are lost? May our hands gather in unity.”
“Lord, I am only able to gather so few.”
“Make up for this by your desires and your ardent yearnings, My little one, and take refuge in Me with all trust.”
pg 82 of the Spiritual Diary
I pray that together, the Flame of Love Movement will become the new instrument which we have been called to become. United in LOVE, we do blind satan so that souls are transformed into weapons of mass destruction against evil! May we pour out in love our surrendered desires, continual repentance, trust in God’s Mercy, prayers of gratitude and unite our sufferings to the cross for the salvation of souls.
Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the power of the Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Jill Metz
US National Director
Marian Consecration Resources:
33 Days to Morning Glory by Fr Michael Gaitly