Written by Fr. Eugene Wehner “of the Eucharist”, O.C.D.
The same Flame of Love that lived in the Immaculate Heart and womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary lived in the heart of Elizabeth Kindelmann and lives in the Eucharist. To let the Flame of Love reign in our hearts, we need to frequently participate in the Eucharist.
As Elizabeth was growing deeper in love of our Lord, around the time of the Feast of Corpus Christi in 1962, she wrote: “The sweet Savior filled my soul with such an attraction for His Sacred Body and Precious Blood that for weeks I could only meditate on the Eucharist. It was His desire that He and I penetrate deeply into these inexhaustibly profound words: ‘He who eats My Body and drinks My Blood remains in Me and I in him.’” (page 56)
Remaining in Jesus includes uniting our sufferings with His during his Passion and even being grateful that we can “fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.” Eucharist, which means “thanksgiving,” is the renewal of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus. On August 16, 1962, Jesus questioned her: “Do you not trust the value of sufferings? I give value to your sufferings and it causes Me sorrow if you do not appreciate them. I would think that you are not accepting them with love.” (page 72)
All that we experience, Jesus wants us to accept even sufferings with love. Sufferings unite us more intimately to Him in His Paschal Mystery. He said to her on September 15, 1962: “Our hearts beat in unison. May our glances profoundly penetrate one another.” (page 82)
On Christmas night of 1962, after complaining to Jesus about her feeling of abandonment by others, he said: “I also suffer being abandoned. You know what? Let us suffer together. This will be easier for you and Me.” (page 128)
Our union with Jesus is strongest when we unite our sufferings with his as we worthily receive Holy Communion. After receiving Communion on November 22, 1962, Elizabeth described her experience: “He inundated my soul with the sublime feeling of His presence. Without any words, He poured into my consciousness a feeling of peace…. He poured out His grace and permitted me to understand clearly the reasons of these great disturbances and sufferings.” (page 109)
Later the Blessed Virgin Mary explained to her: “
If you attend Holy Mass while under no obligation to do so and you are in the state of grace before God, during that time I will pour out the Flame of Love of my heart and blind Satan. My graces will flow abundantly to the souls for whom you offer the Holy Mass, because when Satan is blinded and devoid of his power, he is unable to do anything. The participation in the Holy Mass is what helps the most to blind Satan. Tormented and breathing out terrible vengeance, he wages a ferocious battle for souls since he feels the impending coming of his blindness.” (page 110)
When Satan cannot see is way forward, he is helpless against us. We are secure and our sufferings have a redemptive purpose.
The Blessed Virgin Mary said to Elizabeth on November 30, 1962: “Throughout the day, you should offer me your daily chores for the glory of God. Such offering, made in a state of grace, also contributes to blind Satan. Live in accordance with my graces so that Satan will be blinded even more and in an increasingly large range of action. Take advantage of the abundant graces to make a multitude of souls live a holier life.” (page 113) With these words, we can grasp the fact that our whole lives are for the purpose of the salvation of souls.
Returning now to the messages regarding the Eucharist itself, Jesus told Elizabeth on September 24, 1963: “Whoever eats My Body and drinks My Blood remains in Me and I in him. He in whom God dwells will be divinized. Permeate yourself with this grace so great.” (page 170) To be divinized means not to become God but to become like Him in our love for all. Then the Flame of Love within us will leap out like a fire setting a forest of souls ablaze. The Blessed Virgin Mary confided to Elizabeth:
I can no longer hold back my Flame of Love in my heart. Let it leap out into all of you. Make all the preparations to set out…. My Flame of Love will
sweep away with uproar the distrust of souls. Encountering no resistance, the Flame will illumine souls with a gentle light. Those accepting the Flame
of Love will be intoxicated by the abundance of graces and they will proclaim everywhere … that such a
torrent of grace has never been granted since the
Word became Flesh. (page 175) The Flame of Love is most ignited in us when we receive the Eucharistic Presence of Jesus. Then the torrent of grace within us has the power to transform the world. May we be bold in proclaiming this truth, as the Blessed Virgin Mary was with Elizabeth Kindelmann.
Thank you Father Gene!