Church Approval

Pope Benedict on the Love of God in Mary’s Heart

“At a time when the human family was ready to sacrifice all that was most sacred on the altar of the petty and selfish interests of nations, races, ideologies, groups and individuals, our Blessed Mother came from heaven, offering to implant in the hearts of all those who trust in her the Love of God burning in her own heart.”

Dear Pilgrims,

“Their descendants shall be renowned among the nations […], they are a people whom the Lord has blessed” (Is 61:9). So the first reading of this Eucharist began, and its words are wonderfully fulfilled in this assembly devoutly gathered at the feet of Our Lady of Fatima. Dearly beloved brothers and sisters, I too have come as a pilgrim to Fatima, to this “home” from which Mary chose to speak to us in modern times. I have come to Fatima to rejoice in Mary’s presence and maternal protection. I have come to Fatima, because today the pilgrim Church, willed by her Son as the instrument of evangelization and the sacrament of salvation, converges upon this place. I have come to Fatima to pray, in union with Mary and so many pilgrims, for our human family, afflicted as it is by various ills and sufferings. Finally, I have come to Fatima with the same sentiments as those of Blessed Francisco and Jacinta, and the Servant of God Lúcia, in order to entrust to Our Lady the intimate confession that “I love” Jesus, that the Church and priests “love” him and desire to keep their gaze fixed upon him as this Year for Priests comes to its end, and in order to entrust to Mary’s maternal protection priests, consecrated men an women, missionaries and all those who by their good works make the House of God a place of welcome and charitable outreach.

These are the “people whom the Lord has blessed”. The people whom the Lord has blessed are you, the beloved Diocese of Leiria-Fatima, with your pastor, Bishop Antonio Marto. I thank him for his words of greeting at the beginning of Mass, and for the gracious hospitality shown particularly by his collaborators at this Shrine. I greet the President of the Republic and the other authorities who serve this glorious Nation. I spiritually embrace all the Dioceses of Portugal, represented here by their Bishops, and I entrust to Heaven all the nations and peoples of the earth. In God I embrace all their sons and daughters, particularly the afflicted or outcast, with the desire of bringing them that great hope which burns in my own heart, and which here, in Fatima, can be palpably felt. May our great hope sink roots in the lives of each of you, dear pilgrims, and of all those who join us through the communications media.

Yes! The Lord, our great hope, is with us. In his merciful love, he offers a future to his people: a future of communion with himself. After experiencing the mercy and consolation of God who did not forsake them along their wearisome return from the Babylonian Exile, the people of God cried out: “I greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being exults in my God” (Is 61:10). The resplendent daughter of this people is the Virgin Mary of Nazareth who, clothed with grace and sweetly marvelling at God’s presence in her womb, made this joy and hope her own in the canticle of the Magnificat: “My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour”. She did not view herself as a fortunate individual in the midst of a barren people, but prophecied for them the sweet joys of a wondrous maternity of God, for “his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation” (Lk 1:47, 50).

This holy place is the proof of it. In seven years you will return here to celebrate the centenary of the first visit made by the Lady “come from heaven”, the Teacher who introduced the little seers to a deep knowledge of the Love of the Blessed Trinity and led them to savour God himself as the most beautiful reality of human existence. This experience of grace made them fall in love with God in Jesus, so much so that Jacinta could cry out: “How much I delight in telling Jesus that I love him! When I tell him this often, I feel as if I have a fire in my breast, yet it does not burn me”. And Francisco could say: “What I liked most of all was seeing Our Lord in that light which Our Mother put into our hearts. I love God so much!” (Memoirs of Sister Lúcia, I, 42 and 126).

Brothers and sisters, in listening to these innocent and profound mystical confidences of the shepherd children, one might look at them with a touch of envy for what they were able to see, or with the disappointed resignation of someone who was not so fortunate, yet still demands to see. To such persons, the Pope says, as does Jesus: “Is not this the reason you are wrong, that you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?” (Mk 12:24). The Scriptures invite us to believe: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (Jn 20:29), but God, who is more deeply present to me than I am to myself (cf. Saint Augustine, Confessions, III, 6, 11) – has the power to come to us, particularly through our inner senses, so that the soul can receive the gentle touch of a reality which is beyond the senses and which enables us to reach what is not accessible or visible to the senses. For this to happen, we must cultivate an interior watchfulness of the heart which, for most of the time, we do not possess on account of the powerful pressure exerted by outside realities and the images and concerns which fill our soul (cf. Theological Commentary on The Message of Fatima, 2000). Yes! God can come to us, and show himself to the eyes of our heart.

Moreover, that Light deep within the shepherd children, which comes from the future of God, is the same Light which was manifested in the fullness of time and came for us all: the Son of God made man. He has the power to inflame the coldest and saddest of hearts, as we see in the case of the disciples on the way to Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:32). Henceforth our hope has a real foundation, it is based on an event which belongs to history and at the same time transcends history: Jesus of Nazareth. The enthusiasm roused by his wisdom and his saving power among the people of that time was such that a woman in the midst of the crowd – as we heard in the Gospel – cried out: “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that nursed you!”. And Jesus said: “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!” (Lk 11:27-28). But who finds time to hear God’s word and to let themselves be attracted by his love? Who keeps watch, in the night of doubt and uncertainty, with a heart vigilant in prayer? Who awaits the dawn of the new day, fanning the flame of faith? Faith in God opens before us the horizon of a sure hope, one which does not disappoint; it indicates a solid foundation on which to base one’s life without fear; it demands a faith-filled surrender into the hands of the Love which sustains the world.

“Their descendants shall be known among the nations, […] they are a people whom the Lord has blessed” (Is 61:9) with an unshakable hope which bears fruit in a love which sacrifices for others, yet does not sacrifice others. Rather, as we heard in the second reading, this love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor 13:7). An example and encouragement is to be found in the shepherd children, who offered their whole lives to God and shared them fully with others for love of God. Our Lady helped them to open their hearts to universal love. Blessed Jacinta, in particular, proved tireless in sharing with the needy and in making sacrifices for the conversion of sinners. Only with this fraternal and generous love will we succeed in building the civilization of love and peace.

We would be mistaken to think that Fatima’s prophetic mission is complete. Here there takes on new life the plan of God which asks humanity from the beginning: “Where is your brother Abel […] Your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!” (Gen 4:9). Mankind has succeeded in unleashing a cycle of death and terror, but failed in bringing it to an end… In sacred Scripture we often find that God seeks righteous men and women in order to save the city of man and he does the same here, in Fatima, when Our Lady asks: “Do you want to offer yourselves to God, to endure all the sufferings which he will send you, in an act of reparation for the sins by which he is offended and of supplication for the conversion of sinners?” (Memoirs of Sister Lúcia, I, 162).

At a time when the human family was ready to sacrifice all that was most sacred on the altar of the petty and selfish interests of nations, races, ideologies, groups and individuals, our Blessed Mother came from heaven, offering to implant in the hearts of all those who trust in her the Love of God burning in her own heart. At that time it was only to three children, yet the example of their lives spread and multiplied, especially as a result of the travels of the Pilgrim Virgin, in countless groups throughout the world dedicated to the cause of fraternal solidarity. May the seven years which separate us from the centenary of the apparitions hasten the fulfilment of the prophecy of the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity.

Pronouncements of Cardinal Péter Erdö

Pronouncements of His Eminence Cardinal Péter Erdö, Primate of Hungary, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, concerning the Association “Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Movement.”

1. Quotes taken from his homily on June 1, 2009 at Máriaremete, on the Feastof Pentecost. “…I personally believe that the completion in the spring of thisyear of the revision of the Spiritual Diary of Elizabeth Kindelmann and of theRule of the Association of Prayer ‘Flame of Love’ is a sign of the life givingHoly Spirit. This Movement now functions in many dioceses of the world withthe approval of the bishops and also prospers here in Hungary, the country ofits origin. We have found that it brings an authentic Catholic spirituality anddevotion toward the Virgin Mary that is in total conformity with the Catholic faith. May this recognition given in our diocese contribute to the spiritualrenewal of our community of believers and of our people. This Saturday (June 6 at 11:00 a.m.) we will solemnly promulgate this approbation in the Church ofthe Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Kispest.”

2. Pronouncement of Cardinal Péter Erdö in the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Kispet (June 6, 2009) at the Tenth National Conference of The Flame
of Love (of Hungary).

Cardinal: “Praised be Jesus Christ”

Faithful: “Let Him be eternally praised. Amen!”

“Thank you very much for the kind words of introduction given by your pastor and by the leaders of the ‘Flame of Love Movement’. Certainly the Holy Spirit will work in the Church until the end of time. Frequently, the entire community of the Church accepts inspirations that originally came forth from the heart of a Christian person who was completely dedicated and deeply believing. After examining these impulses, the successors of the apostles eventually welcome them as gifts of God for the whole Church.

For many centuries, the Church institution and charismas were seen as two distinct realities, as if opposed to each other. On the contrary, the Church’s history shows that truly authentic charismas (those special Divine Gifts given to believing persons for the benefit of the Church) and the institutional structure established by Christ’s Will, are in strict correlation with each other.

The most beautiful example of this is the history of religious orders. The great founder of an order is a truly charismatic person, as was St. Francis and St. Ignatius of Loyola. They were an extraordinary phenomenon in their own age. The Church rejoices so much in the value of their spirituality and of that form of life that it represents, that the Church shouts to the founder, ‘Do not go away.’ We want this form of life to remain and this charisma to last in the Church. In this way, the religious orders and their charisma become part of the
institutional Church.

I will say even more. Christ Himself, His person and His mission, travels along the road of Church history. Jesus said to His disciples, “As the Father sends Me, so I also send you.” (Jn 20:21) Therefore, the Church on earth, as a visible community, carries on the mission of Christ. It follows that the Church is not merely an external human organization. Rather, she lives within the world. Also, the Church is not just some invisible, mysterious reality of grace. The same Church is both an invisible reality and a visible society. These are not two distinct things. Sometimes human frailty and human history produce an obstacle. However, at a given moment of history, there appears in the Church something beautiful, a new possibility for the Church. I believe that this is true of the “Flame of Love Movement”.

A believing woman, Elizabeth, prays and hears voices in her soul. She perceives that these wonderful voices come from the Virgin Mary. No one asks – since this is not important – what is the nature of the experiences that she describes in her Spiritual Diary. This is not the task which the Church has undertaken in these years of judgement. It has not tried to discern some special happening or supernatural phenomenon. What we have deeply and seriously studied is the content of the message.

While we could not yet officially deal with this matter in Hungary, this spirituality spread to many countries throughout the world and has produced positive fruits. Before making this decision in Budapest, we have spoken with bishops, priests and people from other countries. We have also talked with pastors of souls in our own country. They have testified that the Flame of Love produces fruits in the lives of individual persons and of communities. These testimonies were very positive and we know that a good tree produces good fruits.

After this, we established a commission. Various priests examined the written documents, including the Spiritual Diary itself, the documentation from foundations outside of Hungary and the recognitions that local bishops in many parts of the world (from Brazil to Mexico) have given to this Movement as a private association of the faithful. Just a short time ago, this investigation was finished. As a conclusion, our Church recognizes as authentic, in accord with the Catholic faith, all of the material contained in the Spiritual Diary. Also, this archdiocese considers that the activity, life and rule of this community is in accord with all that characterizes movements of spirituality and authentic communities of the Catholic Church.

At this point, the entire Church receives this charisma as a gift from God. Instead of forgetting about this gift, we ought to place it on the lampstand so that it lights up everything in the house. Having already seen the effects of grace poured out in many other countries, we pray that this charisma shine upon the entire country of Hungary. For this reason, I have asked the senior director of the Archbishop’s office to read this decree.”

Excerpts from the official Decree

(read by Canon Laszló Süllei)

Our Lady of Hungary, pray for us!

With these words, I establish in the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest the ‘Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Movement’, as an ecclesial association of the faithful in Christ. It is a private association enjoying a juridical personality.

At the same time, I also approve for this Archdiocese the Statutes of this Association accepted in San Paulo, Brazil, on August 15, 2008 and as approved in the Archdiocese of Hermosillo, Mexico, on December 11, 2008. I ask God to give His abundant blessings for the life and activities of this
Association: May your activities serve the spiritual renewal of our homeland!

Budapest, Palm Sunday, 2009

With my blessings as pastor,

Péter Erdö

Cardinal, Primate and Archbishop