Monthly Archives: March 2024

Page: 197, Feb 22, 1964

The Lord JESUS said: “How happy I am to realize I did not suffer for you in vain. I truly rejoice. Your souls, you who live in the mud of the earth, cannot free themselves. I take you from the mud of sin and wash you with My Precious Blood. Prostrate yourself at the foot of My Holy Cross and let My Precious Blood fall upon you. The drops of My Blood are like a blank cheque in your hands, you need only to collect it” (Spiritual diary, Feb 22^nd 1964).

One of the most heart-rending scenes in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ is where Mary is on her knees wiping up the Blood of Jesus with a cloth.  The Blood that has been spilled all over the ground by the brutality of the scourging.

In the Old Testament the blood of the animal sacrificed was sprinkled to signify atonement for the sins of the people. This sacrifice was a repeated act. Jesus offers Himself as the sacrificial Lamb once and for all time as a ransom to free us from the slavery of sin.  He desires that we come to the foot of the cross to be present at the sacrifice so He can wash the mud of sin off us, an offer that is continuously there in the Mass and the sacraments.

Human blood is pumped from our hearts out to the body to provide it with life-giving oxygen.  It returns with carbon dioxide and waste and cleanses the body.  Spiritually, Jesus Blood gives us life-giving grace and washes away the mud of sin.  How happy He is when we avail of the offer.

Should we not join with His Blessed Mother in collecting the Blood that is spilt?   How heart breaking it is to think he went through so much, yet His Blood shed on our behalf falls where it is trampled on.  May our sacrifices be offered in atonement for the hatred and indifference shown Him, for those who do not care and do not trust. The words of Divine Mercy come to mind ‘For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.’ God our Father, may not one drop of His blood be wasted or spilled in vain.  

‘Blood of my Saviour, bathe me in thy tide.’

It might be a good idea to watch Mel Gibson’s movie again during Holy Week or view it for the first time.

Reflection by Joe Sheehan, National Treasurer, Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Movement Ireland

2024 Extraordinary International Congress for the Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Ireland was blessed to have been able to help send National Coordinator, Kielty Oberlin, to the attend and represent Ireland at the Extraordinary International Congress of the Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Movement in Singapore from the 1^st to the 7^th of March 2024.

Kielty reflected on the Congress saying, “There were so many fruits that have, are and will come from so many countries and people sacrificing and offering their talents to propagate Our Mother’s Flame throughout the world.”

This particular Congress was made up of many ‘firsts’ for the Flame of Love Movement. The Movement’s Congress was held in Asia – Singapore represents the first time an international congress was held in Asia. This demonstrates how far our Mother’s Flame has been spreading. Singapore is a relatively new country to embrace the Flame of Love, yet she has received the endorsement of His Eminence William Cardinal Goh who also presided at the Congress’ opening mass. 

Another first was that This Congress had more countries represented than has been seen in previous Flame of Love Congresses. A fruit of this is that the leaders who met in person will be better able to help each other to propagate Our Mother’s Flame in each others’ home country.

Perhaps the most significant of the firsts and a fruit of the Congress was the nomination and election of John Sullivan III as the new International Coordinator and Fr Jorge Reyes as the new International Assistant Coordinator. 

John Sullivan III was elected by the 18 Appointed National Coordinators in attendance as the new official International Coordinator. The National Coordinators also nominated and voted for the new Assistant International Coordinator, Fr Jorge Reyes. In Ireland, we are familiar with John because of his instrumental role in helping to organise and launch the Flame of Love of our Mother’s Immaculate Heart in Ireland. However, few of us have had an opportunity to get to know Fr Jorge Ryeys. Fr Jorge has been providing Spiritual guidance for the Flame of Love Movement in the Americas for decades and has held positions as National Coordinator of the USA and most recently as the Continental Coordinator of the Americas. He brings history and continuity to Our Lady’s Movement Internationally at a time when many new countries around the world can benefit from His Love and experience. We are blessed to have both John and Fr Jorge helping to guide our Mother’s Movement. We pray for both John and Fr Jorge as they embark in these new roles.

We would like to thank the Singaporean Movement’s leadership team led by National Coordinator, Adeline Quek, and Secretary, John Seah, for the many sacrifices they endured organising and hosting this important event. We can witness Our Mother’s hand in the organisation as they only had a several months to prepare for this massive event! We thank the many volunteers including – the hospitality teams, the translators, the literature and media coordinators (in particular Malu & Maria from the Philippians and USA), the priests who attended and spiritually guided the discussions. We also thank the many Flame of Love Apostolate Members worldwide who helped send their representatives…

We will be witnessing the fruits of the many prayers and sacrifices that were offered for this Extraordinary Congress to happen. We thank Our Mother and her Son for the gift of the Flame of Love of her Immaculate Heart and pray that we respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to guide our actions as we embark on our mission to to spread this Love to all.