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Dedicated to Our Lady, Totus2us is giving voice to faith, hope and love from all around the world and focusing particularly on the teachings of Saints Paul VI & John Paul II, Papas Benedict XVI & Francis. In the last 10 years there have been voices from 128 countries on over 40 audio Totus2us podcasts. All free, all with music and on Spotify & iTunes (amongst others), most mp3 episodes fall broadly into three areas: prayer (faith / way), Catholic teaching (hope / truth) and witness (love / life). By dwelling on what is good, true and beautiful, it is hoped Totus2us can help us deepen our faith, with ever greater trust in God.

Some of the feast days in this month:
1st December - Bl Charles de Foucauld   3rd December - St Francis Xavier   4th December - St Clement of Alexandria & St John Damascene   6th December - 2nd Sunday of Advent   7th December - St Ambrose of Milan   8th December - Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary   9th December - St Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin   10th December - Our Lady of Loreto   12th December - Our Lady of Guadalupe   14th December - St John of the Cross   21st December - St Peter Canisius   25th December - Solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord, Christmas Day    26th December - St Stephen (the First Martyr)   27th December - Feast of the Holy Family  

St JPII Catechesis on Advent      

"Advent — as a liturgical time of the ecclesial year — takes us back to the beginnings of Revelation. And precisely at the beginnings we encounter/meet immediately the fundamental link between these two realities: God and man.

Taking in hand the first book of Sacred Scripture, that is, Genesis, we begin by reading the words: "Beresit bara!: In the beginning He created ... " There then follows the name of God, which in this biblical text sounds "Elohim". In the beginning He created, and the one who created is God. These three words constitute as it were the threshold of Revelation. At the beginning of the book of Genesis God is not only defined with the name "Elohim"; other parts of this book also use the name "Yahweh".  The verb "created" speaks even more clearly about/of him. This verb in fact reveals God, who God is. It expresses his substance not so much in itself as par rapport with the world, that is, with all of the creatures subject to the laws of time and space. The circumstantial complement "in the beginning" indicates God as the One who is before this beginning, who is not limited either by time or space, and who "creates", that is, who "gives beginning" to everything that is not God, that which constitutes the visible and invisible world (according to Genesis: the heaven and the earth). In this context the verb "created" says of God firstly that he himself exists, that he is, that he is the fullness of being, that such fullness manifests itself as Omnipotence, and that this Omnipotence is both Wisdom and Love. The first sentence of Sacred Scripture tells us all this about God. In this way the concept of "God" is formed in our intellect, if we refer to the beginnings of Revelation."

Commemoration of all the faithful departed      

BXVI: "Dear friends, the solemnity of All Saints and the Commemoration of all the faithful departed tell us that only the one who can recognize a great hope in death can also live a life starting from hope. If we reduce man exclusively to his horizontal dimension, to that which can be perceived empirically, life itself loses its profound meaning. Man needs eternity and every other hope is too brief, too limited for him. Man is only explainable if there is a Love that overcomes every isolation, even that of death, in a totality that transcends even space and time. Man is explainable, he finds his deepest meaning, only if there is God. And we know that God came out of his distance and made himself close, entered into our life and tells us: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, even if he dies he shall live; whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (Jn 11, 25-26).

Let us for a moment think of the scene of Calvary and let us listen again to the words that Jesus, from the height of the Cross, addresses to the wrongdoer crucified on his right: “In truth, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Lk 23, 43). Let us think of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, when, after having travelled a stretch of the road with the Risen Jesus, they recognize him and without delay leave for Jerusalem to announce the Resurrection of the Lord (cf Lk 24, 13-35). The Master's words come back to mind with renewed clarity: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Have faith in God and have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many rooms; if there were not, I would have told you so; I am going to prepare a place for you” (Jn 14, 1-2). God has truly shown himself, has become accessible, has so loved the world “that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life” (Jn 3, 16), and in the supreme act of love of the Cross, immersing himself in the abyss of death, he has conquered it, he has risen and opened the gates of eternity also to us. Christ sustains us through the night of death which He himself has traversed; he is the Good Shepherd, to whose guidance we can entrust ourselves without any fear, because He knows the road well, even through the darkness."

The Communion of Saints     

Catechesis with Pope Francis: ".. And we come to another aspect: the communion of saints goes beyond earthly life, goes beyond death and lasts for ever. This union among us goes beyond the here and now and continues in the next life; it is a spiritual union that is born of Baptism and is not broken by death, but, thanks to the Risen Christ, is destined to find its fullness in eternal life. There is a deep and indissoluble bond between all those who are still pilgrims in this world — between us — and those who have crossed the threshold of death to enter into eternity. All the baptised here on earth, the souls in Purgatory and all the blessed who are already in Paradise form one big Family. This communion between earth and heaven is realised especially in the prayer of intercession. Dear friends, we have this beauty! This is a reality of ours, of everyone's, that makes us brothers, that accompanies us on the pathway of life and is found by us once again in heaven. Let us go forward on this pathway with trust, with joy. A Christian must be joyful, with the joy of having so many baptised brothers and sisters who walk with him; supported by the help of brothers and sisters who are on the same road towards heaven; and also with the help of brothers and sisters who are in heaven and pray to Jesus for us. Let us go forward on this road with joy!" (30.11.13)

Papa BXVI to the Young People in Malta      

"God loves every one of us with a depth and intensity that we can hardly begin to imagine. And he knows us intimately, he knows all our strengths and all our faults. Because he loves us so much, he wants to purify us of our faults and build up our virtues so that we can have life in abundance. When he challenges us because something in our lives is displeasing to him, he is not rejecting us, but he is asking us to change and become more perfect. That is what he asked of St Paul on the road to Damascus. God rejects no one. And the Church rejects no one. Yet in his great love, God challenges all of us to change and to become more perfect."

God Reveals His Design of Benevolence      
Dio rivela il suo "disegno di benevolenza"      

BXVI: "This “design of benevolence” did not remain, so to speak, in the silence of God, in the heights of his Heaven, but He made it known by entering into relationship with man, to whom He revealed not only something, but His very self. He did not simply communicate a set of truths, but communicated himself to us, all the way to being one of us, to being incarnated. The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council says in the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum: “It pleased God in his goodness and wisdom to reveal his very self [not only something of himself, but he himself] and to make known the mystery of his will, thanks to which men through Christ, the Word made flesh, have access in the Holy Spirit to the Father and are thus rendered participants in the divine nature” (DV, 2). God does not only say something, but He communicates Himself, He attracts us into divine nature in such a way that we are involved in divine nature, divinized. God reveals his great design of love by entering into relationship with man, by coming so close to him as to make Himself man. The Council continues: “The invisible God in his great love speaks to men as to friends (cf Ex 33, 11; Jn 15, 14-15), and lives among them (cf Bar 3, 38) so as to invite and admit them into communion with Himself” (ibid). With only his intelligence and capabilities man could not have reached such a luminous revelation of God’s love; it is God who has opened his Heaven and lowered Himself so as to guide man in the abyss of his love."

Meditation      
La Meditazione      

"She, who “believed” in the announcement of the Angel and made herself instrument so that the eternal Word of the Most High could be incarnated, also welcomed in her heart the wonderful prodigy of the human-divine birth, she meditated on it, she paused in reflection on what God was working in her, so as to welcome the divine will in her life and respond to it. The mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God and of Mary’s motherhood is so great that it requires a process of interiorization, it is not only something physical that God works in her, but is something that demands an interiorization on the part of Mary, who seeks to deepen its intelligence, to interpret its meaning, to understand its aspects and implications. Thus, day after day, in the silence of ordinary life, Mary continued to keep in her heart the successive marvellous events of which she was witness, all the way to the extreme test of the Cross and the glory of the Resurrection. Mary fully lived her existence, her daily duties, her mission as mother, but she knew how to maintain within herself an inner space to reflect on the word and will of God, on what was happening in her, on the mysteries of the life of her Son."

Queen of the Universe      

St JPII: "It can be concluded that the Assumption favours Mary’s full communion not only with Christ, but with each one of us: she is beside us, because her glorious state allows her to follow us on our daily earthly journey. As we read again in St Germanus: "You dwell spiritually with us and the greatness of your vigilance over us makes your communion of life with us stand out" (Hom. 1, PG 98, 344).

Therefore far from creating distance between us and her, Mary’s glorious state brings about a continuous and caring closeness. She knows everything that happens in our existence and she sustains us with maternal love in the trials of life. Assumed into celestial glory, Mary is totally dedicated to the work of salvation so as to communicate to every living person the happiness that has been granted to her. She is a Queen who gives all that she possesses, participating above all in the life and love of Christ."

Medjugorje

Veronica, from London       

"It is the most exceptional thing to be gathered with people from all over the world - they really have come from all over the world - and to be praying together. You get a very remarkable sense of the vigour and faith and unity that allows us to belong to each other because of the Holy Spirit's work in the body of Christ; it's very, very moving. Of course the best and loveliest thing about going to Medjugorje is the realisation that Our Lady knows each of us individually and cares for us in a very powerful and maternal way; and that we can entrust our lives, our needs, our fears, our anxieties and our love to her, and all of this is relayed to Jesus Our Lord in such a perfect way. So my advice would be to anybody who's thinking of going to Medjugorje and who has perhaps thought that they didn't have time or that it wasn't really for them, that they should take this opportunity to say 'well we can't predict how long this miracle will be allowed by God', and not to delay and to go there, and to receive the graces that Our Lady has promised to bestow on all her children."

Christianne, from England      

"I went to Medjugorje several times in the 80s and 90s. After our first visit, my sister and I returned with different people who had expressed a desire to see for themselves the place that Our Lady had chosen for this most special visitation in our time. After our first visit we can back so excited by everything we had felt and witnessed, and I felt that a profound change had taken place within me. Going to Medjugorje most definitely changed my life, deepened my faith. Our Lady touches us in a special way when we make the journey to hear her message. It has been a great blessing, a great challenge, a privilege and most extraordinary blessing to have her messages and presence in our world today."

Mary, Mother of the Church      

Catechesis by St John Paul II: "Thus the title "Mother of the Church" reflects the deep conviction of the Christian faithful, who see in Mary not only the mother of the person of Christ, but also of the faithful. She who is recognized as mother of salvation, life and grace, mother of the saved and mother of the living, is with good reason proclaimed Mother of the Church.

Pope Paul VI would have liked the Second Vatican Council itself to have proclaimed "Mary Mother of the Church, that is, Mother of all the People of God, both of the faithful and the Pastors". He did so himself in his speech at the closing of the Council’s third session (21 Nov 1964), also requesting that "from now on, with this cherished title the Virgin be even more honoured and invoked by all Christian people" (AAS 1964, 37).

In this way, my venerable Predecesser explicitly enunciated the doctrine already contained in chapter VIII of Lumen Gentium, wishing that the title of Mary, Mother of the Church, would acquire an increasingly important place in the liturgy and in the piety of Christian people."

Today's something about Mary

is by Gabriela, from Ecuador      

"I do have great faith in the Virgin Mary because she’s the Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ and she can advocate for us in our greatest need. She’s there with him and she has the power to spread her love and her holy arms just around us with just that - her pure love."

On Sunday 13 October 2013, Pope Francis consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in front of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima in St Peter's Square. In June 1981 (just a month after the assasination attempt on JPII on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima), it was reported the Blessed Virgin Mary first appeared to 6 children in Medjugorje (in what was then communist Yugoslavia), introducing herself to them as the 'Queen of Peace'. The 6 visionaries say she has been appearing every day since.

18th May 2020 = centenary of the birth of St John Paul II. Yippedee-skippedee-doo-dar-day-hurray!
Thanks be to God for the life of Karol Woytyla, Papa San Giovanni Paolo II, JPII, JP2 ♥

Papa St John Paul II in New York  
Central Park, New York, Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary 1995

"I invite you to reflect on what makes each one of you truly marvellous and unique. Only a human being like you can think and speak and share your thoughts in different languages with other human beings all over the world, and through that language express the beauty of art and poetry and music and literature and the theatre, and so many other uniquely human accomplishments.

And most important of all, only God’s precious human beings are capable of loving. Love makes us seek what is good; love makes us better persons. It is love that prompts men and women to marry and form a family, to have children. It is love that prompts others to embrace the religious life or become priests. Love makes you reach out to others in need, whoever they are, wherever they are. Every genuine human love is a reflection of the Love that is God himself, to the point where the First Letter of St John says: "The man without love has known nothing of God; for God is love" (1 Jn 4, 8). .."

In Memory of Me      

Deacon Garrett, who's 25 & from Montana in the US: "The last day of the conference they had eucharistic adoration and there were 4000 college students all in this ballroom on their knees in complete silence and they processed the monstrance in and they placed the Lord on the altar. As soon as they exposed the Blessed Sacrament, my heart jumped, I just broke down. It hit me all of a sudden: that is God on the altar, that is God right in front of me, and I don't deserve to be present here in front of him, I don't deserve anything at all. And it struck my heart that that is the Lord right in front of me and, even in the midst of all my sin (I could name off every sin imaginable that a college student these days would be involved in) He was there to pull me up and it was through His presence in the Eucharist that I was really inspired to continue to pursue my vocation."

Jesus, I trust in you

Divine Mercy Chaplet (English)      sung chaplet  
Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

La Coronilla a la Divina Misericordia (Spanish)     
Padre Eterno, te ofrezco el Cuerpo, Sangre, Alma y Divinidad de tu amadísimo Hijo, Nuestro Señor Jesucristo, como propiciación de nuestros pecados y de los del mundo entero.
Por su dolorosa Pasión, ten misericordia de nosotros y del mundo entero.

Le Chapelet à la Miséricorde Divine (French)   
Père Eternel, je t’offre le Corps et le Sang, l’Ame et la Divinité de ton Fils bien aimé, Notre Seigneur Jésus Christ. En réparation de nos péchés et de ceux du monde entier.
Par sa douloureuse Passion,sois miséricordieux pour nous et pour le monde entier.

La Coroncina della Divina Misericordia (Italian)     
Eterno Padre, Ti offro il Corpo e il Sangue, l'Anima e la Divinità del tuo dilettissimo Figlio e Signore Nostro Gesù Cristo in espiazione dei nostri peccati e quelli del mondo intero.
Per la sua dolorosa Passione abbi misericordia di noi e del mondo intero.

Terço a Divina Misericórdia (Portuguese)    
Eterno Pai, eu Vos ofereço o Corpo e Sangue, Alma e Divindade de Vosso Diletíssimo Filho, Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo, em expiação dos nossos pecados e dos do mundo inteiro.
Pela sua dolorosa Paixão, tende misericórdia de nós e do mundo inteiro.

والاكليل الرحمة الإلهية (Arabic)    Korunka k Božímu Milosrdenství (Czech)    Der Rosenkranz zur Barmherzigkeit Gottes (German)    ΤΟ ΡΟΔΑΡΙΟ ΤΟΥ ΘΕΙΟΥ ΕΛΕΟΥΣ (Greek)    Corona Divinae Misericordiae (Latin)    Koronka do Milosierdzia Bozego (Polish)     Božie Milosrdenstvo (Slovak) 

Papa JPII at JMJ Buenos Aires 1987 Vigil      

"He venido a descansar un poco con vosotros, queridos jóvenes. He venido a escucharos, a conversar con vosotros, a rezar juntos. Quiero repetiros, una vez más – como os dije desde el primer día de mi pontificado – que “sois la esperanza del Papa”, “sois la esperanza de la Iglesia”. ¡Cómo he sentido vuestra presencia y amistad en estos años de mi ministerio universal a la Iglesia! Vuestro cariño y vuestras oraciones no han cesado de apoyarme en el cumplimiento de la misión que he recibido de Cristo."

Man for Others      

Father Vincent Dike, from Nigeria: "So my prayer, my ordination, my priesthood and my vocation I would say came from my mum, who had been praying earnestly, just like St Monica, the mother of St Augustine. But as a person going through the seminary I remember taking a decision after my junior seminary that I wanted to be a priest. This was when I was 19 years old, I was in the senior seminary and I asked God, 'If you know I will be a good priest, please call me to your altar; and if you know I cannot make this, please help me to go and help out my family in any way your want.' And this journey has been amazing. And now 22 years a priest, I'm happy, I'm joyful, I'm enjoying every moment of it."

...

All around the world - our universal Catholic faith

You can listen by country to the witness given, by young people in particular, on Totus2us podcasts. Countries represented so far are: Albania, Angola, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Benin, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkino Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, DR Congo, Congo-Brazaville, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech RepublicDominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, France, the Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, UK, USA, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia & Zimbabwe.

Countries not included above which Saints Paul VI, John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI &/or Pope Francis have visited: Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belize, Botswana, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Curaçao, Denmark, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Fiji Islands, Gabon, Guam, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Iceland, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma), Palestine, Papua-New Guinea, La Réunion, San Marino, Sao Tome & Principe, Solomon Islands, Swaziland, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates & Uruguay.

Our Lady's message through Mirjana Soldo:
Medjugorje, 2 March 2020

"Dear children, your pure and sincere love draws my motherly heart. Your faith and trust in the Heavenly Father are fragrant roses which you offer to me - the most beautiful bouquets of roses which consist of your prayers, acts of mercy and of love. Apostles of my love, you who sincerely and with a pure heart strive to follow my Son, you who sincerely love Him, you help; you be an example to those who have not yet come to know the love of my Son - but, my children, not only with words but also with acts and pure feelings through which you glorify the Heavenly Father. Apostles of my love, it is a time of vigilance, and of you I am asking for love, that you not judge - anyone. Because the Heavenly Father will judge everyone. I am asking that you love, that you convey the truth; because truth is old, it is not new, it is eternal, it is truth. It testifies to God's eternity. Bring the light of my Son and keep breaking the darkness which all the more wants to seize you. Do not be afraid. Through the grace and the love of my Son, I am with you. Thank you."

Totus Tuus, Totus2us   

Totus Tuus - Totally Yours - was St John Paul II's motto, having entrusted his life, his priesthood, his all to Mary. Totus2us is being built with the same intention: to be all Mary's. The play on lettering gives Totus2us a 2nd meaning - Everything2us - as that is what Mary means to us.

This mosaic of the Madonna and Christ Child is on the front of the Apostolic Palace in St Peter's Square (near the Pope's window for the Angelus prayer). Beneath it is John Paul II's coat of arms and his motto, Totus Tuus; and beneath this is written MATER ECCLESIAE - Mother of the Church.

It is a tribute John Paul II wanted to make to Mary for her having saved his life in the assassination attempt on 13th May 1981, the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. Just 6 months later, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, John Paul II blessed the mosaic, a "sign of the heavenly protection of the Sovereign Pontiff, of the Church and of those who are in St Peter's Square."