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Word on the Street

Young people have been telling the Totus2us team their favourite bit in the Bible and why they like it, giving us the Word on the Street.

And their words have been put to great music, so far by Baliva, Crossbeam, Emmaus, E Tizz, Jahaziel, Louise Orfila, Olen Cesari , Ooberfuse, Paul Jisung Kim and Rain Down - with many thanks to y'all for the gift of your music.

You can subscribe to this Totus2us podcast here on iTunes or here on the RSS web feed. Plus, you can download the free mp3 audio recordings individually by right /double clicking on the blue play buttons.

17 - Word on the Street with Helen, Br Felice CFR & Joel       
Music - Olen Cesari's Anema E Core 

Helen, 20 & from EnglandPhilippians 4: 13 - I can do all things in Him who gives me strength. - "This is an amazing verse and it always gives me encouragement. Whenever I feel like everything's on top of me, whether it's a huge thing or a little thing, I know that I can just turn to God, and his strength working in me, if I say 'God, I need your help' or 'I just can't do this', then I know that God will be there every time."
Br Felice, from Australia - John 15 - Abide in me and I in you. - "For the reason that it's a call to be united with Jesus; that he comes to live in our hearts, that Christ lives in our souls and He asks us to come and live in him." 
Joel, 21 & from England - Psalm 90 - He who dwells in the shelter of the most High and abides in the shade of the Almighty says to the Lord 'My refuge, my stronghold, my God in whom I trust.' - "I first heard that when I stayed at a monastery and they sang it for night prayer and it has just stayed with me since. The idea of God in whom I can trust who is with me, my refuge in times that are troubled is something I try to remember .. It is something that gives me strength."

16 - Word on the Street with Monika, Lisa & Maria-Anna       
Music - Paul J. Kim's Man Fully Alive

Monika, 23 & from GermanyEcclesiastes 3: 11 - Finally I considered the task God gave to the humans: he made everything fitting in its time, but he also set eternity in their hearts, although man is not able to embrace the work of God from the beginning to the end. - "This passage is really a calling to trust in God and in His plan for us; and also to humble ourselves in recognising that He is the creator and we the creation, and that we cannot always know or understand His will. But trying to follow His plan makes us free from sin and from the false ideologies of our time, as well as freeing us from the desire to be our own god, but opens our selves to His love for us and to receive His Spirit in order to build His community here on earth."
Lisa, 30 & from England - the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew - The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham .. - "For me it’s a huge reminder that nothing prevents God's will and that nothing in our past goes to waste in God's plan to bring us into eternity with Him. .. It reminds me that I can't use the sins of my past as an obstacle to God, because through His Mercy, He loves me as I am."
Maria-Anna, 23 & from Portugal - "In the Bible I find Christ Himself alive, speaking directly to my heart. I think that it's easy to look at the Bible just as an old book with beautiful words and really wise advice, which it is, but it's really more than that. It is a personal encounter with God and through that, it's also really an encounter with myself. I've had very concrete experiences of this in my life, in a particular moment of crucial decisions, the Word of God in the Bible was really the only light pointing at the truth, of the truth of who I am and who I was created to be, and it was really important in making the right decisions. And in my daily life I can see God working in me through His words, because it is Christ Himself present and showing me His love and the right decisions to take."

15 - Word on the Street with Viktorija, Tomas & Adrian       
Music - Cherrie Anderson's Faith in You

Viktorija, 27 & from LithuaniaIsaiah 41: 13 - For I am the Lord your God, who grasped your right hand. It is I who say to you, "Fear not. I will help you." - "This scripture is very powerful for me personally. When you go through difficult circumstances in life and you open your Bible and you read the scripture and you know that the Lord your God is with you, you know that he will never leave you or forsake you. It is encouraging for me to know it personally, it's like a father saying to you, 'Don't be afraid, I am with you, I will help you.'"
Tomas, from Spain - the Wedding Feast at Cana - John 2: 1-11 - When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” - "This is my favourite passage because it's a party and it shows how this really works: Maria asks something to Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ did it. So many times I ask things to Maria, just thinking about the Cana wedding and how Maria convinces Jesus to do things." 
Adrian, 22 & from England - Ephesians 3: 17 - that Christ may dwell, through faith, in your hearts, being rooted and founded in love .. - "It has recently struck me that in my day to day life, to be founded and rooted means to be really connected with God in the day to day things, and to do everything that I can, every action, every thought and word with love, and to keep that connection with God through prayer, through the Sacraments."

14 - Word on the Street with Andrea, Bruno & Martha       
Music - Jahaziel's Jesus

Andrea, from Jamaica - John 10: 10 - I have come so that you may have life and have it to the full. - "This is what our identity is, this is what we are made for - living life to the full and all that entails. Being in relation with our Creator who has created me for Him, because He wants me to live life and live it to the full; to live in joy, to live in hope. It gives me so much joy when I read that reading because it grounds me to who I am really."
Bruno, 26 & ;from France - the parable of the rich young man - Matthew 19: 16-26 - Jesus said to him, "If you wilt be perfect, go and sell all that you have and give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven: and then come, follow me. - "It is part of my vocational story - when I heard this passage I just felt I don't want to become sad and I want a happy life so I probably have to follow Jesus and become a priest."
Martha, 19 & from London - Psalm 23 - The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. - "I absolutely love it because when you really look at the words it's really relevant to our everyday life because the Lord is our shepherd and He takes us through valleys of death but He takes us through them, we don't sit in them, we walk straight through them, He walks by our side, and his rod and his staff are there to comfort us throughout everything we go through. And the Bible is absolutely amazing and I recommend everyone to try it out - the Bible isn't only just something to read and let it sit there, but you've got to take it into action and apply it to your life. The Bible is also God's way of talking to us, it's God's promise, God speaks to us through the Bible and God is the one person who will never lie, and He always keeps His promises and He promises a lot in the Bible, so I recommend you all check it out."

13 - Word on the Street with Rachel, Louise & Lawrence       
Music - Louise Orfila's Learn to Love

Rachel, 23 & from England - Colossians 5: 16 - Let the message of Christ in all its richness find a home with you, teach each other and advise each other in all wisdom. - "It really talks about living out the message of Christ in your life just by the way in which you conduct yourself and I think it's a really inspiring verse and is simple and sits easy with people."
Louise, 16 & from England - Luke 22: 40-42 - Then Jesus withdrew from them, about a stone's throw away, and knelt down and prayed. "Father," he said "if you are willing, take this cup away from me.  Nevertheless, let your will be done, not mine." Then an angel appeared to him, coming from heaven to give him strength. - "The prayer that Jesus says in the Garden of Gethsemane makes the whole crucifixion and resurrection so much more amazing and the whole concept of grace is so much bigger."
Lawrence, 23 & from the UK - Ezekiel 47 - Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows there will be large numbers of fish because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh so where the river flows everything will live. - "I love this passage because it is one of the most extraordinary literary passages ever written. For a start I think it is immensely powerful but also it describes what happens when the Holy Spirit comes: the river flows from the altar at the temple, so it is something that comes out of the place of sacrifice. I think of that as being prophetic of the death of Jesus and what comes out of that .. it brings immense hope."

12 - Word on the Street with Joe, Jane & Frederick       
Music - Baliva's Thank You

Joe, 20 & from England - Philippians 2: 5-8 - Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! - "It gives me hope for about how I should behave because if Christ can humble himself to die for me, even before I was born, he was there on the Cross loving me and doing it willingly, I can pick up my cross each day and help people in my life and bite my tongue occasionally, when need be."
Jane, 29 & from London - 1 Peter 5, 7 - Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. - "For some reason this verse has stayed with me. It was a very anxious time and a very hard time to go through but I really felt God comforting me in this verse and helping me."
Frederick, 26 & from the UK - Ephesians 2: 22 - For we are being built into a house where God lives in the Spirit. - "This verse showed me that, in terms of the works of Holy Spirit, in terms of understanding what is being done to us, and the way in which the Holy Spirit is working on the soul, it showed me how, what I must do in terms of being docile to the Holy Spirit, but also what the Holy Spirit is actually doing for us and for the Church, building us all into this house where God lives in the Spirit. And this is what we have to be docile to, we have to accept."

11 - Word on the Street with Marcelo, Pippa & Edwin       
Music - E Tizz's Loving You Remix

Marcelo, 32 & from Argentina - Matthew 5: 8 - Blessed are the pure in heart because they will see God. - "Because it's true."
Pippa, 20 & from England - Psalm 139 - Yahweh, you examine me and know me. You know when I sit, when I rise. You understand my thoughts from afar.. You created my inmost self, knit me together in my mother's womb. - "When I feel lost and when I don't know who I am and where I am going, it reassures me that the Lord knows me intricately and he loves every single part of me and he will lead me in the right direction."
Edwin, 25 & from England - Isaiah 46 - From the beginning I foretold the future and predicted beforehand what is to be. I say 'My purpose shall last, I will do whatever I choose. No sooner is it said than done, no sooner planned than performed. Listen to me, faint hearts, who feel far from victory, I bring my victory near, already it is close. My salvation will not be late. - "It reminds me that everything that happens in my life is part of a plan that God has given me and that His victory is near at hand. So when my heart is faint, I know that he is bringing his victory near to me."

10 - Word on the Street with Will, Lissette & Emily       
Music - Ooberfüse's Hidden Light

Will, 18 & from England - John 15 - There is no greater love than for a man to lay down his life for his friends - "The fact that Jesus did it for me and he laid down his life for me and gave up everything for me."
Lissette, 24 & from the USA - John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word; and the Word was with God and the Word was God. - "It is about Jesus our Saviour being made incarnate, coming for our salvation and it proves and supports the Trinity, and just God's will for our salvation, and it demonstrates God's love for us."
Emily, 19 & from England - Romans 5 - Let us exult too in our hardships, understanding that hardships develop perseverance and perseverance develops a tested character, something that gives us hope and a hope which will not let us down because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which has been given to us. - "It encourages me in times of suffering that God will be with me and He's given me the Holy Spirit which will lead me to hope."

9 - Word on the Street with Ramón, Patrick & Alice       
Music - Rain Down's
Feel It In The Way

Ramón, 26 & from Spain - Mark 10: 46-52 (Blind man asks Jesus to have pity on him) - "I like the audacity, the eagerness of this man who stops Jesus and asks openly what he wants."
Patrick, who's 'Swish' (half Swiss, half Irish) - 
Luke 15:11-32 -The Parable of the Prodigal Son - "It's a beautiful story about coming back to God."
Alice, from France - Psalm 46 - Be still and know that I am the Lord - "I think there is so much truth in it and if we only stop and listen, God will speak to us."

8 - Word on the Street with Tom, Br Christopher & Cristobel       
Music - Crossbeam's
Miracle Baby

Tom, 23 & from England - Jeremiah 1: 4-10 - You have seduced me Lord and I have been seduced - "It's not like a sexual seduction but Our Lord comes into our lives and He takes over, and He becomes our complete everything, he becomes our God, our lover, our friend.   And so it's the totality of God's seduction, not in a deceptive kind of way, but in a completely loving, completely honest way and so it leads us to love God with our whole being."
Brother Christopher CFR from England - Psalm 61 - My soul finds rest in God alone - "It's truly where our souls find their rest. And having looked for rest in many different places beforehand and tried to find peace for my soul in many different places and not found rest,  when I discovered that truth that my soul is at rest in God, then it became my favourite verse and was a source of great consolation many times. Praise be Jesus Christ now and forever."
Cristobel, 28 & from Kenya - Romans 8: 28 - If God is for us, who can be against us - "God is for us all, whether young or old.. So as a youth, we should encourage each other, so that they can know that God is for us all."

7 - Word on the Street with Tunde, Janet & Steven       
Music - Emmaus's Voice in the Silence

Tunde, 35 & from London - Book of Exodus (Parting of the Red Sea) - "I always read that passage when I'm going through something difficult because I think it has quite a deep symbolic message about having faith, even when you don't see a way, God can part the Red Sea for you."
Janet, from London - Luke Ch 5 (where Christ encourages the disciples to put out their nets to catch some fish) - "When I read this passage initially it was really the Holy Spirit prompting me in my heart to put out into the deep, to really reach out to other people in the secular world who don't know Christ. It was really a prompting by the Holy Spirit to encourage me to evangelize and spread the Good News and not be afraid, because if the Holy Spirit is working through me I've got nothing to fear."
Steven, 29 & from Glasgow, Scotland - John 3: 14 - I am the way, the truth and the life. - "Because Jesus is."

6 - Word on the Street with Leonard, Naomie & Alan       
Music - Rain Down's
Feel It In The Way

Leonard, from Nigeria - Psalm 91 - You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadows of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, 'My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.' - "It's my favourite passage because to me it represents hope."
Naomie, 28 & from the UK Psalm 103 - As far is the east is from the west, so far has He removed your sins - "I guess that's fairly self-explanatory, because I really really need to hear that quite a lot and it is always very, very comforting when I do."
Alan, 28 & from the UK - The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) - "It was one of the first things I heard in the Church, in the Mass, when I came back after many years away.. Although it is very familiar, it offers something very different every time I read or meditate on it."

5 - Word on the Street with Becky, Br Benedict Joseph & Marie-Clare       
Music - Crossbeam's
Miracle Baby

Becky, from the UK - Wisdom 1:1 - Love uprightness you who are rulers on earth, be properly disposed towards the Lord and seek Him with simplicity of heart. - "I think it really gets to the heart of Christianity - in order to properly follow Christ, you have to love him and seek him and actually nothing else matters."
Brother Benedict Joseph CFR, from the UK - Proverbs 3: 5 - Trust in the Lord with all your strength and lean not on your own understanding - "Because I want to give my whole heart to the Lord and not lean on my own weak humanity. So give praise to the Lord at all times."
Marie-Clare, from the UK - Luke 14: 11 - For everyone who raises himself up will be humbled and the one who humbles himself will be raised up - "For me this is really powerful as it shows that everybody, even the little things that they do, will be appreciated by God. Not necessarily in this life but in heaven, if they do it for God then they will receive God's love in the end."

4 - Word on the Street with Dan, Teresa & Kieran       
Music - Emmaus's
Voice in the Silence

Dan, 21 & from America - The Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (eg Luke 22: 39-46) - "I feel a very close connection to Jesus in those moments because I feel him suffering with me and I imagine him feeling the sort of difficulties that we feel and knowing that he does that out of love for me gives me a great joy."
Teresa, 27 & from England - Psalm 139 v6 - I can never be lost to your Spirit, I can never get away from my God; If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there; if I ride the morning winds to the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, your strength will support me. - "I tend to feel very insignificant to God and for me this illustrates that I am never far away from God's thoughts; at every single step, I am very, very important to Him."
Kieran, from England - The Gerasene Demoniac, Mark 5 v 18 - Jesus said to him 'Go home to your people and tell them all that the Lord in His mercy has done for you'. So the man went off and proceeded to spread throughout the Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed. - 'In times when I'm on a spiritual high and I feel very close to Jesus, I know that I will have to leave him, if it's in the presence of the Holy Eucharist, to go out and evangelise and tell people who do not have that faith, the beauty and majesty of Our Lord Jesus Christ."

3 - Word on the Street with Matt, Will, Theresa & Phil       
Music - Rain Down's Feel It In The Way

Matt, 18 & from Wales - Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me - "I find this such a brilliant phrase because it's so applicable to every day life, I can be going about my daily tasks and remind myself of this line and instantly Christ is brought back into my life and I'm with him again, even in the basic things of normal life."
Will, 25 & from England - Romans 13:11-14 - You know the time is near, the moment is here, for you to stop sleeping and to wake up, for by now our salvation is nearer than when we first began to believe, so throw off all the works of darkness and put on the armour of light. - "It hit me like a ton of bricks when I first heard it, when I was being quite slack in my prayer life, and it prompted me to keep praying and being devoted to God, and it still does."
Theresa, from England - Colossians 3: 23-24 - Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as though working for the Lord and not for men, since you know you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. - "This inspires me to be motivated in my work; I work as a nurse and it helps me to see Jesus in the patients that I serve."
Phil, 20 & from England - Matthew 16:18 - I shall call you Peter and you are the rock on which I shall build the Church - "It reflects the redeeming love, the grace that God gives mankind and it reflects His faith in our humanity."

2 - Word on the Street with Paul, Lydia & Bernadette       
Music - Crossbeam's Miracle Baby

Paul, from New Zealand - Philippians 3:8 - I will go further because of the supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. - "Nothing compares to Christ - I can go on searching the world, go to the highest mountain, to the lowest sea earning so much money but nothing compares to having Christ as my Lord Jesus Saviour."
Lydia, from England - Matthew 13 44-45 - The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field…- "It's amazing when you do come across the kingdom of heaven and sometimes you do have to go and sell everything you own in order to be ready to receive that pearl."
Bernadette, from England - Matthew 5:10-12 - Blessed are you when people persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you on my account; rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven - "This sums up quite a lot of your life because there are loads of times when people do persecute you… and it really reminds you not to take it to heart but just to believe in what you know is true."

1 - Word on the Street with Laura, Daniel & Vincent       
Music - Emmaus's Voice in the Silence

Laura, from the USA - 1 John 4:16 - God is Love and he who abides in God abides in love and God abides in him - "It reminds me to address all those around me with love and compassion just as Christ would."
Daniel, from London - Psalm 139 - Lord you examine me and you know me - "It tells me that whatever I'm feeling, whatever I 'm thinking, even if I'm finding it difficult to pray, God knows what's going on inside me, He knows what my desires are deep down, and he knows what I'm seeking for and he knows what path I should follow and what's the right path for me even if I don't always know it."
Vincent, from Kenya - The Book of Habakkuk "It's encouraging for me because a lot of times so many things seem to be going wrong in the world and we think God is not aware of what is happening and we try to blame him for so many things but in fact everything is under control as far as God is concerned."