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Republic of SIERRA LEONE

Here below are responses to Totus2us podcasts given by Sierra Leoneans - many thanks to you all    ♥

To download the free mp3 Totus2us audio recordings individually, right/double click on the play buttons - Pour télécharger les mp3 gratuitement des enregistrements audio de Totus2us individuellement, droit / double-cliquez sur les boutons de lecture.

Prières en français sur Totus2us

Le Chapelet et la Neuvaine à la Miséricorde Divine      
Le Saint Rosaire avec Soeur Hyacinthe Defos du Rau OP      
Chemin de Croix avec les méditations du Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger   

Daisy       

"The reason why I do believe in what I hear is because Mary, being the mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and St Joseph, that Holy Family is an example to families, Christian families, and for me Mary is supreme."

Joseph      

"Our Lady means everything to me. I've been through quite a lot of trials and tribulations but every time I've called on her name and asked her to protect us I know I get the same love and protection as she always gives to her children, as long as you call on her name."

Kelly      

"I like confession because it helps you release all of your sins and you feel like you can trust God more and you can let go of everything and can like begin to settle down. And it just helps you tune into your faith more because you can understand God more and know that He loves you."

 

Olivette      

"When I went to Medjugorje and they asked for 3 rosaries a day, I started doing that. And since then the life with Mary means the life with a mother, a spiritual mother, you can go anywhere with and everywhere, night as well as during the day, and I thank God for Mary."

If you'd like to give your something about Mary,
please do get in touch with the Totus2us team

- as well as hopefully bringing you joy,
you'd be really helping Totus2us   ♥

"Totus tuus ego sum et omnia mea tua sunt.
Accipio te in mea omnia. Praebe mihi cor tuum, Maria."
- St Louis de Montfort

Saint John Paul II took his motto Totus Tuus from this quote.

"I am totally yours and all that I have is yours.
I accept you for my all. O Mary, give me your heart.”

Papa Benedict XVI's Address to the New Ambassador of Sierra Leone
accredited to the Holy See, H.E. Mr Christian Sheka Kargbo
Clementine Hall, Vatican City, Thursday, 18th December 2008 - in English, German, Italian & Portuguese

"Your Excellency,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Vatican and to receive the Letters of Credence that accredit you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Sierra Leone to the Holy See. I thank you for the courteous greetings and sentiments of good will which you have expressed on behalf of His Excellency, Dr Ernest Bai Koroma, President of the Republic. Please convey to him my gratitude and my personal congratulations and good wishes as he guides the country in his capacity as Head of State. I would also ask you kindly to convey my greetings and good wishes to the members of the Government, the civil authorities and to all your fellow citizens.

Mr Ambassador, your country’s return to peace and stability, after many years of conflict, is a great sign of hope for Africa and for the world. Indeed, the recent elections manifested the people’s desire for a lasting peace and a solid democracy. The smooth transition from one government to another speaks well of the country’s political representatives and their desire to serve their constituencies. It is edifying to see how these events have inaugurated a new chapter in your national history after so many destructive years of violence. I join my hopes with those of others as I pray that the nation will continue along the path of building ever stronger democratic institutions, fostering justice and strengthening the common good.

As your people engage in this delicate mission of nation building, all the more arduous since it must be undertaken against the background of a troubled international economic climate, your Government is rightly emphasizing the priority to revive agriculture and industry in accordance with the needs of the population and with due respect for the environment and the well-being of future generations. This kind of sustained development, which fosters proper management of the country’s resources, can only be effectively achieved in today’s globalized economy by concerted cooperation between the private and public sectors, and by open dialogue with other countries and international bodies. If the young people of your country, who are willing to play their part in the progress of the nation, are provided with adequate training and conditions favourable to greater employment opportunities, then the entire nation will benefit. I have no doubt that these initiatives, taken together with the present climate of social stability, will provide an incentive to those wishing to participate in your nation’s economic development. For her part, the Catholic Church is confident that the services she provides in health care, social programmes and education will continue to have an increasingly positive impact on the struggle against disease, poverty and underdevelopment. Indeed she sees her mission, as a task intimately associated with the promotion of integral human development (cf Ecclesia in Africa, 68).

Mr Ambassador, your Government has given priority to the sensitive task of healing the moral fibre of society and is convinced that the eradication of corrupt practices in politics is a key issue in this process. Experience has shown that nations can make steady progress only when the majority of their citizens are properly nourished, well educated and respectful towards others. The Church will continue to cooperate in the promotion of a moral climate of hope for the future. Indeed, she is pleased to contribute to this important task especially in the field of education, where new generations of young people are formed so as to become active and responsible members of society. This mission is all the more successful and fulfilling for all involved when educational institutions, inspired by religious values and principles, can enjoy a sufficient and acceptable degree of institutional autonomy and initiative.

Your Excellency, Sierra Leone is blessed to be free from ethnic or religious conflict. Diversity, in language and customs, represents a richness that must be valued. Moreover religion teaches its adherents to consider others as brothers and sisters who are called together in the great human family to build up a common home in peace and cooperation. The Catholic Church in Sierra Leone will continue to encourage mutual understanding and good will among different ethnic and religious groups by opposing prejudice and supporting cooperation (cf Ecclesia in Africa, 109). By engaging in interreligious dialogue, she is confident that the example of a close, respectful relationship among religious leaders will bring believers to consolidate their attitudes of mutual understanding and peaceful cooperation.

Mr Ambassador, these are some of the reflections that the present situation of Sierra Leone has suggested. I wish you every success in your mission and I invite you to avail yourself of the willing cooperation of the Departments of the Roman Curia. May Almighty God bestow upon Your Excellency, your family and the nation you represent, abundant and lasting blessings of well-being and peace!"

Pope St John Paul II's Address to the Ambassador of Sierra Leone
accredited to the Holy See on the occasion of the presentation of Credentials
Friday, 13th December 2002 - in English, French & Portuguese

"Your Excellency,
I extend a warm welcome to you as I accept the Letters of Credence appointing you Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Sierra Leone to the Holy See. Grateful for the greetings which you bring from President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and the Government, I gladly offer my own good wishes to the authorities and people of your country and — mindful of the great hardships which the population is enduring due to years of conflict — I ask you to assure the nation of my prayers.

In the past century, tremendous progress has been made in the social, economic and scientific spheres. During this same period, however, humanity has also witnessed the violence, destruction and death that ensue when peoples and nations have recourse to arms rather than to dialogue, when war is chosen over the often more difficult path of mutual understanding and respect. And more sadly still, the beginning of this new millennium has been scarred by further terrible violence in the form of international terrorism. Thus, despite the many cultural and technological advances that have been made in the past hundred years, there remain important areas which have seen little improvement or which have even grown worse.

In situations where tensions and conflict arise within a country or between nations, the proper response is never violence and bloodshed but dialogue, with a view to the peaceful resolution of the crisis. Authentic dialogue presupposes an honest search for what is true, good and just for every person, every group and every society; it is a sincere effort to identify what people have in common despite tension, opposition and conflict: this in fact is the only sure path leading to true peace and genuine progress. Furthermore, authentic dialogue helps the peoples and nations of the earth to recognize their mutual interdependence in the economic, political and cultural spheres. Precisely in our modern day, which is all too familiar with the latest technologies of death and destruction, there is an urgent need to build a consistent culture of peace that will help to forestall and counter the seemingly inevitable outbreaks of armed violence. This includes taking concrete steps to put an end to trafficking in arms.

Here, the duty of governments and of the international community remains essential, for it belongs to them to contribute to the establishment of peace through solid structures that, despite the uncertainties of politics, will guarantee freedom and security to all people in every circumstance.

The United Nations itself has been taking on a role of ever greater responsibility for maintaining or restoring peace in areas besieged by war and conflict. In your own country the U.N. has just extended the mandate of its peace-keeping mission: thus, the international community is itself a partner with your Government in its efforts to reintegrate ex-combatants, to facilitate the return of refugees and displaced persons, to ensure the full respect of human rights and the rule of law, with special protection afforded to women and children. In this context I cannot fail to express my immense satisfaction that after years of armed conflict, suffering and death, civil stability is returning to Sierra Leone, bringing positive prospects for the normalization of national life: may your country continue along this path with courage and perseverance.

The Catholic Church too lends her full support to activities aimed at restoring peace and bringing about reconciliation. Indeed, her Divine Founder has entrusted to her a religious and humanitarian mission, different than that of the political community, but open nonetheless to many forms of cooperation and mutual support. It is this mission which underlies the Holy See’s presence in the international community, a presence directed solely to the good of the human family: promoting peace, defending human dignity and human rights, working for the integral development of peoples.

This is a duty which derives necessarily from the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and is a responsibility shared by all Christians. For this reason, the Church will continue to be a committed partner with your country as Sierra Leone continues along the path of political, social and economic development.

Mr Ambassador, I am confident that your mission to the Holy See will strengthen the bonds of understanding and friendship between us. You can be assured that the various offices of the Roman Curia will always be ready to assist you in the discharge of your high duties. Upon yourself and the beloved people of Sierra Leone I cordially invoke the abundant blessings of Almighty God."

Copyright - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Blessed John Paul II's Address to the Bishops of the Interterritorial Episcopal Conference of The Gambia, Liberia & Sierra Leone
on their Ad Limina visit - Thursday, 8th January 1987 - in English

"Dear Brothers in our Lord Jesus Christ,

1. I am pleased to welcome you, the Bishops of the Interterritorial Episcopal Conference of The Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Our meeting today calls to mind in a special way the collegial communion that we are privileged to share. It was the Lord’s will that St Peter and the other Apostles should form an apostolic college. We are gathered here as their successors while sharing the bonds of unity, charity and peace (cf Lumen Gentium, 22).

This is your second ad limina visit since the formation of your joint Conference. I wish to thank you for the kind greetings and for the assurance of prayers which you have expressed to me on behalf of the clergy, religious and laity of your three countries. Each of you represents in a special way your local Church, and I wish to reciprocate by offering through you my cordial greetings to all the People of God entrusted to your pastoral care. "May our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word" (cf 2 Thes 2,16).

2. During the years since your last visit, your young Churches have experienced continued growth and development. The Apostolic Vicariates of Monrovia and Cape Palmas have been erected as an Archdiocese and a Diocese respectively, and just recently the new Diocese of Gbarnga has been established. These three new dioceses bring to seven the total number which constitute your Conference.

It was my privilege to ordain two of your brothers to the Order of Bishop on the Solemnity of the Lord’s Epiphany. These episcopal ordinations here in Rome near the Tomb of the Apostle Peter, surrounded by brother Bishops not only from West Africa but also from other countries, serve to strengthen and manifest clearly universal communion of the Episcopal College. May you both - Bishop Sekey of the new Diocese of Gbarnga and Bishop Biguzzi of the Diocese of Makeni - find great joy and peace in Christ as you dedicate yourselves to work in close collaboration with your brother Bishops. Always remember that as Pastors of your local Churches you are entrusted with this charge by Christ the Lord. He summons you to feed the faithful in word and sacrament, exercising in their midst the role of the Good Shepherd, who came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (cf Mat 20,28).

3. It is my fervent prayer that you will renew yet again your efforts in the great task of evangelization which is the essential mission of the Church. I praise the many courageous initiatives that you have already undertaken for spreading the Gospel. And I take this opportunity to repeat the words of Pope Paul VI in his Apostolic Exhortation on Evangelization in the Modern World: Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize, that is to say in order to preach and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God and to perpetuate Christ’s sacrifice in the Mass, which is the memorial of his Death and glorious Resurrection" (cf Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14).

There are considerable difficulties that you must face in proclaiming the Good News of salvation to the many who have not yet heard of Christ. You are called upon to bear witness to him daily in a multireligious society where the majority of the population is Muslim and where many others are adherents of traditional African religions. The truth of our faith that the plan of salvation in some way includes all those who acknowledge the Creator certainly offers us a basis for dialogue and peaceful coexistence with non-Christian believers.

The teaching of the of the Second Vatican Council in its Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to non-Christians encourages all Christians and Muslims to overcome the difficulties of the past and "to strive sincerely for mutual understanding. On behalf of all mankind let them make common cause of safeguarding and fostering social justice, moral values, peace and freedom" (cf Nostra Aetate).

In your particular countries of West Africa, the Gospel must be spread above all by the witness of an exemplary Christian life. Such a witness is already an initial act of evangelization, though it must be added that personal Christian witness in the ordinary events of daily life needs to be accompanied by the public proclamation of the Kingdom of God and the person of Jesus Christ our Saviour. For at the centre of all the Church’s attempts at evangelization is the clear message of eternal life offered to all people in Christ as a free gift of God’s grace and mercy.

4. In the areas of education and health care your local Churches are making a noteworthy contribution towards the work of evangelization. I am told that the Catholic schools in your countries enjoy the reputation of being among the best, especially on the secondary level. At the same time I know that the Church’s role in health care is greatly esteemed by your Governments and by the general population. We can see clearly that in these two sectors of loving dedication the members of your local Churches are exerting an influence far beyond their limited numbers, thus enabling the Christian way of life to be better known and accepted.

The Church’s presence in the spheres of health care and education is primarily carried out by the members of the various Religious Institutes. I know that you willingly join me in expressing thanks to Almighty God for all the men and women Religious who for many years have laboured despite great difficulties to plant the Church in your particular region. By a truly evangelical life they have given witness to the Lord and borne abundant fruit. I likewise praise and thank God for the dedication of the local clergy, who are gradually growing in numbers.

5. It is with special satisfaction that I have learned of the ever-increasing role that the laity of your three countries is assuming in the Church’s activities. The laity’s particular vocation is to act as a leaven in the midst of the world and thus to exercise a vital role in the great work of evangelization. Their specific field of spreading the Gospel includes professional work, and, in the case of the married, their role as parents entrusts them with the primary responsibility for the Christian education of their children (cf Gravissimum Educationis, 3).

Your Conference has placed great emphasis on the formation of the laity, particularly through the establishment of national and diocesan pastoral centres for their education and for the formation of catechists. The close cooperation of these centres with the Interterritorial Pastoral and Social Development Centre in Kenema, Sierra Leone, is making an important contribution not only to your own Conference but to the work of the whole Church in Africa.

Your praiseworthy initiative in the erecting of these pastoral centres gives a clear response to the appeal of the Second Vatican Council: "There should, then, be an increase in the number of schools, both on the diocesan and on the regional levels, in which future catechists can study Catholic doctrine, especially in the fields of Scripture and the liturgy, as well as catechetical method and pastoral practice. Let there be more schools in which they can develop Christian habits in themselves and can devote themselves tirelessly to cultivating piety and sanctity of life" (cf Ad Gentes, 17).

6. In the ecclesial structure of your local communities, lay catechists play a fundamental role by dedicating their lives to the education of both children and adults in the Christian faith. The growth of these communities is in a large measure the result of their labours. At the same time there exists a need to clarify the specific role of lay catechists and their place in the Church’s mission of evangelization. Great care should be given to their formation as teachers of the faith and witnesses to the Gospel.

With regard to their role in the whole process of evangelization, I wish to reiterate "that there is no separation or opposition between catechesis and evangelization. Nor can they be simply identified with each other. Instead, they have close links whereby they integrate and complement each other." In a word, catechesis is one of the essential moments of evangelization and can be defined as "an education of children, young people and adults in the faith, which includes especially the teaching of Christian doctrine imparted, generally speaking, in an organic and systematic way, with a view to initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life" (cf Ioannis Pauli PP II , Catechesi Tradendae, 18).

7. One of the primary means of catechesis suggested by the Second Vatican Council and adopted in your Dioceses is the catechumenate. As the Council says: "the catechumenate is not a mere expounding of doctrines and precepts, but a training period for the whole Christian life. It is an apprenticeship of appropriate length during which disciples are joined to Christ their Teacher. Therefore, catechumens should be properly instructed in the mystery of salvation and in the practice of gospel morality". ( cf Ad Gentes, 14 ) Given the importance of the catechumenate as an apprenticeship in Christian life, it is clearly necessary to insist on a period of appropriate duration for this intensive baptismal preparation. The radical newness of Christian life is to be emphasized throughout the period of the catechumenate.

8. It is with much hope for the future of your Dioceses that I refer to St Paul’s Major Seminary and your other four minor seminaries. I note that St Paul’s Seminary serves in the preparation of candidates for the priesthood not only from the seven Dioceses of your Episcopal Conference but also from some of the Dioceses of Ghana. The growing number of seminarians, representing different ethnic groups, and many of them coming from non-Christian families, is a source of great promise.

I know that you face great difficulties in supporting financially and in staffing your major seminary and the minor seminaries. I encourage you in your efforts to obtain qualified professors for the theological education and spiritual formation of your students. Be assured of my prayers in this overall endeavour of priestly formation, so essential to the future of the Church in your countries. May you always be true fathers in Christ to each of your seminarians (cf Optatam Totius, 5).

9. In union with you, my dear Brothers, I continue my own mission as the Chief Pastor of the universal Church. As we serve the Gospel, let us recall that it is "primarily by her conduct and by her life that the Church will evangelize the world, in other words, by her living witness of fidelity to the Lord Jesus - the witness of poverty and detachment, of freedom in the face of the powers of this world, in short, the witness of sanctity" (cf Pauli VI , Evangelii Nuntiandi, 41).

I take this occasion of your ad limina visit to commend you once again to Mary, the Queen of the Apostles, asking her to help you by her prayers. In the love of Jesus her Son I impart my Apostolic Blessing to you and all those entrusted to your pastoral care."

© Copyright 1987 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana