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SRI LANKA - இலங்கை

Pope St Paul VI was a pilgrim in 1970 to Sri Lanka. Pope St John Paul II followed in his footsteps in 1995, beatifying Indian born Father Joseph Vaz. Pope Francis visited Sri Lanka in January 2015, when he canonized Blessed Joseph Vaz.

JPII: "Dear brothers and sisters, priests, friends, my heart is filled with gratitude to God for all the beauty of this wonderful island and for its marvellous people. I am grateful to all of you for the unique welcome you gave me, for this splendid ceremony of beatification so deeply marked by the signs of your culture, by the dignity which distinguishes you as people. May blessed Joseph Vaz watch over you, over your families. May he intercede for the peace and harmony which you all desire and pray for. May Almighty God abundantly bless Sri Lanka." (1995)

Here below are responses to Totus2us podcasts given by Sri Lankans
- many thanks to you all ♥

To download the free mp3 Totus2us audio recordings individually, right / double click on the play buttons - நாடகம் பொத்தான்கள் தனித்தனியாக இலவச MP3 ஆடியோ பதிவுகள் பதிவிறக்க, வலது / இரட்டை கிளிக்.

Alan      

"Mother Mary is Mother of all of us and we love her."

Dulan      

"Mary is the person I pray to when I feel like I need love in my life and  when I need some intercession in my life. I feel like she's the channel between me and God in love, and she always is like a mother to me and I have a great devotion to her."

Dulan reflects on the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist      

"Adoration is the presence of God, you feel the presence of God when you're in adoration. It's one of the most wonderful things you can do - to experience God in his whole power and his presence, in the peace it brings you. I absolutely love doing adoration."

Easterine      

"Mary always protects my family."

Fernando & Malane      

"Our Lady is actually a spiritual guidance for me."

Fernando and Malane are husband & wife: Fernando gives his something about Mary in English, Malane in Sinhala.

Inoka      

"I trust in Jesus Christ and Mother Mary. I pray to them and every time they do good for me."

John      

"Our Lady is the mother of Jesus Christ and she shows the way how I should accept the will of God and to be obedient to His guidance."

John gives his something about Mary in English & Tamil.

Sister Joyce      

"I love Our Lady. She went from the birth of Jesus to the Cross, she went and she did not understand everything that Jesus was telling her (it was very difficult to understand). And with faith she went till the Cross and she stood very courageously. So I know that she will walk with us in our life, till the end of our life."

Lourdes       

"My country is very devoted to Our Lady and I love Our Lady very much. She is my mother and my friend and my confidante. Amen."

Maria       

"I really love Mary, the mother of Jesus."

Marriline       

"Hail Mary is the cause of my joy and I wish I will be with her all eternity."

Rita      

"Mother Mary is our mother, Mother Mary is our helper and our intercessor. So any difficult time, always I pray to my Mother, she is always helping me. I keep faith in her always."

Rita gives her something about Mary in English & Sinhalese.

Rushika       

"The most powerful experience I have of Our Lady is when my grandmother passed away and we were keeping vigil all night reciting the Hail Mary, and it just touched so many people. We kept my grandmother in prayer and it just kept us so strong. Mary is a strong and powerful and graceful woman, that I think every woman can aspire to be like. And that kept us going for 24 hours, throughout the night, and it was the most beautiful experience. Even in the sadness, we had that light of Our Lady shining."

Salinger       

"Our Lady has done wonderful things for me." 

Srikhanthie       

"Our Lady guides all of us in this life. I look up to Our Lady like a mother."

Sundari       

"Our Lady is a very grateful lady."

Suranganee      

"Our Lady to me is my mother, my heavenly mother."

Visitation      

"Mary for me primarily is the Mother of God and she is a big part of my life and my faith journey, because she's been very crucial in bringing me closer to God through praying to her through the rosary and also she is such a role model in the fact that she willingly said yes to everything that God ever wanted of her."

Winifred       

"I pray everything, anywhere I want, I pray to Our Lady."

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 Marie de Montfort

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

"I am all yours and all that I have is yours.
I accept you for my all. Mary, give me your heart.” - St Louis Mary de Montfort

Pope Francis's reflection on his pilgrimage to Sri Lanka
General Audience, Wednesday 21 January 2015 - in Arabic, Croatian, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese & Spanish

"Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning.
Today I will focus on the Apostolic Journey to Sri Lanka and the Philippines, which I made last week. After my visit to Korea a few months ago, I again returned to Asia, that continent rich in cultural and spiritual traditions. The Journey was above all a joyful encounter with the ecclesial communities which, in those countries, bear witness to Christ: I confirmed them in their faith and missionary spirit. I will forever carry in my heart the memory of the festive welcome from the crowds — in some cases the size of an ocean — which accompanied those salient moments of the Journey. Furthermore, I encouraged interreligious dialogue at the service of peace, as well as the journey of those peoples towards unity and social development, especially with families and young people playing a prominent role.

The culminating moment of my stay in Sri Lanka was the canonization of the great missionary Joseph Vaz. This holy priest administered the Sacraments, often in secret, to the faithful, but he helped all those in need from every religion and social condition, without distinction. His example of holiness and love for neighbour continues to inspire the Church in Sri Lanka in her apostolate of charity and education. I pointed to St Joseph Vaz as a model for all Christians, called today to offer the saving truth of the Gospel in a multireligious context, with respect for others, with perseverance and with humility.

Sri Lanka is a country of great natural beauty, whose people are seeking to rebuild unity after a long and dramatic civil conflict. In my meeting with Government Authorities I stressed the importance of dialogue, respect for human dignity, the need to involve everyone in order to find appropriate solutions to further reconciliation and the common good.

The different religions have a crucial role to play in this regard. My encounter with religious leaders was a confirmation of the good relations that already exist between the various communities. In this context, I wanted to encourage the cooperation already undertaken by the followers of different religious traditions, in order to also heal, with the balm of forgiveness, those who are still afflicted by the suffering of the last years. The theme of reconciliation also marked my visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu, deeply venerated by the Tamil and Sinhalese peoples and a centre of pilgrimage for members of other religions. In that holy place we asked Mary, our Mother, to obtain for all the people of Sri Lanka the gift of unity and peace.

From Sri Lanka I flew to the Philippines, where the Church is preparing to celebrate the fifth centenary of the Gospel’s arrival. It is the foremost Catholic country in Asia, and the Filipino people are well known for their deep faith, their religiosity and enthusiasm, even in the diaspora. In my meeting with the nation’s Authorities, as well as in moments of prayer and during the crowded concluding Mass, I stressed the continual fruitfulness of the Gospel and its capacity to inspire a society worthy of man, in which there is room for the dignity of each and for the aspirations of the Filipino people.

The main scope of my visit, and the motive for which I chose to go to the Philippines — this was the main reason — was to be able to express my closeness to our brothers and sisters who suffered the devastation of Typhoon Yolanda. I went to Tacloban, in the region most seriously hit, where I paid homage to the faith and resilience of the local population. In Tacloban, unfortunately, adverse weather conditions claimed yet another innocent victim: the young volunteer Kristel, struck and killed by a structure that collapsed in the wind. I then thanked those who, from every part of the world, responded to their adversity with a generous outpouring of aid. The power of God’s love, revealed in the mystery of the Cross, was made evident in the spirit of solidarity demonstrated by the many acts of charity and sacrifice that marked those dark days.

The encounters with families and young people, in Manila, were salient moments of my visit to the Philippines. Healthy families are essential to the life of a society. It gives consolation and hope to see so many large families that welcome children as a gift from God. They know that every child is a blessing. I have heard it said by some that families with many children and the birth of many children are among the causes of poverty. That opinion seems simplistic to me. I can say, we can all say, that the main cause of poverty is an economic system that has canceled the person from the centre and set money in its place; an economic system that excludes, always excludes: excludes children, the elderly, young people, the unemployed... and that creates the throw-away culture we live in. We are accustomed to seeing people discarded. This is the main cause of poverty, not large families. Looking to the figure of St Joseph, who protected the life of the “Santo Niño”, much venerated in that land, I recalled that we need to protect families who are being threatened in different ways so that they can bear witness to the beauty of the family in God’s plan. We also need to defend the family from new ideological colonizations that threaten its identity and mission.

It was a joy for me to be with the young people of the Philippines, to listen to their hopes and their anxieties. I wanted to offer them my encouragement in their effort to contribute to the renewal of society, especially through service to the poor and safeguarding the environment.

Care for the poor is an essential element of our Christian life and witness — I stressed this too during my visit; it entails the rejection of every form of corruption, for corruption robs the poor. It calls for a culture of honesty.

I thank the Lord for this pastoral visit to Sri Lanka and the Philippines. I ask Him to bless these two Countries for ever and to strengthen the fidelity of Christians to the Gospel message of our redemption, reconciliation and communion with Christ."


Greetings:
"Je salue cordialement les pèlerins de langue française, en particulier les prêtres du diocèse d’Aix et Arles, avec leur Évêque, Monseigneur Christophe Dufour.  Que le Seigneur vous donne la grâce de le suivre et de toujours garder l’espérance même dans les épreuves et les moments difficiles, à l’exemple des communautés chrétiennes d’Asie que j’ai rencontrées. Bon pèlerinage !

I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, including the various groups from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, New Zealand, Japan and the United States of America. Upon you and your families I invoke grace and peace in the Lord Jesus. God bless you all!

Mit Freude grüße ich die Pilger und Besucher deutscher Sprache. Ich danke Gott für meinen Besuch in Sri Lanka und auf den Philippinen und für das Wirken der Kirche in diesen beiden Ländern. In dieser Gebetswoche für die Einheit der Christen bitten wir den Herrn, alle Getauften in der Treue zur Botschaft des Evangeliums und im gemeinsamen Einsatz für die Versöhnung und den Frieden zu bestärken. Von Herzen segne ich euch alle.

Saludo a los peregrinos de lengua española, en particular a los formadores de Seminarios reunidos en el Pontificio Colegio Español de San José, de Roma, para un curso de actualización; también saludo a los grupos venidos de España, de México – veo que hay muchos mexicanos por allá –, Argentina y otros países latinoamericanos. Que Dios los bendiga. Muchas gracias.

Com sentimentos de grata estima, vos saúdo, caríssimos peregrinos de língua portuguesa, pedindo a vossa solidariedade espiritual e material em favor das populações duramente provadas do Sri Lanka e das Filipinas. Isto faz parte daquele «diálogo da caridade» que visa a plena comunhão de todos os filhos de Deus, como nos recorda nestes dias o Oitavário de Oração pela unidade dos cristãos. Sobre vós e vossas famílias desça a Bênção do Senhor.

أُرحّبُ بالحجّاجِ الناطقينَ باللغةِ العربيّة، وخاصّةً بالقادمينَ منالشّرق الأوسط. أيُّها الإخوةُ والأخواتُ الأعزّاءُ، خلالَ زيارتي الرسوليّةِ إلى سريلانكا والفيليبّين ذهبَ فكري إليكُم أيضاً وإلى كلِّ المسيحيّين المضطهدين في العالم. أودُّ أنْ أُؤكّدُ لكُم من جديدٍ عن قُربي الأبويّ وأستدعي عليكُم البركةَ الإلهيّةَ.

Drodzy Polacy, bardzo dziękuję wam za duchowe wsparcie mojej podróży na Siri Lankę i na Filipiny. Dzisiaj pragnę polecić też waszym modlitwom trwający Tydzień Modlitw o Jedność Chrześcijan. Jego mottem jest prośba Jezusa skierowana do Samarytanki: „Daj mi pić!” (J 4, 7). Niech rozważanie tej ewangelicznej sceny będzie dla was okazją do jeszcze głębszego poznania tradycji bratnich Kościołów, do dialogu i wspólnej modlitwy o pełną jedność wyznawców Chrystusa. Z serca wam błogosławię.

APPELLO

Cari fratelli e sorelle, vorrei ora invitarvi a pregare insieme per le vittime delle manifestazioni di questi ultimi giorni nell’amato Niger. Sono state fatte brutalità verso i cristiani, i bambini e le chiese. Invochiamo dal Signore il dono della riconciliazione e della pace, perché mai il sentimento religioso diventi occasione di violenza, di sopraffazione e di distruzione. Non si può fare la guerra in nome di Dio! Auspico che quanto prima si possa ristabilire un clima di rispetto reciproco e di pacifica convivenza per il bene di tutti. Preghiamo la Madonna per la gente del Niger (Ave Maria….).

* * *

Rivolgo un cordiale benvenuto ai pellegrini di lingua italiana. Saluto gli insegnanti dei Seminari ed Istituti Superiori affiliati alla Pontificia Università Urbaniana; i membri della Fondazione Italiana Sommelier e gli studenti, in particolare quelli dell’Istituto Ecumenico Universitario di Bossey presenti per la visita di studio a Roma. Un caloroso saluto ai gruppi parrocchiali, in particolare ai fedeli di Capurso, proclamata “Civitas Mariae” , bravi!, e alle famiglie dell’Istituto Nazionale Tumori di Milano. A tutti formulo l’auspicio che la visita alla Città Eterna stimoli ciascuno ad approfondire la Parola di Dio per poter annunciare che Gesù è il Salvatore.

Un pensiero speciale ai giovani, ai malati e agli sposi novelli. La Settimana di preghiera per l’unità dei cristiani,  che stiamo celebrando, ci offre l’opportunità di riflettere sulla nostra appartenenza a Cristo e alla Chiesa. Cari giovani, pregate affinché tutti i cristiani siano un’unica famiglia; cari ammalati, offrite le vostre sofferenze per la causa dell’unità della Chiesa; e voi, cari sposi novelli, fate esperienza dell’amore gratuito come è quello di Dio per l’umanità."