Totus Tuus - Totus 2us

Sister Alena      

_{"The hospital name is Nirmala hospital, which means Mary Immaculate, Immaculate Mother. Nirmala in the Indian language means Immaculate. I have been working in that hospital for the last 25 years. She is for us the protector of the hospital, she's a patron of our hospital.  .. We have seen the powerful and protecting hand of our mother throughout all these years, through out all the difficulties we have faced and her miracles every day happening in the life of the people .. We have seen her protecting all the poor people, suffering people who come there and we have experienced her protection and miracles happening every day in our lives, so she's our mother, our model, our guide, our inspiration, to take care of the poor people, the sick people."}

_{Sister Alena, a doctor, is a Sister of St Charles Borromeo.}

Alex       

_{"To me Our Lady is my first mother. All my life I have been praying to her and she has always helped me in all my needs .. A special prayer I have is to call up Our Lady, Help of Christians .. I say to my children, my family, without her I would be nothing. So to me she is more than anything else in this world."}

Anil      

_{"I'm used to wearing the rosary from when I knew about Mary till now (more than 20 years). I usually pray the rosary every single day and all my family believe in Mary through God."}

Father Anish MHM      

_{"In my childhood I was an altar boy and I helped with the Eucharist. Seeing the life of the priest, especially my parish priest, the way he speaks, the way he was dealing with people, his way of life itself, was an inspiration to me. So when I was a child I decided, I had that desire in me, that I would like to become a priest."}

Ann      

_{"I’m here to praise the Blessed Mother for all the gifts, plenty, plenty gifts that she has showered on me and on everybody that call upon her. I pray that she touch every one of us. She is a real Mum that we don't appreciate in this world."}

Anthony    

_{"As a young adult, I joined a Catholic youth group and began to develop a friendship with Jesus. But because I did not have a good relationship with my mother, I never took to Mary naturally. So in my life as a Catholic, it was Jesus who led me to Mary! .. As my relationship with Mary grew, I started reading more Catholic material on her and the more I read, the more I fell in love with her. I found listening to what Mary had to say was as important as gazing at her – so I have a big collection of Marian icons in my computer – especially from the Byzantine school. As a young man exposed to all the temptations of an over-sexualised world, I found such healing in gazing at Mary’s beautiful and tender face. The more the beauty and worth of women was distorted, the more I had to look at Mary’s icon. I feel most of what she obtained for me as a young person is simply through this silent gazing."}

_{This picture of Mary in a Saree is Our Lady of Velankanni, from the largest Catholic pilgrim shrine in India - that way for centuries now. It is the site where Mary appeared to a Hindu boy (and more later) in the 16 century - read the fascinating story here.}

_{For the Totus2us podcast Papa Bene, We Love You       
Anthony highlights the universality of the Church- what it is to be Catholic - and the gift of the Papacy, because the Papacy was instituted by Christ himself. He started admiring the Cardinal Ratzinger's humility when he read about him just before the Papal Election in 2005 and in Benedict XVI has discovered a great teacher.}

_{BXVI quote: "God takes nothing away from those who give themselves to him. On the contrary, he gives them everything. He comes to draw out the best that is in each one of us, so that our lives can truly flourish."} 

_{If you would like to download (free) copies of the Pope posters or see the Catholic T-shirts Anthony has designed, visit Anthony's blog.}

Aurelis      

_{"Our Lady, she is the Mother of God, of Jesus Christ.  .. If we pray to her, she sends our prayers to God and she intercedes for us to God. She's really kind. She helped Jesus Christ in his teenage years .. she's the best."}

Sister Bivya      

_{"In my life every time Our Lady’s presence is with me and every day I pray to Our Lady because my congregation is Our Lady's congregation."}

Bosko       

_{"Mary means for me a loving mother.  She suffered for her Son.  She gave all her life loving for her Son."}

Bruno      

_{"I’d thank you, Our Lady, you’re a dear mother. We trust you, we respect you, for all you do for each one of us. You guide us, Our Lady, and lead us to Our Lord. We put all our trust and faith in you. You're our dearest mother, our guide, our inspiration, our hope, so that we can ultimately get to know Our Lord Jesus Christ through your intercession."}

Carmeline      

_{"I love Mother Mary so much and she has given me a lot of gifts and a lot of kindness; whatever I've asked her, she has given me. She has really given me many things in my life."}

_{Carmeline gives her something about Mary in English & Konkani.}

Cecilia      

_{"Our Lady is my mother, because I never had a mum (she died when I was 3 months old), and I tell everyone pray to her, pray. Normally in the world your mother is the top because she gave birth, but Mary is the Mother of God. I do trust her so much. I tell everyone, I even tell the Muslims and Hindus, 'Pray to Our Lady, if you need it desperately and it's good for you, she will do it for you.' Simple as that."}

Celine      

_{"When I am feeling very low and despair, so I pray, I pray the rosary, I pray through Mother Mary and I say Hail, Holy Queen. It helps me a lot and it lifts me up and it cools me down and gives me strength, and it gives me hope, a big hope that Mother Mary is helping me and she is there, so I have nothing to fear for anything."}

Celine      

_{"Mother Mary, I like her so much, I love her so much."}

Christine Immaculate      

_{"Mary is our mother and I believe that she is our mother because of the will of God. It's not just out of some human emotion. At the foot of the Cross Jesus gave her, and the intensity of the suffering and all that love he gave us, Mother Mary as our mother. So for me, that's very important, it's the will of God that Mary is our Mother. And she continues to protect us, she's obedient to God herself, to doing the duty as a mother for all of us. And I believe that, like her son, she is close to all our joys and sorrows."}

Connie      

_{"I have great faith in Mother Mary. She is everything to me."}

Coral      

_{"My Blessed Mother means everything to me ... she's my eternal mother and I depend on her, I turn to her, and I love her and I thank her so much."}

Dwayne      

_{"Mary is a special mother to me, a special mother to the Church and of course mother to Our Lord, and so I do have an intimate relationship with her spiritually."}

Eileen      

_{"Mary is our loving mother. We always say 'Hail Mary, full of grace'. She always loves us and blesses us. Whatever we ask to Mother Mary, she never lets us down, she's always giving us, giving a blessing. Whatever we need, we always go to Mother Mary. She's our world Mother for everyone, not for me only, for everybody in the world. She's a blessed lady, how she loves her Son Jesus, she loves us."}

_{Eileen gives her something about Mary in English & Tamil.}

Fatima       

_{"Mother Mary is always helping me, any time of the day or during the night. Whenever I call on her she is always beside me. She helps me in all my trouble. Whenever I call on her name she is always there to listen to me and help me. So that is why I am very grateful to her and Ialways will be."}

_{Fatima gives her something about Mary in Hindi; her friend, Felcy, translates into English.}

Felcy       

_{"I know that Mother Mary is helping me a lot. Thank you, Mother Mary."}

Flory      

_{"Mother Mary is like a mother to me - whatever you ask, she just gives as a mother."}

Francis      

_{"When I was small I had polio and my mother did a novena of Mary, Help of Christians, and I've got completely healed. It was a miracle."}

Francisco      

_{"Mary is my mother and she’s without sin and wherever I go, she walks with me."}

Georgy      

_{"For me, Mary is an inspiration for life. She is whom I turn to in times of trouble, in times of sorrow, also in times of happiness. Shh is the one who guides me in my life in its tribulations and in all its wonders, and I thank Mother Mary every day of my life."}

Gloria      

_{"My belief in Mother Mary starts right from childhood. I was always taught to pray to her from my mother and from my family. .. I believe that she works on us and she keeps us true in faith to our Christian community."}

Hannah      

_{"Our Lady gave me a lot of love when I was at the age of 16 and she changed my life totally, because I always recite the rosary every single day (I was taught by my mum). I believe that she's my mother and she's the most precious gift that Jesus has given me in my life."}

Hilda      

_{"Mary is the mother of Jesus, she is very holy and pure. By the Holy Spirit she gave birth to Jesus. And she's my mother. Whatever I ask from her, she's praying to Jesus and giving to me. I really honour and respect her. I love her. She has great mercy."}

Jacob      

_{"I come to Mother Mary for support and comfort during all the challenges of life."}

Jeffrey     

_{"To me Mary is a source of succour, someone that I can put my confidence in, someone that I can pray to, not just when I need things but when I need to talk."}

Jennifer      

_{"What Mother Mary is to me is she’s everything. She’s somebody whom I can depend on and I can go to for everything. There are times I forget who she is but I know that when I’m in trouble I can go to her."}

Jijo      

_{"Through Mother Mary we can achieve anything and Jesus Christ will listen to our prayer through Mary."}

Joe       

_{"I've gained solace through Mary who has given me a lot of comfort and a lot of faith."}

Father Joseph      

_{"Mother Mary has a very, very important role in our life. Mother Mary is the mother of the Eucharist, and Mother Mary is always led by the Holy Spirit, and Mother Mary is our loving and living mother. And this living Mother will lead us to Jesus, and Mother Mary shows us how we can proclaim the Kingdom of God in a very, very graceful way. All the difficulties and sufferings in her life, she went forward and totally trusted in the Lord."}

_{Father Joseph is a priest of the Missionary Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament.}

Josephine       

_{"For me Our Lady makes me feel comfort and a sense of peace."}

Jude      

_{"I really love Our Lady, Mother of Jesus, and Jesus gave us his mother to us and for me I love her as my own mother. I have been to Lourdes to see my mother, pray to her. I had some intentions and I believe my mother, Our Lady, will give me the gift."}

Jude      

_{"We are very devoted to Our Lady, especially the Catholics of Bombay."}