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The United Kingdom

Responses to Totus2us podcasts given by Brits with Christian names between Maddy & Marion - many thanks to you all   ♥

Maddy      

"To me Our Lady is an accessible image of peace."

Madeleine      

"I’ve just got back from Medjugorje which I’ve been to for the second time. The first time I converted back to the Catholic faith. This time I feel that Our Lady is drawing me closer to the Lord and teaching me that the Holy Spirit is a very powerful part of that. It's just for me a journey - I'm just following and praying the rosary, praying a novena to Our Lady at the moment - and she is leading me because she is our mother. So, I'm just very excited about where this journey is going to take me."

Madeleine      

"Mary means so much to me. When I lost my parents that’s when I really found my faith, my Catholic faith, and she's been my backbone, my strength and for that I'm extremely appreciative. In my times of need, and there have been many times, I've prayed to Mary and she's come good for me."

Magdalena      

"Our Lady, our Mother, is everything. … My first encounter with Our Lady was in a monastery, called the Monastery of Hozoviotissa, in Greece on the island of Amorgos, and I would encourage anyone to go and visit this very holy, awesome place."

Maggie      

"My most favourite title of Our Lady is 'Our Lady of Sorrows' because I think Our Lady at the foot of the Cross was so fully herself as a servant and a mother. And as she contemplated the sufferings of her son she suffered an interior martyrdom - she didn't shed her blood but she had to shed every attachment that she had, for our sake she had to give her son up so that we could have life. And I think in that profound generosity and humility she is such a model for us. She did that gladly, she didn't hold back, she didn't say 'well, this is unjust' or 'what will I get in return?' At that moment, she is the model of surrender and the model of total acceptance of God's will and willingness to really have faith in the dark, because she believed in God's Word. Christ had said that he would arise on the third day. Like the disciples, she perhaps did not know exactly how that would happen but her faith was firm and sure, and her perseverance at that moment helped Jesus to persevere in his own sufferings because when he looked down upon her and saw her total love for him he was given courage to persevere in his own mission. So there we see mother and son in perfect love, in perfect generosity, in perfect surrender of themselves."

Maggie      

"I do think about Our Lady every day because without her we wouldn’t be here now."

Maggie       

"Our Lady has been there for me in many a dark hour but I think the thing I think about most is something a nun in Lourdes said to me once. She said "If ever you are in need of Our Lady, you must pray to her and you must say 'Our Lady, be a mother to me now.' And she will be, always.""

Magnus      

"I think of Mary as a very, very brave and strong and gentle person ...In some ways I think of her as a spokesperson for the poor, especially through her Magnificat, through her beautiful prayer of praise and her prayer of incredible hope .. Through her words and through her life, I think she shows us how to believe, and that things can get better. She shows us how to have faith in our good and loving God, and I think again at Medjugorje she invites us to make that choice, about whether to be people of hope and whether to be people who put her son Jesus at the centre of our lives like she did and does always. So, more than anything, I suppose when I think about Our Lady, I have a huge, huge sense of gratitude to her for her constant presence in my life and for her never giving up on me when I go astray, when I forget what's important, when I forget her Son, when I sin. I have such a sense of gratitude for her patience, for her never tiring of inviting us again back, for never giving up on us, for never making us feel bad about ourselves. Those are my thoughts on Mary, my mother."

Magnus Talks 2us about Mary's Meals      

"I think it would be good if I started just by telling a little bit about myself and the story of Mary’s Meals, just simply so perhaps we can understand how this is God's work and not so much our work. When I was fourteen years old I was sitting at our family breakfast table in Scotland, Craig Lodge, in what was a small hotel that my parents used to run and also our family home. This particular morning my sister Ruth was reading the newspaper and she suddenly said 'Look it says here that there's a report that some teenagers in Yugoslavia are having some visions of Our Lady.' We started saying to Mum and Dad that if that's even possibly true, we should go there and find out. We'd been brought up in a devout Catholic family and we knew about Lourdes and Fatima, so we started saying to them 'Can we go?' and much to our amazement our parents said 'Well yes, you can go. We're much too busy running the hotel but if you want to go, you can.' So we did, about ten of us, all teenagers, I was the youngest at 14, my sister Ruth was the eldest at 19, we gathered some friends and cousins and headed off to Medjugorje in Bosnia. The few days that we spent there, this was in 1983, really changed our lives and we came back home believing that Our Lady was appearing there and that she had a message for us to decide for God in a new way, to try and put God in the centre of our lives."

Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow founded Mary's Meals in 2002, which now provides daily meals in school for over 800,000 children in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Mags       

"For me Our Lady has really built bridges between my mother and myself."

Malcolm       

"I have been praying to the Virgin Mary since I was 3 or 4. To me the Virgin Mary is a vehicle towards God, Jesus."

Marco      

"The Blessed Virgin Mary is very special for me. Whenever I think of her I always remember how Our Lord gave her to us as a gift, while he was hanging on the Cross, as a mother. "

Marco       

"There are no words, Mary, that could ever describe what you mean to me. Thank you for everything, especially for Jesus."

Father Marcus

3 2us on Pentecost      
"Catholic means universal. On that first day of Pentecost, the disciples went out and preached to people from all different nations, and they heard the message in their own language. You see, the Spirit unites the faithful at the deepest level whilst respecting their own characteristics and integrity."

3 2us on the Holy Souls      
"The Lord desires us to share eternal life with Him but this comes about through grace and it is not cheap grace.  It was brought at a price, the Precious Blood of the Lamb and we have to co-operate with that grace in  life."

3 2us on Time      
"We are talking about ultimate human fulfilment: we've been offered something so sublime, so majestic, so great: the eternal love of God. If this isn't worth giving our time to, what is? St Bernardine of Siena used to say: 'Time is worth what God is worth. For with each moment of time we may purchase God and buy eternal glory.' In the world around us, people forget that time is precious ... In reality, every moment, every thought, every word and every action will have infinite repercussions in eternity, for good or for ill. And what then will shine out from our lives? I assure you it will be our prayers and our Masses, our confessions and our spiritual reading, our acts of charity and our evangelisation. To say this stuff is like gold dust is to underestimate it."

Father Marcus Holden is parish priest of St Augustine's in Tunbridge Wells. He founded Evangelium with Father Andrew Pinsent - and they both feature on the Totus2us podcast, Sunday Evangelium.

Margaret      

"Because we're from the traveling community, Our Lady was the first real traveler. She faced the same thing that we face every day: prejudice, racism. And the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords was born in a stable. So Jesus and Mary were the first real travelers. And Our Lady to me, she's everything. If we want to get to her Son Jesus, we go through Mary. So she's the handmaid of the Lord, 'Be it done unto me according to Thy word' as Our Lady would say. So, you know, Our Lady is our yes, Our Lady is our hope, Our Lady is our everything, she's blessed among women. And, you know, I'm so honoured to be born into a Catholic family, to be able to find the love of Our Blessed Mother, and I know she's got her mantle around each and everyone of us. Even as we speak now, she's looking down on us, probably smiling."

Margaret       

"As a child, I always felt that Mary was my mother, my spiritual mother. I had an earth mother but Mary was my spiritual mother. A number of years ago I was introduced to the Divine Mercy and through the Divine Mercy, I went to Medjugorje and came closer I felt to Our Lady. I still participate in the Divine Mercy and then it was through that that I came to Poland. It is now the 4th time I've been here and my faith just goes deeper each time I come and I feel so close to our Mother Mary and her son Jesus."

Margaret      

"For me Mary is the model of how to live and act as a Christian. And if I'm not sure what to do sometimes, I think of Mary and how she would act or behave. And I also think Mary is the real of example of knowing how to lose: she lost Jesus her son, a lot of her life was about losing. And so I often think of that too - trying to lose thoughts or whatever, in order to be filled with God; so losing so that we find again God in our lives. That's Mary."

Margaret       

"Mary for me is my mother. She has looked after me from my earliest days as my mother had died when I was two and I was brought up in a convent. She means a lot to me: we shop together, we do a lot together."

Margaret       

"Our Lady is very special to me. She is the mother of Our Blessed Lord and every time I say the rosary it is like a beautiful rose full of perfume and love, and I ask her to come into my life every day and look after my children and grandchildren for me. Thank you, Our Blessed Lady. Amen. "

Margaret      

"With Mary I came to discover the joy of being a Christian. And I also find that when things get very difficult she is there in a very quiet way, sometimes like a harp, playing on my heart, and she restores my soul when I feel very low and just brings joy to my life. I'm so grateful for her presence in my life."

Margaret      

"Mary is my heavenly Mother, I go to her with all my worries and concerns and she presents all my intentions to God, to Jesus; she purifies them and magnifies them too."

Margaret      

"Really for me, Our Lady is a great role model as a mother."

Margaret       

"Mary is mainly my mother, but she's a good example of humility, purity and a good model to follow."

Margaret      

"Our Lady means everything to me. She’s my mother. When I have any difficulty, I go to Our Lady and she do help me."

Margaret      

"Mother Mary is my mother."

Sister Margaret       

"The rosary was the family prayer and it is still my favourite form of prayer, and particularly with the addition of the Mysteries of Light I find it very inspiring. It's a communal prayer as well as a private prayer, and I like the structure of it. And also it involves the senses and is a very human prayer. I pray the rosary with Mary, asking Mary to help me to get to know better and to love and serve her son Jesus, and through that to love and serve others, with whom I come in contact."

Maria      

"Our Lady for me is the caring mother that surpasses even my own mother. She makes me feel safe and I always find that she allows me to enter spaces where I can enter prayer even more deeply than I ever could imagine. For me Our Lady is one of the reasons why I am even here - my parents met in Medjugorje. So she has been a big part of my life."

Maria      

"Mary has been a mother. I love her so much, like my very own. .. She's there in my heart, because she's always there when I need her, when I want her. While all I have to say is 'Mary, help me' and she's there. I love her. That's it!"

Maria       

"Whenever I think of Mary, I think of her as being with Jesus at the foot of the Cross, being there to support him. And I think of her also in the Holy Family. Mary, Joseph and Jesus: how happy they must have been together and how happy they are now, together in heaven."

Maria      

"Mary is so helpful to me because she always leads me and the rest of her children back to her Son."

Maria      

"I love Mary very much. I think of her very strongly as my mother and I’ve always been really struck how, in the difficult times in my life especially, she is one of the first people I want to turn to. The loving arms of a mother - nothing can beat it!"

Maria      

"Our Lady is the hope, the succour, whereas at the same time she suffered so much. She held her Son as He was taken down off the Cross. She stood there by the Cross - she was standing, not throwing herself on the ground, not wailing, standing, being firm, accepting and compassionate with Christ. I think that is a beautiful image to always hold in mind, especially when times are hard for us as well."

Maria      

"Mary Mother is to me the most precious mother, more precious than my own mother. She is the mother of my God, Jesus, my Lord Jesus."

Maria      

"For me the meaning of Christmas is all about giving: it's about giving yourself to your family over Christmas and your friends, spending time; it's about giving your prayers to those in need; it's about giving yourself some time to appreciate the Christmas message and to try and understand it deeper each year; and it's about recognising the vulnerability of how Jesus was born in these base conditions, and how it's universal for all of us that he has been given to each person."

Maria      

"The Star of the Sea, my patron shall be, the Mother of Christ my King. She is the one who leads me aright, to the truth of God in everything. To Mary I turn for her example to learn loyalty to her son. With her for my guide, with her, side-by-side, in the Church, my home, we stand as one."

Maria      

"From my father I learnt that Our Lady will never let me down. .. What I've learnt through life is that when I've had difficulties I've often just really on autopilot said the 3 Hail Marys and I tend to agree with my Dad, Our Lady didn't ever let him down and she's certainly never let me down."

Maria      

"I’ve a special devotion to Mary because I see her as the mother of all mothers."

Maria      

"I came to know Mary just recently."

Sister Maria Michaela      

"Mary is my mother. I'm only starting to get to know her now. She has loved me since the beginning and she has taken care of me, and I hope that I will come to love her as she wants me to."

Marian      

"I always think of Our Lady as the loving Mother of God and my loving mother, and that's the greatest praise that I can give her."

Marica       

"Mary, she's there for me every day."

Marie      

"I have a great love of Our Lady and the greatest thing that she has done for me consistently throughout my life is point me to her Son."

Marie    

"To me Mary is one of the greatest gifts. I just think she's absolutely amazing. She's been with me when there's just been darkness in my life. She's just been my light, to be honest with you. She's prayed for me, she's prayed with me. And I just find her an amazing force within my life."

Marie      

"Our Lady is everything for me and to me."

Marie      

"Mary is someone who's very courageous and embodies a woman who suffers silently but is very, very strong."

Marie      

"The first thing that comes into my head when I think about Mary is the miracle at the wedding feast in Cana. And how she just said 'They have no wine'. She didn't make a fuss about it and she didn't get all panicky, she just said this one sort of quite bland sentence because she so knew what he was going to do. And then when you think about that, it's all linked to the Mass and the Church, that's really powerful. And, secondly, I think that's how our intentions are, when we pray to her to intercede for us .. that's what she does as a mother. She's Jesus' mother and he'll do what she asks."

Marie-Claire      

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."

Marie-Louise      

"Our family has stayed strong and Our Lady has kept her promises, she has really looked after us."

Sister Marie Louise of Jesus ocd       

"From my earliest years in my family we had a devotion to the rosary and we said it as a family. It wasn't always every night but we said it very regularly and all through the years. And even when I entered Carmel, my family used to keep a decade of the rosary for me, throughout my religious life. I love to say the rosary and Our Lady is alive in it, and to be with her in the rosary and she asked for this prayer, in Fatima, to be said daily."

Sister Marie Louise of Jesus is in the Carmel at Notting Hill in London.

Sister Marie Therese ocd      

"To me Mary is very important. She's my hope, my hope for the resurrection because she is one of us, God chose one of us; and she is my sister, my mother, and my presence throughout life."

Sister Marie Therese is in the Nottinghill Carmel in London.

Mariella       

"I think Mary is important for me because she's my Patron Saint and I've always looked up to her because she's my name sake as well. My mum named me after her because she's important and because she's always there for Jesus and she's there for us and for me."

Marilyn      

"Mother Mary has always been my Mum and my Queen. She always helps me. Every time I need something I pray, I say 'Mum, help me today, whatever it is that I have to do. There is nothing I cannot do with you by my side.'"

Mariola       

"Our Lady is my stronghold, my light, my guidance, my help for all my life."

Marion      

"Mary means a lot to me. I've been in Medjugorje thinking a lot about the relationship with Mary: the need we have for a mother who is always there, who loves us more than we can ever realise and the strength that gives us to know how loved we are. In the family of God, I think the mother figure is very important and obviously her link to Jesus is amazing - that they're always combined. So I  feel that I will be walking with Mary and talking with Mary for the future and just wanting to experience her as my mum and to trust her in everything and ask for her help at all times. It's wonderful, wonderful gift that she gives us and, yeh, I'm going to go forward with Our Lady. Amen."