Day 8, Novena for Peace. Extracts from St John Paul II's homily at Pentecost in England, 1982: "Jesus breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained’.” On that first Pentecost our Saviour gave the Apostles the power to forgive sins when he poured into their hearts the gift of the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit comes to you today in the Sacrament of Confirmation, to involve you more completely in the Church’s fight against sin and in her mission of fostering holiness. He comes to dwell more fully in your hearts and to strengthen you for the struggle with evil. My dear young people, the world of today needs you, for it needs men and women who are filled with the Holy Spirit. It needs your courage and hopefulness, your faith and your perseverance. The world of tomorrow will be built by you. Today you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit so that you may work with deep faith and with abiding charity, so that you may help to bring to the world the fruits of reconciliation and peace. Strengthened by the Holy Spirit and his manifold gifts, commit yourselves wholeheartedly to the Church’s struggle against sin. Strive to be unselfish; try not to be obsessed with material things. Be active members of the People of God; be reconciled with each other and devoted to the work of justice, which will bring peace on earth." Music: Traditional Arabic Hymn to the Virgin, played by The Seminarians. Visit Totus2us.com for much more - dedicated to Our Lady, it is inspired by our holy fathers - St John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.

Day 7, Novena for Peace. Extracts from St John Paul II's homily at Pentecost in England, 1982: "I cannot come to the Midlands without remembering that great man of God, that pilgrim for truth, Cardinal John Henry Newman. His quest for God and for the fullness of truth - a sign of the Holy Spirit at work within him - brought him to a prayerfulness and a wisdom which still inspire us today. Indeed Cardinal Newman’s many years of seeking a fuller understanding of the faith reflect his abiding confidence in the words of Christ: “I shall ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate to be with you for ever, that Spirit of truth whom the world can never receive since it neither sees nor knows him” (Jn 14, 16-17). And so I commend to you his example of persevering faith and longing for the truth. He can help you to draw nearer to God, in whose presence he lived, and to whose service he gave himself totally. His teaching has great importance today in our search for Christian unity too, not only in this country but throughout the world. Imitate his humility and his obedience to God; pray for a wisdom like his, a wisdom that can come from God alone." Music: Traditional Arabic Hymn to the Virgin, played by The Seminarians. Visit Totus2us.com for much more - dedicated to Our Lady, it is inspired by our holy fathers - St John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.

Day 6, Novena for Peace. Extracts from St John Paul II's homily at Pentecost in England, 1982: "Let me recall for a moment the memory of two great Englishmen who can inspire you today. Study the example of Saint Boniface, born at Crediton in Devon, one of your greatest fellow-countrymen and also one of the Church’s greatest missionaries. And the Holy Spirit, given to Boniface through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, strengthened his personal love for Christ and brought him to a maturity of faith. This faith radiated through his whole life. He longed to share it with others, even with those in other lands. And so, with complete trust in God and with courage and perseverance, he helped to establish the Church on the continent of Europe. You too are strengthened inwardly today by the gift of the Holy Spirit so that each of you, in your own way, can carry the Good News to your companions and friends. You, too, must show courage and perseverance in living by the standards of the Gospel in all the circumstances of your lives." Music: Traditional Arabic Hymn to the Virgin, played by The Seminarians. Visit Totus2us.com for much more - dedicated to Our Lady, it is inspired by our holy fathers - St John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.

Day 5, Novena for Peace. Extracts from St John Paul II's homily at Pentecost in England, 1982: "Today you must understand that you are not alone. We are one body, one people, one Church of Christ. The sponsor who stands at your side represents for you the whole community. Together, with a great crowd of witnesses drawn from all peoples and every age, you represent Christ. You are young people who have received a mission from Christ, for he says to you today: “As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.”" Music: Traditional Arabic Hymn to the Virgin, played by The Seminarians. Visit Totus2us.com for much more - dedicated to Our Lady, it is inspired by our holy fathers - St John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.

Day 4, Novena for Peace. Extracts from St John Paul II's homily at Pentecost in England, 1982: "Christ’s gift of the Holy Spirit is going to be poured out upon you in a particular way. You will hear the words of the Church spoken over you, calling upon the Holy Spirit to confirm your faith, to seal you in his love, to strengthen you for his service. You will then take your place among fellow-Christians throughout the world, full citizens now of the People of God. You will witness to the truth of the Gospel in the name of Jesus Christ. You will live your lives in such a way as to make holy all human life. Together with all the confirmed, you will become living stones in the cathedral of peace. Indeed you are called by God to be instruments of his peace." Music: Traditional Arabic Hymn to the Virgin, played by The Seminarians. Visit Totus2us.com for much more - dedicated to Our Lady, it is inspired by our holy fathers - St John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.

Day 3, Novena for Peace. Extracts from St John Paul II's homily at Pentecost in England, 1982: "I would now like to speak especially to the young people who are about to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. Today’s Gospel has special meaning for you, for it says that Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you’, and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.’ After saying this he breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (Jn 20, 20-22)." Music: Traditional Arabic Hymn to the Virgin, played by The Seminarians. Visit Totus2us.com for much more - dedicated to Our Lady, it is inspired by our holy fathers - St John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.

Day 2, Novena for Peace. Extracts from St John Paul II's homily at Pentecost in England, 1982: "Yet the cathedral of peace is built of many small stones. Each person has to become a stone in that beautiful edifice. Al people must deliberately and resolutely commit themselves to the pursuit of peace. Mistrust and division between nations begin in the heart of individuals. Work for peace starts when we listen to the urgent call of Christ: “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1, 15). We must turn from domination to service; we must turn from violence to peace; we must turn from ourselves to Christ, who alone can give us a new heart, a new understanding. Each individual, at some moment in his or her life, is destined to hear this call from Christ. Each person’s response leads to death or to life. Faith in Christ, the Incarnate Word of God, will bring us into the way of peace." Music: Traditional Arabic Hymn to the Virgin, played by The Seminarians. Visit Totus2us.com for much more - dedicated to Our Lady, it is inspired by our holy fathers - St John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.

Day 1, Novena for Peace. Extracts from St John Paul II's homily at Pentecost in England, 1982: "Wherever the strong exploit the weak; wherever the rich take advantage of the poor; wherever great powers seek to dominate and to impose ideologies, there the work of making peace is undone; there the cathedral of peace is again destroyed. Today, the scale and the horror of modern warfare - whether nuclear or not - makes it totally unacceptable as a means of settling differences between nations. War should belong to the tragic past, to history; it should find no place on humanity’s agenda for the future. And so, this morning, I invite you to pray with me for the cause of peace. Let us pray earnestly for the Special Session of the United Nations on Disarmament which begins soon. The voices of Christians join with others in urging the leaders of the world to abandon confrontation and to turn their backs on policies which require the nations to spend vast sums of money for weapons of mass destruction. We pray this Pentecost that the Holy Spirit may inspire the leaders of the world to engage in fruitful dialogue. May the Holy Spirit lead them to adopt peaceful ways of safeguarding liberty which do not involve the threat of nuclear disaster." Music: Traditional Arabic Hymn to the Virgin, played by The Seminarians. Visit Totus2us.com for much more - dedicated to Our Lady, it is inspired by our holy fathers - St John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.

Day 4, Novena to Mary, Source of Joy for the Little Ones. Extracts from Papa Francisco's exhortation on the joy of the Gospel, Evangelii Gaudium: "Saint Thomas Aquinas taught that in the Church’s moral message there is also a hierarchy, in the virtues and in the acts which proceed from it.[39] Here what counts above all else is “faith which is made active through love” (Gal 5:6). Acts of love towards one’s neighbour are the most perfect outward manifestation of the interior grace of the Spirit: “The principal element of the new law is the grace of the Holy Spirit, manifested in faith which acts through love”.[40] Thus he explains that, as to the outward act, mercy is the greatest of all the virtues: “In itself mercy is the greatest of the virtues, because it pertains to it to give to the others and, what is more, it gives succour to their deficiencies. Now this is assigned especially to that which is superior, which is why it is said that it is proper to God to show mercy, in which his omnipotence shines the greatest”." Music by Joe Zambon. For much more, visit Totus2us.com which is dedicated to Our Lady and inspired by our holy fathers - Blessed John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.

Day 3, Novena to Mary, Source of Joy for the Little Ones. Extracts from Papa Francisco's exhortation on the joy of the Gospel, Evangelii Gaudium: "The Word has in it a potential that we cannot predict. The Gospel speaks of a seed which, once sown, grows by itself even when the farmer sleeps (Mk 4:26-29). The Church must accept this elusive freedom of the Word, which is efficacious in its own way, and through many different forms, such that it often surpasses our predictions and shatters our schemes. The Church’s intimacy with Jesus is an itinerant intimacy, and communion "is configured essentially as missionary communion”. Faithful to the model of the Master, it is vital that today the Church goes out to announce the Gospel to everyone, everywhere, on every occasion, without delay, without revulsion and without fear. The joy of the Gospel is for all people, no one can be excluded. Thus the angel announced to the shepherds of Bethlehem: “Fear not, for behold, I announce to you a great joy, which will be for all the people (Lk 2:10). The Book of Revelation speaks of “an eternal gospel to proclaim to the inhabitants of the earth, to every nation, tribe, tongue and people (Rev 14:6)." Music by Joe Zambon. For much more, visit Totus2us.com which is dedicated to Our Lady and inspired by our holy fathers - Blessed John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.