Papa San Giovanni Paolo II - Homily, 6 October 1995, Yonkers: "If there is one challenge facing the Church and her priests today, it is the challenge of transmitting the Christian message whole and entire, without letting it be emptied of its substance. The Gospel cannot be reduced to mere human wisdom. Salvation lies not in clever human words or schemes, but in the Cross and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The wisdom of the Cross is at the heart of the life and ministry of every priest. ... Do not be afraid, I say, because great courage is required if we are to open the doors to Christ, if we are to let Christ enter into our hearts so fully that we can say with St Paul, "The life I live now is not my own; Christ is living in me" (Gal 2, 20), Conquering fear is the first and indispensable step for the priest if he is to open the doors, first of his own heart, then of the hearts of the people he serves, to Christ the Redeemer. You need courage to follow Christ, especially when you recognize that so much of our dominant culture is a culture of flight from God, a culture which displays a not-so–hidden contempt for human life, beginning with the lives of the unborn, and extending to contempt for the frail and the elderly. Some people say that the Pope speaks too much about the "culture of death". But these are times in which – as I wrote in my encyclical Evangelium Vitae – "choices once unanimously considered criminal and rejected by the common moral sense are gradually becoming socially acceptable" (EV, 4). The Church cannot ignore what is happening. 5. And yet, this is only one part of the picture. The complete picture is what I wrote at the beginning of the same encyclical: "The Gospel of Life is at the heart of Jesus’ message. Lovingly received day after day by the Church, it is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as ‘good news’ to the people of every age and culture" (EV, 1). Therefore, dear Seminarians, you must not be afraid to confront the "wisdom of this world" with the certainty of the teachings of Christ in which you are grounded, but above all with the love of Christ, with the compassion and the mercy of Christ, who – like the Father – desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (cf 1 Tim 2, 4). The disciple cannot be greater than the master (cf Mt 10, 24). You will not become priests to be served, or to lord it over others (cf Mt 20, 28), but to serve others, especially the poorest of the poor, the materially poor and the spiritually poor. Open the doors of your hearts in order that Christ may enter and bring you his joy. The Church needs joyful priests, capable of bringing true joy to God’s people, which is the Good News in all its truth and transforming power." Visit Totus2us.com for much more. Dedicated to Our Lady, Totus2us is inspired by St John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was JPII's motto to Our Lady. Mary is also everything to us - Totus 2 us.

Papa Francesco - Homily, 31 March 2018: "And if yesterday, with the women, we contemplated “the one whom they have pierced” (cf Jn 19, 36; cf Zech 12, 10), today with them we are called to contemplate the empty tomb and to listen to the words of the angel: “Do not be afraid… He is risen” (Mt 28, 5-6). Words that want to reach our deepest convictions and certainties, our ways of judging and dealing with everyday events; especially our way of relating with others. The empty tomb wants to challenge, move, question us, but above all it wants to encourage us to believe and trust that God “happens” in any situation, in any person, and that his light can reach into the most unpredictable and closed corners of existence. He has risen from death, he has risen from the place from which nobody awaits anything and He awaits us – as He awaited the women – so as to render us participants in his work of salvation. This is the foundation and the strength that we have as Christians so as to spend our lives and our energy, intelligence, affections and will in seeking and especially in generating pathways of dignity. He is not here… He is risen! It is the announcement that sustains our hope and transforms it into concrete gestures of love. How much we need to let our fragility be anointed by this experience! How much we need our faith to be renewed, our myopic horizons to be challenged and renewed by this announcement! He is risen and with Him rises our creative hope to face actual problems, because we know that we are not alone. To celebrate Easter means to believe anew that God bursts into and does not cease to burst into our stories, defying our uniform and paralyzing determinisms. To celebrate Easter means to let Jesus conquer that pusillanimous attitude that so often besieges us and tries to bury every kind of hope. The stone of the sepulchre has done its part, the women have done their part, now the invitation is addressed once again to you and to me: the invitation to break from repetitive habits, to renew our lives, our choices and our existence. An invitation that is addressed to us here where we find ourselves, in that which we are doing and are being; with the “quota of power” that we have. Do we want to participate in this announcement of life or will we remain silent before events? He is not here… he is risen! And he is waiting for you in Galilee, he is inviting you to return/go back to the time and place of the first love, so as to say to you: Do not be afraid, follow me." Visit Totus2us for much more - dedicated to Our Lady, it is inspired by Blessed John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was JPII's motto to Our Lady. Mary is also everything to us - Totus2us.

Papa Francesco - Message, Lent 2018: "Dante Alighieri, in his description of hell, imagines the devil seated on a throne of ice; he dwells in the coldness of suffocated love. Let us ask ourselves then: how does charity turn cold in us. What are the signs that warn us that love risks being extinguished in us? That which extinguishes charity is above all the greed for money, “the root of all evil” (1 Tim 6, 10); it is followed by the rejection of God and thus the rejection of finding consolation in Him, preferring our desolation to the comfort of his Word and of the Sacraments. All this transmutes into violence that turns against those who are considered a threat to our own “certainties”: the child not yet born, the sick elderly person, the passing guest, the stranger, but also the neighbour who does not correspond to our expectations." Visit Totus2us for much more - dedicated to Our Lady, it is inspired by Blessed John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was JPII's motto to Our Lady. Mary is also everything to us - Totus2us.

Papa San Giovanni Paolo II - Message, Lent 1979: "To renounce does not mean only to give that which is superfluous, but sometimes also that which is necessary, like the widow in the Gospel who knew that her very mite was already a gift received from God. To renounce means to free oneself from the slavery of a civilization that pushes us more and more to comfort and consumption, without any concern even for the preservation of our environment, the common heritage of humanity." Visit Totus2us.com for much more. Dedicated to Our Lady, Totus2us is inspired by St John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was JPII's motto to Our Lady. Mary is also everything to us - Totus 2 us.

Papa Paolo VI - Message, Lent 1978: "One of the most notable effects of this unanimity is indicated to us in the "Acts", which states that a constant sharing of goods was carried out according to each one's needs. Hence the first Christians spontaneously practised the principle according to which the goods of this world are destined by the Creator as satisfaction for the necessities of everyone, without exception. Christian sharing translates into facts this natural obligation, made infinitely more cogent under the impulse of charity." Visit Totus2us.com for much more. Dedicated to Our Lady, Totus2us is inspired by St John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was JPII's motto to Our Lady. Mary is also everything to us - Totus 2 us.

Papa San Giovanni Paolo II - words to students in Washington DC, 7 October 1979, St Charles Seminary Philadephia: "I know that you, like students all over the world, are troubled by the problems that weigh on society around you and on the whole world. Look at those problems, explore them, study them and accept them as a challenge. But do it in the light of Christ. He is "the way, and the truth, and the life" (Jn 14, 6). He put all human life in the true dimension of truth and of authentic love. True knowledge and true freedom are in Jesus. Make Jesus always part of your hunger for truth and justice, and part of your dedication to the well-being of your fellow human beings." Visit Totus2us.com for much more. Dedicated to Our Lady, Totus2us is inspired by St John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was JPII's motto to Our Lady. Mary is also everything to us - Totus 2 us.

Papa San Giovanni Paolo II - Address, 3 October 1979, St Charles Seminary Philadephia: ""Let the message of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you" (Col 3, 16). In the knowledge of Christ you have the key to the Gospel. In the knowledge of Christ you have an understanding of the needs of the world. Since he became one with us in all things but sin, your union with Jesus of Nazareth could never, and will never be, an obstacle to understanding and responding to the needs of the world. And finally, in the knowledge of Christ, you will not only discover and come to understand the limitations of human wisdom and of human solutions to the needs of humanity, but you will also experience the power of Jesus, and the value of human reason and human endeavor when they are taken up in the strength of Jesus, when they are redeemed in Christ." Visit Totus2us.com for much more. Dedicated to Our Lady, Totus2us is inspired by St John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was JPII's motto to Our Lady. Mary is also everything to us - Totus 2 us.

Papa San Giovanni Paolo II - Address, 10 September 1987, St Mary's Cathedral, Miami: "The 'Our Father' teaches us that our relationship to God is one of dependence. We are his adopted sons and daughters through Christ. All that we are and all that we have comes from him and is destined to return to him. The 'Our Father' also presents prayer to us as an expression of our desires. Beset as we are by human weakness, we naturally ask God for many things. Many times we may be tempted to think that He does not hear or answer us. But as St Augustine wisely reminds us, God already knows what we desire even before we ask. He says that prayer is for our benefit, because in praying we "exercise" our desires so that we will grasp what God is preparing to give us. It is an opportunity for us to "widen our hearts". In other words, God is always listening to us and answering us – but from the perspective of a love far greater and a knowledge far deeper than our own. When it appears that He is not fulfilling our desires by granting the things we ask, however unselfish and noble they may be, in reality He is purifying those desires of ours for the sake of a higher good that often surpasses our understanding in this life. The challenge is to "widen our hearts" by hallowing His name, by seeking His Kingdom, and by accepting His will. Like Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane we may sometimes pray either for ourselves or others, "Father, you have the power to do all things. Take this cup away!" But also like Christ we must add, "Not my will but your will be done"." Visit Totus2us.com for much more. Dedicated to Our Lady, Totus2us is inspired by St John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was JPII's motto to Our Lady. Mary is also everything to us - Totus 2 us.

Papa San Giovanni Paolo II - Homily, 28 November 1986, Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne: "Will the Christian community defend the gift of life from conception to the moment of death? It is not the quality of life - however important this may be - which makes life sacred, but the very fact of our existence. Life is a gift of God. Man is merely its administrator within the limits of the Creator’s design. If the vulnerable and defenceless are not safe, no one is safe for long. No human rights are safe in a world without firm moral principles, in a world where everything is relative and depends merely on a particular opinion or point of view. God has given us our reason and his revealed teaching, in order to help us recognize these truths and defend fundamental values. If we explain them badly or ignore their consequences in public life, we will have betrayed our Christian heritage. My visit is meant to be an invitation to the ecclesial community in Australia and especially to the laity to take a firm stand on the side of life and love, truth and justice, and the dignity of every human being. Ultimately I am asking you to take a stand for God! What I am saying is this: "Know that he, the Lord, is God. He made us, we belong to him." This is the great task of the priestly People of God." Visit Totus2us.com for much more. Dedicated to Our Lady, Totus2us is inspired by St John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was JPII's motto to Our Lady. Mary is also everything to us - Totus 2 us.

Papa Benedetto XVI - Homily at Mass in Yankee Stadium, the Bronx, New York, on 5th Sunday of Easter, 20 April 2008: "Yesterday, not far from here, I was moved by the joy, the hope and the generous love of Christ which I saw on the faces of the many young people assembled in Dunwoodie. They are the Church’s future, and they deserve all the prayer and support that you can give them. And so I wish to close by adding a special word of encouragement to them. My dear young friends, like the seven men, “filled with the Spirit and wisdom” whom the Apostles charged with care for the young Church, may you step forward and take up the responsibility which your faith in Christ sets before you! May you find the courage to proclaim Christ, “the same, yesterday, and today and for ever” and the unchanging truths which have their foundation in him (cf Gaudium et Spes, 10; Heb 13:8). These are the truths that set us free! They are the truths which alone can guarantee respect for the inalienable dignity and rights of each man, woman and child in our world – including the most defenseless of all human beings, the unborn child in the mother’s womb. In a world where, as Pope John Paul II, speaking in this very place, reminded us, Lazarus continues to stand at our door, let your faith and love bear rich fruit in outreach to the poor, the needy and those without a voice. Young men and women of America, I urge you: open your hearts to the Lord’s call to follow him in the priesthood and the religious life. Can there be any greater mark of love than this: to follow in the footsteps of Christ, who was willing to lay down his life for his friends (cf Jn 15, 13)" For much more, visit Totus2us.com - dedicated to Our Lady, it is inspired by our holy fathers St John Paul II, Papa Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was JPII's motto to Our Lady. Mary is also everything to us - Totus 2 us.