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 Pope
John Paul II entered eternal life on Saturday, April 2, 2005 and the world
paused to mark his passing. The flag over the capital of the
United States of America
and those of many nations flew at half-mast in honor of our Pope. Over 200
world leaders attended his funeral to pay homage to the leader of the
Catholic Church. Major news networks covered the story of his death
continuously for a week. Millions of ordinary people and especially young
people made their way to St. Peter’s Basilica in
Rome
and stood on line for many hours to pay their respects and offer a prayer
for this much loved Pope.
Pope John Paul II embraced the cross in life and in
death. The work of his life will surely have a lasting affect on the
Church and the world.
His motto
"Totus Tuus" is from a prayer that he said several times a day.
"I belong to you entirely
And all that I posses is yours.
I take you into everything that is mine.
Give me your heart, Mary."
Coat of Arms
Signature and Motto
The "M"
stands for "Mary",
the Mother of God, to whom he holds strong devotion His "Motto"
or "Battle Cry": "Totus
Tuus", "I am all yours, Mary"..."All to Jesus
trough Mary"It is the same Motto of the Consecration to Mary of St.
Luis Maria Grignon de Montfort... following the same order of Redemption:
God gave us Jesus through Mary, so now we give everything to Jesus through
Mary. The Pope made the Consecration when he was young studying to be a
theater artist. Just after making it, a thought came to his mind: "I
want to be a priest"... but I don't want to be a priest, he
reflected, I want to be a theater artist!... but the thought came back
again and again and again... and he became a priest!... and then a Bishop,
with the Motto of the Consecration... and then a Pope who chose the same
motto of the Consecration.
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