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Totus Tuus summer catechetical program travels the diocese

Several parishes in the Diocese of Sioux City are hosting the summer catechetical program Totus Tuus this year.

According to Karmen Bower, assistant director of youth catechesis and evangelization, the theme this year is The Apostles’ Creed and they will be studying the Glorious Mysteries. 

The mission of Totus Tuus is to inspire young people to have a true longing for holiness, a deep desire for daily conversion, and a total openness to their vocation.  Participants see this mission accomplished by being challenged to give themselves entirely to Christ through Mary and by strengthening their prayer lives in imitation of her.

Totus Tuus is Latin for “Totally Yours” and was the motto of Pope John Paul II.  By these words, Pope John Paul II reminds us of Mary’s total gift of herself to God. 

The phrase “Totus Tuus” represents the people’s desire, like Mary’s, to give themselves entirely to  Jesus Christ.  Mary’s “Yes!” at the Annunciation and her total sacrifice and service to the Body of Christ exemplify this commitment.  “Totus Tuus,” then, is a reminder of the tremendous and sometimes difficult call to give yourself to Christ by preaching the Gospel to all.

Organizers of the program say this challenge to be “Totus Tuus” is accepted with great joy by the young adults who serve as teachers on the team.  These young adults come to know and love the vitality, faith, and  courage of all the young people they encounter.  Youth are seeking not just role models, but heroes who are striving to live and proclaim, “Lord, I will be totally yours.”  With joy and honor, Totus Tuus serves these youth and shares with them the blessings that God has given them.  Therefore, the team dedicates their summer entirely to the young people they serve. 

Totus Tuus calls upon college students and seminarians from the Diocese of Sioux City and across the United States to carry this mission to every young person they encounter in the parish program.  Students are hired for their energy, enthusiasm, love for the faith, commitment to spiritual growth, ability to work with a team, and desire to work with youth.

Each Totus Tuus team consists of four college students, two men and two women, who are invited to a different parish every week for seven weeks, where they conduct a week-long "parish mission,” teaching and inspiring the parish’s youth.