Totus Tuus - VBS

This summer we will offer a week long VBS experience of a catechetical youth program that combines FUN and formation. Grades 1-6 will gather in the mornings and early afternoon and then grades 7-12 are invited to attend in the evenings.

Totus Tuus is an energetic, entertaining, and amazing spiritual summer youth program.  Totus Tuus means "Totally Yours" in Latin. This phrase inspired by St. Louis de Monfort for his love and devotion to the Blessed Mother as the means to encourage our youth and boost the desire to give ourselves entirely to our Lord Jesus through Mary.  Pope John Paul II became inspired by Monfort’s phrase and devotion; thus, he decided to make “Totus Tuus” a motto as we all aspire to imitate our Blessed Mother.

As parishioners of St. Maximilian Kolbe, we are reminded of the words of St. Max: “Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.”

Parish Missionaries will form teams which consist of college students and seminarians, who teach and inspire our youth through discussions, games, sons, skits, witnesses, and more. Our teams will also include adult (Safe Parish) and youth volunteers from our parish to assist our Totus Tuus missionaries in many ways throughout the week. Please be sure to fill out the necessary forms if you are interested in this opportunity. Many volunteers will be needed.

The mission of Totus Tuus is to stir the hearts of young people to a deeper encounter of Jesus Christ through the witness of a longing for holiness, to inspire the openness to their vocation, and to encourage the desire for daily conversion as we learn to place ourselves in the hands of our Mother Mary. The purpose of Totus Tuus is to also further our response to the call of our recent Holy Fathers for a “new evangelization” experience. It is our hope that by providing a stronger catechesis and encounter of Jesus through the sacraments we firmly root our youth in the Catholic faith and that the Totus Tuus experience seeks to evangelize our young people in a lasting and profound way.

The five pillars are as follows:

1. Catechesis – a comprehensive proclamation of the Gospel and Church teachings
2. Eucharistic Devotion – a central focus on Jesus through the mystery of the Eucharist
3. Marian Devotion – the aspiration to have Mary as our model and to pray the Rosary
4. Vocational Discernment – a way to encourage youth to discern one’s vocation and to teach about holiness and conversion
5. Christian Witness – the path of experience is profound when we witness and live out the experience of joyful Christian living from a team of missionaries