is a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

greeting which was routinely used to sign off letters written in Latin, meaning "all yours", often abbreviated as "t.t." (a variation was ). In recent history was used by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

as his personal

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

to express his personal Consecration to Mary based on the spiritual approach of

Louis de Montfort Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, SMM (; 31 January 1673 – 28 April 1716) was a French Catholic priest known for his influence on Catholic Mariology. He wrote a number of books that went on to become classic Catholic titles, including '' Secre ...

and the

Mariology Mariology is the Christian theological study of Mary, mother of Jesus. Mariology seeks to relate doctrine or dogma about Mary to other doctrines of the faith, such as those concerning Jesus and notions about redemption, intercession and g ...

in his works. The

pontiff In Roman antiquity, a pontiff () was a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term ''pontiff'' was later applied to any h ...

explained the meaning further in his 1994 book '' Crossing the Threshold of Hope'' where he defines it as not only an expression of

piety Piety is a virtue which may include religious devotion or spirituality. A common element in most conceptions of piety is a duty of respect. In a religious context, piety may be expressed through pious activities or devotions, which may vary amon ...

but also of devotion that is deeply rooted in the Mystery of the Blessed Trinity.

Description

According to his Apostolic Letter '' Rosarium Virginis Mariae'' he borrowed the motto from the Marian consecrating prayer found in the 1712 book ''

True Devotion to Mary ''True Devotion to Mary'' is a 1712 book by Saint Louis de Montfort on the Roman Catholic theme of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The original manuscript was discovered in 1842. The book was first published in 1843, more than a century fo ...

'' by Louis de Montfort. The complete text of the prayer in Latin is: : ("I belong entirely to you, and all that I have is yours. I take you for my all. O Mary, give me your heart")

once recalled how as a young

seminarian A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

he "read and reread many times and with great spiritual profit" some writings of Louis de Montfort and that: :"Then I understood that I could not exclude the Lord's Mother from my life without neglecting the will of God-Trinity."

Indulgence

The 2004 '' Enchiridion Indulgentiarum'' (Indulgences Handbook) grants the

indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...

for the prayer of Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort.

Musical settings

Dana's song "Totus Tuus", commemorating John Paul II's 1979 visit to Ireland, topped the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

the following year; she sang it at papal masses in 1987 and at

World Youth Day 1993 The 1993 World Youth Day was held on August 10–15, 1993 in Denver, Colorado. It was the first World Youth Day held in either North America or an English-speaking nation. The World Youth Day is an event for young people organized by the Roma ...

. In 1987,

Henryk Górecki Henryk Mikołaj Górecki ( , ; 6 December 1933 – 12 November 2010) was a Polish composer of contemporary classical music. According to critic Alex Ross, no recent classical composer has had as much commercial success as Górecki. He became a l ...

composed a choral piece ''(

Totus Tuus is a Latin greeting which was routinely used to sign off List_of_Latin_phrases_(T), letters written in Latin, meaning "all yours", often abbreviated as "t.t." (a variation was ). In recent history was used by Pope John Paul II as his personal ...

Op. 60)'' to celebrate the Pope's third pilgrimage to his native Poland that summer. While the motet opens with the same words as the apostolic motto, the piece actually uses a poem by Maria Boguslawska for its text.

References

{{John Paul II Catholic spirituality Latin mottos Catholic Mariology

Description

Indulgence

Musical settings

See also

References