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

Louis de Montfort Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (31 January 1673 – 28 April 1716) was a French Roman Catholic priest and confessor. He was known in his time as a preacher and was made a missionary apostolic by Pope Clement XI. As well as preaching, Montfort ...

and the

Mariology Mariology is the theological study of Mary, the 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 grace. Chri ...

in his works. The pontiff explained the meaning further in his 1994 book '' Crossing the Threshold of Hope'' where he defines it as not only an expression of piety but also of devotion that is deeply rooted in the Mystery of the Blessed Trinity.

Description

According to his

Apostolic Letter Ecclesiastical letters are publications or announcements of the organs of Roman Catholic ecclesiastical authority, e.g. the synods, but more particularly of pope and bishops, addressed to the faithful in the form of letters. Letters of the pop ...

'' 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 book by Saint Louis de Montfort on the Roman Catholic theme of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. History Written in 1712, the manuscript remained practically unknown for more than a century, when it was discov ...

'' 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") Pope John Paul II once recalled how as a young

seminarian A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, 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."

Musical settings

Dana's song "Totus Tuus", commemorating John Paul II's 1979 visit to Ireland, topped the Irish Singles Chart 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 composed a choral piece ''( Totus Tuus 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

Musical settings

See also

References