I'm accepted! I found out a few weeks ago that I will have the honor of being a Totus Tuus missionary for the Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee this summer! Totus Tuus combines two of my heart's innermost passions: serving God and working with children. I really don't think I could be more excited!
I will be out doing God's work from May 27th-July 29th. I will [hopefully] be blogging about my experiences to let all of you know what's going on. For those of you who are not familiar with Totus Tuus, see below for a description of what this summer program is all about. I'll be posting more once I have more information, but for now, please keep Totus Tuus of Nashville in your prayers!
God bless!
TOTUS TUUS is a fun and energetic parish-based summer catechetical program, for both grade school age children and junior and senior high school youth. We gather qualified college students and seminarians into teams of four in order to train them and send them out on the road to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ in various parishes throughout Nashville and surrounding dioceses. Their youthfulness, energy, and ability to witness to the Faith make our missionaries particularly effective with children and young people.
The team serves for a week in each parish by putting on two programs. The first runs Sunday through Thursday from 7:30 PM–9:30 PM for junior and senior high school youth. Our goal is to put them in contact with the Risen Lord so they can develop a deep, personal relationship with Him. To this end, we have a night of Adoration, opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, relevant and vibrant catechesis, talks on vocational discernment, and an entire week of fellowship with the team members. The team also presents a grade school program (grades 1-6) that runs Monday-Friday from 9:00 AM–2:30 PM. Our time is spent on catechetical instruction, songs, games, daily Mass, the opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, lunch, recess and more. The program ends with water activities on Friday afternoon in celebration of the week. The focus is on imparting an understanding and love of the Eucharist, devotion to Mary, effective catechesis, vocational awareness, and an all-around fun experience. The team also strives to get to know each parish and its members. In order to do this, they stay with families of the parish, eat with different families throughout the week, and invite the entire parish to a “potluck” dinner on Wednesday night. Over the past two decades, TOTUS TUUS has succeeded in reaching out to youth all over the country in order to help them know and love the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition to this, we have tried to help local parishes by providing a fun and strong summer catechetical program. By God’s grace, we look forward to continued growth in the Diocese of Nashville.
5 PILLARS OF TOTUS TUUS
1. The Eucharist
2. Marian Devotion
3. Catechetical Instruction
4. Vocational Discernment
5. Good-Hearted Fun
The team serves for a week in each parish by putting on two programs. The first runs Sunday through Thursday from 7:30 PM–9:30 PM for junior and senior high school youth. Our goal is to put them in contact with the Risen Lord so they can develop a deep, personal relationship with Him. To this end, we have a night of Adoration, opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, relevant and vibrant catechesis, talks on vocational discernment, and an entire week of fellowship with the team members. The team also presents a grade school program (grades 1-6) that runs Monday-Friday from 9:00 AM–2:30 PM. Our time is spent on catechetical instruction, songs, games, daily Mass, the opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, lunch, recess and more. The program ends with water activities on Friday afternoon in celebration of the week. The focus is on imparting an understanding and love of the Eucharist, devotion to Mary, effective catechesis, vocational awareness, and an all-around fun experience. The team also strives to get to know each parish and its members. In order to do this, they stay with families of the parish, eat with different families throughout the week, and invite the entire parish to a “potluck” dinner on Wednesday night. Over the past two decades, TOTUS TUUS has succeeded in reaching out to youth all over the country in order to help them know and love the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition to this, we have tried to help local parishes by providing a fun and strong summer catechetical program. By God’s grace, we look forward to continued growth in the Diocese of Nashville.
5 PILLARS OF TOTUS TUUS
1. The Eucharist
2. Marian Devotion
3. Catechetical Instruction
4. Vocational Discernment
5. Good-Hearted Fun
