Open with prayer

5–10 min: Review from last week

5 min: Intro: Last week we learned about the church and that we are all part of the church. That means all those baptized - everyone that ever has been, is and will be is part of the church. How can the people that have already died be part of the church still?

Because when Jesus died on the cross for all our sins, He gave us all everlasting life and those who live their life for God and follow Him will live forever with Him in Heaven!

We have to change the way we think about death. We tend to think that it’s the end, they are gone – it’s over. And it’s very normal for us to be sad or even mad when someone that we love dies, because we miss them and we want them with us, but we have to remember when someone dies and if they go to heaven they are closer to us than we will ever know. They are always praying for us and interceding for us. Our earthly death is just a new phase of life!

And today we are going to talk about the people that have gone onto that new phase of life with God in Heaven – the saints.

5-10 mins: Tell the story of one of your favorite saints. Tell why you like that .

30 mins: Lesson: Question: If your grandma died and went to Heaven what would she be? She would be a saint – probably an unknown saint. There are known (or canonized) saints and there are unknown (or non-canonized) saints in heaven. (In case it is brought up - We do not become angels)

In the Church, the title of Saint is given to a person who has been formally canonized (officially recognized) by the , and is therefore believed to be in Heaven.

However, there are many people in Heaven who have not been formally declared as saints. Anyone in Heaven is a saint, since they are believed to be completely perfected in holiness. (Either by how they lived their life on earth and/or through the purification of purgatory) We are all called to be saints!

A saint is someone through whom we can catch a glimpse of what God is like -- and of what we are called to be. The Catholic Church does not make or create anyone a saint; it simply recognizes a saint.

Only God 'makes' saints. The church merely identifies from time to time a few of these people for emulation/imitation. The church then tells the story of the person. But the author is the Source of the grace (God) by which saints live. And there we have it: A saint is someone whose story God tells.

How is someone canonized? In Church tradition, a person who is seen as exceptionally holy can be declared a saint by a formal process, called canonization. Formal canonization is a lengthy process often taking many years, sometimes even centuries.

The first step in this process is an investigation of the candidate's life an expert. After this, the report on the candidate is given to the bishop of the area and more studying is done. It is then sent to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome.

If the application is approved, the person may be granted the title of "Venerable". Further investigations may lead to the candidate's beatification and given title of "Blessed." At a minimum, two important are required to be formally declared a saint. These miracles must be after the person’s death. Finally, when all of this is done the Pope canonizes the saint.

An example: an American deacon claimed in 2000 that Blessed John Henry Newman interceded with God to cure him. The American, Jack Sullivan, asserted that after addressing Newman he was cured of spinal stenosis in a matter of hours. In 2009, a panel of theologians concluded that Sullivan's recovery was the result of his prayer to Newman. According to the Catholic Church, to be deemed a , "a medical recovery must be instantaneous, and not attributable to treatment, and must disappear for good." (Meaning not a temporary recovery)

Why do we canonize saints? The catechism says that “by canonizing some of the faithful, we proclaim that they practiced heroic virtue and lived in fidelity to God’s grace, the Church recognizes the power of the Spirit of holiness within her and sustains the hope of believers by proposing the saints to them.” (ccc 828)

So that means that by canonizing the saints, we can look to them and model our lives after them.

There are so many different kinds of saints. There are saints that led very holy lives since they were very young. There are some saints that were not holy at all, did very bad things but then repented, turned away from sin and surrendered their life to Christ.

There are some saints that had very simple lives and didn’t do anything miraculous just lived completely for God and others that performed miracles, levitated, bi-located (being at two places at once), had the stigmata (the marks of Christ’s passion), and many other mysterious things.

There are saints that were priests, nuns, married, single, adults and children – there are saints that were very intellectual and others that weren’t.

When we learn about the saints we can learn how to be more holy. We can learn that our struggles are normal and they can help us to get through our difficult times by trusting in God the way they did.

Relics and venerating Once a person has been declared a saint, the body of the saint is considered holy. The remains of saints are called holy relics and are usually used in churches. Saints' personal belongings may also be used as relics. Relics of saints are respected in a similar manner to holy images and icons.

Venerating means that we honor (not worship) the item whether it be a picture, icon, relic (piece of bone or other object) acknowledging God’s power and grace that He poured upon that person. By venerating the saint we are recognizing the glory of God!

Venerating relics has led to many healings of people; we have to remember that the healing doesn’t come from the relic itself. The healing comes from God, through the prayers and intercession of the saint that you are praying to. Neither the saint nor the relic have any of their own power, it is only through the power of God that we are healed. We need to guard against becoming superstitious.

Patron saint Although you can ask any saint to pray and intercede for you to God, some saints are known to be a patron saint. A saint may be designated as a patron saint of a particular cause or profession, or invoked against specific illnesses or disasters, sometimes by popular custom and sometimes by official statements of the . Saints are not thought to have power of their own, but only that granted by God.

St. Hubert is the patron saint for hunters, St. Lawrence for cooks, St. George for warriors, St. Anne for mothers, and St. Cecilia for musicians.

20 min: Activity Have the students break up into groups of two and pick a saint to talk about. You will need to monitor that so that each group has a different saint. Give them 5 to 10 mins to learn about their saint, they will be giving a short lesson on the saint they picked in front of the class. If their book doesn’t have a lot of information, have them look up their saint in one of the other books too. Have the students find the saint’s feast day, what they are a patron of, something special about them, etc…

After they have researched their saint, each group will take turns telling the class about the saint they picked and why they picked him/her.

After each group – depending on time - ask them questions about what they learned and help them to see how they can follow in the saint’s footsteps. What things can do to be like that saint?

5 min: Devotion to saints: We should have a devotion to Mary and the saints. What does it mean to have a devotion to Mary or the saints? It means that: † Knowledge – you learn about their life † Pray to – ask for their intercession † Friendship – becomes friends with that saint

5 min: Journal: Before they start journaling, have them sit and pray quietly for a moment about this statement. If we are all called to be saints, what is God leading or calling you to do or be?

After a few minutes – have them write their answer to the question, you can also add the following questions too. . Do you believe you could be a saint? Why or why not? . What can you do to get on or stay on the path to holiness? . If you were a saint, what do you think you would be a patron of?

Extra time: Take your class to Adoration

Closing prayer: Have them think about something that they want prayers for and then have them ask one or more of the saints to intercede for them.