Faith Formation Helps October 2025

October 2025 – Faith Formation Helps

Theme: Saints & Holiness

FAMILY SECTION

Opening Prayer

Heavenly Father, You made us to be holy like You. Thank You for the saints who show us how to love You. Help our family to follow Jesus and one day be saints in heaven together. Amen.

Simple Catechesis for Families

Saints are not “perfect superheroes.” They are ordinary people who loved God with all their hearts.

Every saint points to Jesus — they are windows to Christ’s light.

The Church teaches: “Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness” (CCC 956).

We don’t just admire the saints — we ask them to pray for us, because they are alive in Christ.

Holiness means living as God’s children: loving, forgiving, praying, serving.

Family Discussion Prompts

Who is your favourite saint, and why?

What do saints teach us about following Jesus?

How could we be a “saintly family” this week?

Family Activity Ideas

Saint of the Week: Each week, pick one saint, read their story, draw their picture, and pray their prayer.

Family Litany: Go around the table. Each person says: “St. ____, pray for us!”

Holiness Challenge: Choose one “saintly action” to do each day: forgive, help, pray, share.

Make a Home Shrine: Place a saint image or statue in your prayer corner with a candle.

ADULT SECTION

Catechesis for Adults

Holiness is the universal call: “Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16).

Saints are not distant figures but members of our family in Christ.

CCC 946: “What is the Church if not the assembly of all the saints?”

The “Communion of Saints” means three groups united in Christ:

The Church Triumphant (souls in heaven)

The Church Suffering (souls in purgatory)

The Church Militant (us on earth)

We are one family — praying for one another across heaven, purgatory, and earth.

Reflection Questions for Adults

Do I see holiness as possible for me, or only for a few special people?

How do I relate to the saints — as distant history, or living companions?

What is one habit in my life that needs purifying to grow in holiness?

Try This Week

Choose one patron saint and read their life story.

Begin or renew a devotion to your guardian angel.

Pray for the dead — a real act of charity in the Communion of Saints.

Go to Confession — the sacrament of mercy is a school of holiness.

APOLOGETICS HELPS

1. “Why pray to saints when I can pray to God?”

We do pray directly to God, but we also ask the saints to pray with us, just like we ask a friend on earth.

CCC 956: “Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven… do not cease to intercede with the Father for us.”
👉 Analogy: Asking saints to pray is like asking a friend to light a candle with you before God.

2. “Isn’t praying to saints worshipping them?”

Worship belongs to God alone.

The Church distinguishes between:

Latria = worship given only to God

Dulia = honour given to saints

Hyperdulia = special honour to Mary as Mother of God
👉 Analogy: Saluting a soldier honours the king he serves. Honouring saints honours Christ.

3. “Aren’t saints just dead people?”

No. Jesus said: “He is not the God of the dead but of the living” (Matthew 22:32).

Saints are more alive than we are, because they live in God.
👉 Analogy: If you believe in eternal life, you must believe the saints live.

4. “Why do Catholics have relics and shrines?”

From the earliest days, Christians honoured martyrs’ graves (cf. Revelation 6:9).

Relics remind us that holiness touches even the body, destined for resurrection.

5. “Isn’t holiness impossible?”

Holiness is not perfectionism. It is love lived faithfully.

CCC 2013: “All Christians… are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity.”
👉 Analogy: A saint is not someone who never fell, but someone who always got up again.

EXPANDED ILLUSTRATION STORIES

1. The Broken Statue (Holiness in Weakness)

A church statue was vandalised. The parish decided not to repair the cracks fully, but to leave them visible. People said: “Even broken, it still shows Christ.”
👉 Saints are cracked vessels — yet Christ shines through their weakness.

2. The Family Album (Communion of Saints)

A child once asked: “Why do we keep so many family photos?” The grandmother said: “Because they remind us who we are.”
👉 Saints are our family photos — reminders of our heavenly relatives who cheer us on (Hebrews 12:1).

3. The Marathon Runners (Encouragement)

Marathon runners grow weary. Crowds on the side cheer, shout names, and clap. That encouragement helps them finish.
👉 The saints are that cheering crowd. They know the race; they urge us onward.

4. The Fire in the Fireplace (Shared Holiness)

Logs burn brighter together than alone. One log removed grows cold.
👉 In the Communion of Saints, we share in one another’s holiness and prayer.

5. The Window and the Sun (Saints Reflect Christ)

A stained-glass window glows only when light shines through.
👉 Saints are coloured windows — each different, each beautiful, but all showing Christ’s light.

6. The School of Holiness (Everyday Saints)

A teacher once told her pupils: “If you can’t all be brilliant, you can all be good.”
👉 Holiness is not about brilliance or fame but daily goodness and love.

TEEN TRACK

Teens often admire “heroes.” Saints are the ultimate heroes: rebels against sin, warriors of love, conquerors of self.

Holiness is not boring — it is radical love.

Examples: St. Carlo Acutis, St. José Sánchez del Río — modern saints who show courage.

Practical Helps:

Choose one teen saint and imitate one habit.

Start a “holiness journal” — daily record one act of kindness or sacrifice.

Share faith openly — being unashamed is itself holiness.

SEEKER TRACK

The saints show that Christianity is not theory, but life.

If saints lived and died for Christ, maybe there is something real here worth following.

Saints answer the question: Does following Jesus really change people? Yes — look at them.

Practical Helps for Seekers:

Visit a saint’s shrine or read a saint’s biography.

Ask one saint sincerely: “If you are alive in Christ, pray that I may know Him.”

Consider: If millions have found holiness in the Catholic Church, could this be your path too?

WEEKLY BREAKDOWN

Week 1: What is a Saint?

Illustration: The Broken Statue, The School of Holiness.

Week 2: The Communion of Saints

Illustration: The Family Album, The Fire in the Fireplace.

Week 3: Saints as Encouragers & Models

Illustration: Marathon Runners, The Window and the Sun.

Week 4: The Call to Holiness for All

Illustration: Everyday Saints, Modern Examples.

CONCLUSION

Holiness is not unreachable. The saints prove it.
We are not alone — we are surrounded by the great family of God: saints in heaven, souls in purgatory, and our brothers and sisters on earth.
To be Catholic is to be called to holiness — to run the race with the saints at our side, keeping our eyes on Jesus.

“The saints have always been the source and origin of renewal in the most difficult moments in the Church’s history.” — CCC 828Faith Formation Hel