Just Teach Sheets – In Depth October Week 4

In-Depth Track

October Week 4
Theme: Saints & Holiness
Focus: The Solemnity of All Saints — theological and apologetic study of sainthood, the communion of saints, and the universal call to holiness.
Audience: In-depth learners, catechists, apologists

Weekly Goal

To study the doctrine of the saints in Scripture, Tradition, and the Catechism. To show that sainthood is not optional but the true vocation of every Christian. To address objections and demonstrate that the communion of saints is integral to Catholic faith.

What You’ll Need

Bible

Catechism (CCC 946–962; 2013–2015; 957)

Lumen Gentium ch. V (Vatican II)

Patristic texts (Augustine, Chrysostom, Cyprian)

Notebook for study

Opening Prayer (Daily)

Almighty and Eternal God,
You are wonderful in Your saints.
Grant me the grace to understand the communion of saints,
to imitate their holiness,
and to join their number in heaven.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Day 1 – The Multitude of Saints in Heaven

Teaching:
All Saints’ Day celebrates the countless men and women now in heaven, known and unknown.

�� Revelation 7:9 – “A great multitude… from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne.”
�� CCC 954 – “The three states of the Church… the Church triumphant, suffering, and militant.”

Theological Point:
Heaven is not sparsely populated. Grace is effective. The feast teaches hope: salvation is possible.

Patristic Witness:

St. Augustine: “He who created you without you will not justify you without you.” Saints show human cooperation with grace.

Apologetic:
Against despair: Catholicism insists heaven is filled, not empty.

Day 2 – Who the Saints Are

Teaching:
Saints are not mythic figures. They were ordinary Christians in every state of life who lived holiness through grace.

�� Hebrews 12:1 – “We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.”
�� CCC 2013 – “All Christians are called to the fullness of Christian life and the perfection of charity.”

Patristic Witness:

St. John Chrysostom: “Let us admire the saints, but let us also imitate them.”

Apologetic:
Objection: “Saints are only priests or nuns.”
Answer: Saints come from every background — kings (Edward), teenagers (Carlo Acutis), mothers (Gianna Molla), and labourers (Isidore the Farmer).

Day 3 – The Intercession of Saints

Teaching:
The saints, alive in Christ, intercede for us. Their prayers strengthen the Church on earth.

�� Revelation 5:8 – The elders in heaven present the prayers of the saints as incense before God.
�� CCC 957 – “Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness.”

Patristic Witness:

St. Cyprian: “The crown of martyrs and the prayers of the righteous aid us before the throne of God.”

Apologetic:

Objection: “Why not go straight to Jesus?”
→ Answer: Asking saints for prayer is not a replacement but a participation in the Body of Christ. Just as we ask friends on earth to pray, so too the saints in heaven.

Day 4 – The Universal Call to Holiness

Teaching:
All Saints’ Day is not only thanksgiving for them, but a summons for us. Holiness is not an option but the Christian vocation.

�� Matthew 5:48 – “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
�� Lumen Gentium V, 40 – “All the faithful, whatever their condition or state, are called by the Lord to that perfect holiness.”

Theological Point:
Sainthood is not a “special vocation” but the end of baptismal grace.

Apologetic:
Objection: “I could never be a saint.”
Answer: Neither could they, by their own strength. Saints are not superheroes — they are forgiven sinners who let grace transform them.

Day 5 – The Communion of Saints

Teaching:
The Church is one: the saints in heaven, the souls in purgatory, and the faithful on earth. This unity is called the communion of saints.

�� Ephesians 2:19 – “You are no longer strangers… but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”
�� CCC 946 – “What is the Church if not the assembly of all the saints?”

Patristic Witness:

St. Augustine: “The Church is the communion of saints — the society of holy ones.”

Apologetic:
Against secular individualism: Catholicism is communal. Salvation is not solitary.

Weekend Wrap-Up – Doctrinal Lessons

Heaven is full of saints — hope for all believers.

Saints were ordinary people made holy by grace.

Saints intercede for us in Christ.

Holiness is the vocation of every Christian.

The Church is a communion across heaven and earth.

Study Task:
Prepare an apologetic response to:

  • “Why pray to saints?”
  • “Isn’t sainthood unrealistic?”
  • “Why not just focus on Jesus?”

 Journal Prompts

  • “The truth about sainthood that challenges me most is…”
  • “The communion of saints makes me see the Church as…”
  • “The step I must take toward holiness is…”

Apologetics Corner

“Saints distract from Christ.”
→ Saints are only holy in Him; their intercession draws us closer to Him.

“Holiness is for a few.”
→ Lumen Gentium teaches holiness is universal.

“Saints are dead.”
→ In Christ, all live (Mk 12:27).

Catechism Deep Dive

CCC 946–962 – The communion of saints.

CCC 957 – Intercession of the saints.

CCC 2013–2015 – Universal call to holiness.

CCC 954 – The three states of the Church.

Patristic Sources:

Augustine, City of God XXII (on the blessed in heaven).

Chrysostom, Homilies on Hebrews (on imitating saints).

Cyprian, On the Unity of the Church (on communion and intercession).