We learned some things about the Saints in class time this month, but to help bring this topic to the level of relationship we want you to work on it at home too.  The Saints are our brothers and sisters in the Faith.  They can also be our mentors, examples, intercessors, helpers, and kindred spirits, but if you want your kids to have that kind of close relationship with a Saint (or several), you need to make the introductions.  Saint story audios do that.  So do print biographies, Saint of the Day books, web sites, and apps.  And so do several of our Family Formation Home and Classroom Lessons.

Besides a few mini biographies, this lesson has some information – What are some qualities all Saints have?  How does someone become a Saint?  And then to the most important question, how can I become a Saint?  Because if this topic remains a conversation about someone else, it may be interesting information, but it has little power to transform, and that’s a wasted opportunity to learn about one’s whole purpose in life!

In our October classrooms, all the kids came home with either a sword or a shield.  Part of that is a tie-in with Saint Martin of Tours, whose story they heard in class.  St. Martin was a soldier who carried an actual sword and shield, but the real connection is here:

The people we see walking around on any given day are only a part of the full picture: those in heaven (The Church Triumphant), those in purgatory (The Church Suffering), and those of us still on earth (The Church Militant) fighting our battles against sin and injustice.

See what we did there with the sword/shield project, St. Martin the soldier and the Church Militant?  😉

Forgive the mixed metaphor, but all three branches are part of the Body of Christ.  We are all intimately connected, all praying for one another, and all mindful of each other’s needs, and the greatest of those needs is getting to heaven.

So the key words as you’re doing this lesson are personal and relationship.  We’ve said this many times before, but it bears saying again in this context: the point is not to know a lot about the saints, but it is to become a saint.  Keep that in mind as you’re sharing this lesson with your kids.