All Saints Day

Explanation of difference between Halloween and All Saints Day, some Saints and some Patron Saints - 

for older students

List of Saints

St Vincent de Paul Society

All Saints and Halloween

Can Catholics Celebrate Halloween? Of course they can! 

The name Halloween comes from All Hallow’s Eve, meaning the day before All Saints Day — those we call hallowed or holy as we hear in the Our Father.

But dressing up children and sending them trick-or-treating is fine (and fun!) to do and is not contrary to our Catholic principles.

Teacher PD

Check out this fine video by Fr. James Martin, SJ, that was produced here at Busted Halo.

https://www.archbalt.org/holiness-means-being-loving-not-boring-pope-says

ALL SAINTS DAY PRAYER - adapt as needed to your class.

Today we celebrate the feast of All Saints, a time where we thank God for the many faithful people who show us how to live as Jesus wants us to. 

We have many saints to inspire us. Because God’s Spirit dwells in each of us and is at work in our lives, we too are holy and blessed people. We also try to be like Saints. 

In our own lives we try to live true to God’s way. Every move I make should follow the example of the Saints.

Welcoming Song: Every Move I make

Reader

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let us pray. Holy God, we rejoice as we celebrate the lives of the Saints.  May we try to follow the example of your holy saints. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Leader:  

Because we sometimes make the wrong choices... we need to ask for Forgiveness. 

Lord have Mercy, Lord have Mercy

Christ have mercy, Christ have mercy,

Lord have Mercy, Lord have Mercy

Now we listen to the Word of the Lord from the Gospel according to Luke...

Reader

A reading from the Gospel according to Luke...

“He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours only because they will invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a party or celebration, invite the poor, the crippled, the lonely, and the blind. If you do this, you will be blessed because they cannot repay you. But God will reward you for your kindness."

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection: 

What does it take to be a saint? We may think there’s no way we could be saints – that saints are superhuman and more loving and prayerful than we could ever be; that they are more courageous than we could ever be; that they trust God than we could possibly ever be capable of. The Saints however, are everyday people from history. The thing which makes them Saints is that they loved God, and wanted to faithful to God. Many of them got it wrong at times, but they kept trying and they committed themselves to always seeking to be more like God. They discovered that the more they prayed, the closer they felt to God. When we put it like that, it makes it easier to realise that each one of us can be a saint of God in our own way. The more we look to Jesus to learn how to live, the more we pray and listen to God, the more we praise God and give thanks for everything we have and the more we show God’s love to others, the more we grow to become saints. May we be saints for one another every day.

Students could talk to the group about their favourite saint…

Prayer of the Faithful:

Leader

Dear Lord, your holy Saints show us that you can do great things. Hear the prayers we now bring to you with open  hearts.

Reader For all God’s people and those who lead us, that we may grow to be a shining light of God’s love in our world.  Lord, hear us.

All: Lord, hear our prayer.

Reader For all who give their lives to serve the poor and needy and make God’s love and mercy shine in our world. Lord, hear us.

All: Lord, hear our prayer.

Reader  For all who live holy lives in prayer and in the teaching of God’s wisdom.  Lord, hear us.

All: Lord, hear our prayer.

Reader: For ourselves that we grow to open our hearts more and more to God’s Spirit in our lives. Lord, hear us.

All: Lord, hear our prayer.

Reader: For all the Saints who have died, especially our family members and friends. Lord, hear us.

All: Lord, hear our prayer.

Leader: We are all called to be saints and we are all capable of allowing God’s Spirit to shine in us. We ask for God's help.

All: Amen

Leader

May God who loves us more than we can imagine fill us with love and compassion. May Jesus teach us how to live as saints. May the Spirit guide us in all we do and say. God of great love, we make these prayers in the name of Jesus Your Son. Amen.

Concluding song: My Lighthouse with actions! Get the children to stand!)