Explain the Christian origins of Halloween with these videos!
Borrow these Halloween DVDs from the Diocesan Library!
The Haunted History of Halloween.  Smith, Harry.  The History Channel, 2005. (50 min.)
Traces the history of Halloween from its Celtic origins through the twentieth century, and looks at the traditions associated with the holiday.
Spookley the Square Pumpkin; The End of Bullying Begins with You! 
Spookley the Square Pumpkin is a square pumpkin who lives in a round pumpkin patch world. The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin delivers a message of tolerance and kindness in a fun, accessible format that is easily grasped by young students. By making these advanced concepts easily understood by early learners, teachers can help stop bullying before it begins.
How Can I Celebrate Halloween?: A Young Christian's Guide for the Secular Holiday.  Creative Communications (23 min.)
This video is a helpful guide for young Christians ages 5 to 10 eager to celebrate Halloween, a holiday instituted by the church as a part of All Saints Day celebration. Digger is a curious youngster who would like to join in on the Halloween festivities, but some of his friends say that celebrating Halloween is wrong. His sister, Beth, calms Digger’s fears by teaching him the Christian history of All Saint’s day celebration. Digger is pleased to learn that young Christians can enjoy the Halloween celebration with the knowledge that God is our refuge and strength, therefore we have nothing to fear. This delightful program uses a combination of live-action puppets, illustrations,and 3-D computer animation. 
Little Bear Halloween Stories. Maurice Sendak.  Nick Jr., 2006. (12 Stories)
Four sweet stories in which Little Bear learns he need not feel fright when he hears bumps in the night. Plus 8 other bonus little bear mystery stories
A Very Brave Witch...and More Great Halloween Stories for Kids! (8 Stories - 69 min. total)
A young witch describes what she does on Halloween, her favorite holiday.

Seasonal Videos 

Musical reflection for autumn on the changes in life.
Learn how the Day of the Dead (All Souls Day) is celebrated in Mexico!
Fall Nature Walk for Youth
Get the lesson plan from St. Mary's Press HERE

October is Rosary Month

CLICK HERE for "Creative Ways to Pray the Rosary" appealing to different kinds of intelligences from the Catechist Journey website.
CLICK HERE for an intergenerational event for making a rosary from Loyola Press.  
​CLICK HERE for a good article on the origin of the rosary prayer from Our Sunday Visitor. 

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month 

CLICK HERE for the Domestic Violence Awareness page from Diocese of Youngstown Catholic Charities website.

Halloween and All Saints Videos

"Person on the street" interviews from Busted Halo can help start a discussion.
 Fr. James Martin explains the connection between Halloween and All Saints Day.
Fr. Mike Schmitz tries to explain ghosts using Scripture and Catholic Tradition.

CLICK HERE 
​for videos for all age groups ​that bring saints stories to life.
Music video by Casting Crowns explores the lives of the Saints.
​
Young boy gives a touching description of the qualities of a saint!

How does a person get named a saint?

HERE IS a brief and direct answer to the question from Franciscan Fr. Jack Wentz.
​
A 5-minute video from Busted Halo on how the Church decides to canonize: 
Personal testimony (3.5 minutes) from Fr. Jim Martin, SJ, on how the saints came to have great meaning for him:

Halloween & All Saints Ideas

Happy Saints Cake Toppers (free to print from Catholic Icing!)  Click here for instructions

​The Saint Templates from Victor's Happy Saints are here. (Purchase the eBook with the whole printable set!)
Saint Puppets!
Get templates and Instructions from the Catholic Icing website.  Click here!
Saint words!
​What does it mean to call someone a "Servant of God?" Who gets to be a "Doctor of the Church?" 
CLICK HERE for a vocabulary resource from RCL. 
Christian Halloween Crafts on Pinterest here!
Saint Costumes Ideas from Catholic Icing
Find costumes for girls here
Find costumes for boys here

Other online resources on the saints

For Adults:

CLICK HERE for a list by Fr. Jim Martin, SJ, of "Top Ten Movies about the Saints."

CLICK HERE 
for resources for all ages on Saint Columba,
​patron saint of the Diocese of Youngstown.

For Teens:

ST. MARY'S PRESS on YouTube has a 2 minute video of Bishop Caggiano engaging us with the saints: 

CLICK HERE for the Saint of the Day page on Franciscan Media. 

CLICK HERE for the Saint of the Day page on Vatican News.

CLICK HERE to Pray with Today's Saint on FaithND from the University of Notre Dame. 

For Children:

LOYOLA PRESS has a series of "Little Lessons from the Saints" videos on YouTube:

​CLICK HERE for the Saints Resource site from RCL Benziger. 

CLICK HERE for good activities on saints from Loyola Press. 

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi - October 4

Pope Francis' Prayer for Small Farmers - Short with beautiful images!
Celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi on October 4 with this PET BLESSING and small-group discussion on Climate Change from Catholic Climate Covenant.  Find it here: catholicclimatecovenant.org/program/feast-st-francis
PRAYERS for the Military from the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA

Veterans Day

REMEMBERING VETERANS, PRAYING FOR PEACE from Building Faith, includes a poppy crafts and prayers. 
PRAYERS for Veterans, Troops, Spouses, Children, Parents, and others from the USCCB.
PRAYERS for the Military from the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA
Veterans' Day Reflection and Prayer of Thanksgiving 
The story of Joyce KIlmer, Poet, Catholic, and WWI Veteran. Learn more about Kilmer  here.
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