Say Yes to Holiness Newsletter
Inspiration for the week of September 22, 2025 (#333)
Greetings!
Welcome to the latest edition of the Say Yes to Holiness newsletter.
The platform and format might be a bit different (Substack), but the intent continues to be the same—to inspire, encourage and accompany you on the journey to holiness.
So, here is this week’s Food for the Head, Heart, Hands and Feet to help become the saint God created you to be…
Food for the Head
"It is not by faith that you will come to know Him, but by love; not by mere conviction, but by action.”—Saint Gregory the Great
Saint Gregory the Great gives us excellent insight into how we come to know our God—through love.
A love that is not merely words, but shows itself in action.
Knowing this, we can then seek to draw closer to the Lord through actions that will not only reflect our love, but also will deepen it.
In our world today, those with knowledge seem to have a “leg up” on everyone else. They are able to navigate the “system” in which knowledge gets you ahead.
In God’s kingdom, knowledge can only get you so far.
It is love that becomes the gamechanger.
We see this reality in the lives of the saints, as time and again, those who God uses for bulding His Kingdom are not scholars or theologians, but those who have a deep devotion and love for God and are willing to do anything for Him.
It is these actions that help them become the holy men and women who inspire others to greatness as well. Think of Saint Joan de Arc, Saint Bernadette, Saint Joseph of Cupertino, Saint John Vianney, and Saint Andre Bessette. All of these saints were considered “simple” and uneducated, yet each of them loved God with all of their heart, mind and soul, and their lives reflected it.
Our lives need to reflect how much we love the Lord. Not merely by what we know about God, but through our loving actions for others, through, with and in Him.
This week, resolve to deepen your knowledge of God through loving action for both God and others.
Food for the Heart
"You are the Spirit, and I am only the trumpet, and without your breath I can give no sound.”—Saint Joseph of Cupertino
Saint Joseph of Cupertino understood well that without the Holy Spirit, he was incapable of loving God or sharing Him with others.
We, too, are completely dependent upon the Spirit to help us declare His goodness, truth and beauty.
Therefore, we should structure our days so that we can be filled with Spirit and become capable of becoming loud trumpets resounding with the greatness and glory of God.
This does not mean that we loudly berate people who are away from God, but instead, we seek to be filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit through spiritual practices that help us bear fruits of the Spirit—goodness, kindness, gentleness, self-control, joy, peace, faithfulness and love—in our life and the lives of others.
What might our days look like then?
Morning meditation with the Gospel.
Mass.
Adoration.
Divine Office.
Angelus.
Divine Mercy Chaplet.
Spiritual reading.
The Rosary.
Daily Examen.
These are just some of the many ways in which we can open ourselves up to the Spirit and allow Him to transform our hearts so that we might bear great fruit.
So, what spiritual practice will you choose to incorporate into your life today?
This week, resolve to pick one spiritual practice and incorporate it into your daily routine.
Food for the Hands
"What is right to be done cannot be done too soon.”—Jane Austen
Jane Austen’s literary works are still being read 250 years after their publication in the early 1800s. They are still read because of her extraordinary writing about both people and issues that are applicable to everyone.
In the process, Jane Austen wrote brilliant advice for not only her readers, but also for each one of us—her words here being a case in point.
They are an especially powerful reminder in our current societal climate where doing what is right is far too often postponed.
There are many reasons for this occurrence, but most often it has to do with fear of some sort—fear of offending, fear of being cancelled, fear of being wrong, fear of being inadequate…
Regardless of what the fear is though, the result is the same—what is right is not done, nor is it done too soon.
As Christians, we must change this reality.
We need to do the right thing as soon as possible, especially in instances where what is right needs to occur as soon as possible.
This week, resolve to do the right thing as soon as possible.
Food for the Feet
"When you pray to Mary, you will not despair.”—Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
This advice of Saint Bernard could never be more important than now with all that is going on in the world.
It can be very easy to trend towards despair as we observe the state of things in our schools, our country, and our world at the moment.
But we have a perfect remedy for any feelings of despair that might rise up in our minds or hearts—Mary.
Our mother, Mary, loves us and desires for us to know nothing but peace, joy and love, so she will always intercede for us to exerience those.
Mary especially will never abandon us or allow us to despair.
So, pray to Mary, and know that you will not despair.
This week, resolve to pray to Mary and ask for her help.
Exhortation
"God writes His name on the soul of every person.”—Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen
Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen assures us of God’s love by assuring us that God has written His name on the soul of every person.
This is very similar to what God shares with us in Isaiah 49:16.
That our names are all engraved on the palms of His hands.
Knowing of God’s infinite and eternal love for each one of us, we should be about loving action so that we can grow in our knowledge of Him.
We should seek to incorporate spiritual habits into our daily lives so that we can sound the trumpet of Spirit’s power and grace.
We should also try to do the right thing as soon as possible.
And finally, pray to Mary so that we are never tempted towards despair regardless of what is going on in the world.
Never forget that God has written His name on your soul, as you continue doing WHATEVER IT TAKES to become a saint, as together we tell the Master of Death, "NOT TODAY!"
All the best,
Christina
Below are the Latest Happenings In the Say Yes to Holiness Community!
Guest appearance on the Equipcast Podcast:
"When God Asks, How Do You Answer?: The Power of 'Yes' with Christina Semmens
Posts on the Women of the New Evangelization (WINE) blog in 2025:
Gaining Wisdom of Heart (Sept 9)
The Passion of the Passion (Apr 13)
Bearing Fruit in a Pruning Season (March 23)
Putting Out Into the Deep (Feb 9)
Article on Catholic365.com Platform:
We Are All Eucharistic Missionaires!
Latest episode of the Say Yes to Holiness podcast...
Episode #248
“Sharing Our Personality in Christ—Even With Difficult People”—1:1 with Dr Ray Guarendi, Author, Speaker, Radio & TV Host
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The Catholic Leadership Puzzle content continues! Here is the latest...
The Catholic Leadership Puzzle is a initiative that shares and discusses content from my upcoming book (also to be named The Catholic Leadership Puzzle) that focuses upon how we each can help to create life-giving communities where we can become the holy men and women that God created us to be.