Say Yes to Holiness Newsletter
Inspiration for the week of October 20, 2025 (#337)
Welcome to the latest edition of the weekly Say Yes to Holiness newsletter that is designed to help inspire, encourage and accompany you on the path towards holiness.
This Sunday’s Gospel contains the story of the persistent widow and the unjust judge. Week after week, the widow would approach the judge and ask for a just decision against her adversary, but the judge refused time and time again. However, the widow’s perseverance eventually wore the judge down enough that he relented and gave her a just decision.
Jesus reminds us that God will secure the rights of His chosen ones who out to Him day and night, and will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But it takes perseverance.
Perseverance is the virtue that snatches victory from the jaws of defeat, as seen in the example of the widow, but there are real-life examples, like Robert the Bruce of Scotland losing time after time to the English before finally winning the Battle of Bannockburn to bring about Scotland’s freedom; JK Rowling in her struggle to get the first Harry Potter book published before going on to become the most successful author of the 21st century; Michael Jordan getting cut from his high school varsity basketball team before going on to be one of the greatest NBA players of all time; and Steve Jobs dropping out of college before founding Apple the names of just a few.
Perseverance definitely matters in life, but especially the spiritual life.
So, this week, let us focus upon how we can develop perseverance as we reflect upon this week’s Food for the Head, Heart, Hands and Feet and strive to become the saint God created each of us to be…
Food for the Head
"You think it very hard to lead a life of such restraint unless you keep your eye of faith always open. Perseverance is a great grace. To go on gaining and advancing every day, we must be resolute, and bear and suffer as our blessed forerunners did. Which of them gained heaven without a struggle? - St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
One of the greatest challenges in being able to persevere in any activity is remembering why you are doing what you are doing.
I am an athlete and have done all sorts of endurance events in my lifetime.
When I was training for my Ironman triathlon, it was imperative that I always kept my goal of finishing an Ironman triathlon before me every time I got into the pool to swim laps, got on my bike to get “time in saddle” by biking mile after mile, and laced up my running shoes to put in miles before dawn.
It was hard and was discouraging sometimes as I would have good days and not so good days during my training, but I persevered in doing the work.
That perseverance eventually paid off as I became an Ironman when I completed the 2.4 miles swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run that comprised Ironman Canada, however, that journey began with the decision to pursue that goal and persevere in the work necessary to achieve it.
Same thing applies right now as I am into the final couple of weeks prior to my running in the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon on November 8th. I am running in honor of the upcoming first anniversary of my husband, Paul’s, death last year on November 11th, and I want to do this to remember him by doing something special.
Although I have done the majority of the training, I still need to complete the race, a race in which I know I will face adversity and suffering along the way. But I am keeping my eye of faith open and on the goal.
The same can be said for pursuing a life of holiness. Attempting to lead a life of great restraint and remaining resolute in the desire to continue to advance each day towards heaven is a challenge for sure, and definitely a struggle.
But the struggle is worth it.
We just need to keep our eyes on the prize and do the work.
This week, resolve to keep your eye of faith open and on the goal of heaven as you strive to be resolute while bearing suffering in the midst of daily life.
Food for the Heart
"We must pray incessantly for the gift of perseverance.” - St. Philip Neri
Just like the widow in the Gospel this weekend, we need to be begging that the Lord send us what we need for the journey.
Praying incessantly for the gift of perseverance is similar.
Incessantly might seem like a daunting word, but the fact is that we can be incessant about everything we do, the real challenge is consistency.
To consistently commit to never stopping in our prayers for the gift of perseverance is how we will become unceasing in our prayers.
So, how might we grow in consistency?
One simple way is to create alarm reminders on your phone to remind you as often as you need to pray for the gift of perseverance, or for whatever graces you need for whatever it is that you are doing.
Another non-tech way is to post a sticky note on your bathroon mirror so that every time you wash your hands after using the bathroom, you are reminded to pray for perseverance.
There are gazillion different ways that you can increase your consistency, but the biggest challenge is to actually commit to doing one and doing it.
This week, resolve to create a way to remind yourself to pray incessantly for perseverance.
Food for the Hands
"Vigils, prayer and patient acceptance of what comes constitute a breaking that does not harm but benefits the heart, provided we do not destroy the balance between them through excess. He who perseveres in them will be helped in other ways as well; but he who is slack and negligent will suffer intolerably on leaving this life - St. Mark the Ascetic
Saint Mark the Ascetic tells us that vigils, prayer and patience acceptance of what comes in life will benefit the heart and in other ways as well, while the slack and negligent will suffer intolerably at their death.
For me at least, I don’t want to suffer intolerably on leaving this life, so the idea of making vigils, spending time in prayer and accepting what comes sounds like a much better option to me.
Not only that, but by adhering to such activities and not neglecting them will benefit my heart and cause me to grow in virtue.
It is this growth in virtue that will most help me to grow in perseverance as all the virtues are interrelated and interwoven within the character of our life, so any growth in one virtue helps with the growth of another.
This is why attempting to grow in any virtue each day will benefit you eventually. So, even if you desire to grow in patience, but end up growing in kindness, that growth in kindness will make you more patient in the end.
Therefore, apply yourself to vigils and prayer and be patient with whatever comes, and see how that helps you persevere to the very end.
This week, resolve to be intentional about trying to grow in virtue each day.
Food for the Feet
"What toil we must endure, what fatigue, while we are attempting to climb hills and the summits of mountains! What, that we may ascend to heaven! If you consider the promised reward, what you endure is less. Immortality is given to the one who perseveres; everlasting life is offered; the Lord promises His Kingdom. - St. Cyprian of Carthage
Saint Cyprian tells us why we must persevere—for everlasting life.
Immortality is the prize, and the Lord promises this to those who persevere on the journey regardless of toil, fatigue, climbing of hills and scaling mountain summits!
Everything we endure here is less than what our reward is worth in the end—eternal life with our Heavenly Father in His Kingdom.
Just like a marathon, we have to be willing to endure the pain and suffering of the journey to get to the finish.
We can be dissuaded by anything that we don’t like, didn’t choose, can’t change or don’t understand on the way towards immortality.
And it is this acceptance and embracing of those challenges as we persevere that will gain us the prize in the end. The widow didn’t stop seeking a just decision from the judge, and eventually she received what she had been asking for.
God will secure out rights and answer us and see that justice is done in the end, but we must persevere in faith so that when the Son of Man comes, He will find us awaiting Him.
This week, resolve to persevere in accepting whatever you do not like, did not choose, can not change or do not understand in your life.
Exhortation
"Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen. - St. Thomas Aquinas
This prayer of Saint Thomas Aquinas is the perfect combination of the graces we need in order to grow in perseverance for the journey.
May we be granted minds to know God and to keep our eyes upon Heaven.
May our heart constantly and incessantly persevere in seeking the Lord in prayer.
May we have the wisdom necessary to never grow slack or negligent in our efforts to cultivate virtue in all areas of our life.
And may we persevere in faith and hope so that we may finally embrace the Lord at the end of our days in His Kingdom.
May we always do WHATEVER IT TAKES to persevere on the journey, so that together we can 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:
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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!
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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.