Say Yes to Holiness Newsletter
Inspiration for the week of September 29, 2025 (#334)
Welcome to the latest edition of the Say Yes to Holiness newsletter.
Happy Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael!
Today originally was known as Michaelmas, and for me, it is the day that I make sure to celebrate the feast of my patron saint, Saint Michael, as well as Saint Gabriel and Saint Raphael.
Each of the archangels has an important role to play in our lives.
St Michael protects us from Satan and inspires us to struggle against evil; Saint Gabriel announces the hope of salvation and encourages us on our journey towards holiness; and Saint Raphael beings about healing as he accompanies us throughout the vagaries of our daily lives.
Very similar to how this Say Yes to Holiness newsletter strives to inspire, encourage and accompany you on the journey to holiness, too. :)
So, let us call upon the archangels as we reflect upon this week’s Food for the Head, Heart, Hands and Feet designed to help you become the saint God created you to be…
Food for the Head
"If you are inclined toward evil you know that God is incomparably more inclined to do good and to do it even in and through you.”—Saint Vincent de Paul
We celebrated the memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul this last weekend.
Saint Vincent is the patron of the Saint Vincent de Paul society which seeks to accompany and love the poor as the brothers and sisters in Christ that they are.
We are called to do the same, yet, we know that we can be inclined toward evil as we see that we do not love as we should.
Instead of discouragement or despair, we can find hope in remembering that God is incomparably more inclined to do good, and He is able to do it even in and through you.
This is what we need to remember so that we can actually attempt to do good ourselves and allow God to use us to do good and be used for good as He is incomparably more inclined to do good than we can because God is goodness itself.
In our world however, it is difficult to remember this reality because we see so much evil.
So, how do we overcome evil? By doing the good we can, especially by loving and accompanying our brothers and sisters experiencing poverty.
We can not turn a blind eye to them like the rich man did in this weekend’s Gospel.
We must see them and be present to them as we allow God to do good in and through us.
So, seek to serve your brothers and sisters in love by being good and doing good.
This week, resolve to do good for someone else, especially a person who is struggling.
Food for the Heart
"Be at peace with your own soul, then heaven and earth will be at peace with you.”—Saint Jerome
Saint Jerome gives us the key to finding peace in the midst of the world.
Be at peace with our own soul.
How is this even possible?
To be in the present moment.
Brother Lawrence wrote The Practice of Presence of God in the 17th century. In it, he describes that to practice the presence of God is all about being living in the present moment.
We lose our peace because we tend to be living in the past or the future instead of the present.
When we live in the past, we feel guilt or regret about things that we can not change, and the more we spend time reflecting upon it, then we are robbed of peace.
When we live in the future, then we are filled with anxiety and fear about whether it will actually happen, and this robs us of peace, too.
So, the key is to remain in the present. And when we do, we find God and His peace that knows no bounds and is everlasting.
When we are at peace in our own soul, then we will find that we are at peace with heaven and earth as well.
Now, this doesn’t mean there won’t be challenges or difficulties in our lives.
Far from it.
But we will not be upset or angry or anxious about whatever might be going on either—because we will be at peace.
This week, resolve to be at peace with your soul by living in the present moment as much as possible rather than focusing upon the past or future.
Food for the Hands
"Love is the most necessary of all virtues.”--Saint Thomas Aquinas
Saint Thomas Aquinas makes an observation that almost seems like a “duh” kind of thing.
Yet, so often, as we go through our life trying to be good peopel and do good things, we forget that the easiest way to be and do this is by loving.
We need to love the people we disagree with. We need to love the people who annoy us. We need to love the people who have more money than us. We need to love the people who have less money than us. We need to love the person who gets the job promotion we wanted. We need to love the family member who ruins every family gathering by being the know-it-all. And we need to love the person who gossips about us (and others) at work.
This is why love is the most necessary of all virtues.
So, how do we go about loving?
We choose to.
One day, one person at a time.
We all have a choice about whether to love or not in each and every one of the situations I have already mentioned as well as all the ones that I did not mention.
Love is a choice.
Depending upon the person, it can be a hard and difficult choice at times, but well worth.
So, which difficult person will you love today?
This week, resolve to love someone whom you find it difficult to love.
Food for the Feet
"You must have boundless faith in the divine goodness for the victory is absolutely certain.”—Saint Padre Pio
In our world of contstant violence and tragedy, it becomes very easy to think that the war is lost.
But far from it.
Saint Padre Pio tells us that victory is absolutely certain.
How do we know?
The Communion of Saints.
The saints witness to us the reality of God’s goodness.
God loves us and is providing for us in all circumstances—even when it seems like darkness is winning.
Mary and Joseph might have thought darkness was winning when they had to flee to Egypt to avoid Herod’s order to murder all the children under the age of two in and around Bethlehem.
John the Apostle, Jesus’s mother, Mary, and Mary Magdalene might have though darkness was winning when Jesus was arrested, scourged and crucified.
Jesus’ disciples might have thought darkness was winning during the Roman persecutions in which many were killed.
Saint Joan of Arc might have thought darkness was winning when she was captrued by the English and then burned at the stake as a heretic.
Saint Isaac de Brebeuf might have though darkness was winning when he was killed by the very Native Americans to whom he was trying to proclaim the Gospel.
There are SO many more martyrs, saints, blesseds, and venerables who might have thought darkness was winning at the moment of their death, but through their faith came to see the divine goodness present and rejoiced in the ultimate victory.
We, too, are a part of the Communion of Saints.
We, too, need to have the boundless faith of the saints who have gone before us because the victory is absolutely certain—regardless of the darkness.
This week, resolve to ask the saints for their intercession to help you grow in faith in God’s goodness.
Exhortation
"A servant of God should be burning with life and holiness so brightly, that by the light of example…he will rebuke all the wicked.”—Saint Francis of Assisi
This coming Saturday, we celebrate the memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi.
He was a servant of God whose life burned with such bright life and holiness, that hundreds flocked to him during his lifetime, and thousands subsequently have followed in his footsteps practicing the Franciscan charism of poverty, obedience, and humility.
In the process, many wicked have been rebuked through the light of their example.
May we, too, burn brightly with life and holiness as we strive to do good for others, especially the poor in our midst.
May we strive to be at peace with our own soul by living fully in the present.
Let us remember that love is the most important of all the virtues, and may we cultivate that virtue by loving people who we find to be difficult.
And may we grow in faith in God’s goodness—regardless of the darkness we may encounter.
To that end, may we do WHATEVER IT TAKES to burn brightly with life and holiness, 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:
"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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"Living Out Patient Trust (Take 2)"
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.