Say Yes to Holiness Newsletter #340

Inspiration for the week of November 10, 2025

Nov 10, 2025

Welcome to the latest edition of the weekly Say Yes to Holiness newsletter—designed to help inspire, encourage and accompany you on the path towards holiness.

Yesterday, we celebrated the Feast of the Lateran Basilica.

For many, it is an odd feast as it seems to only be about commemorating a building.

But the feast is actually about the real Church, the Body of Christ.

We are each a part of the Church.

Each of us are living stones in the Body of Christ, and the Feast of the Lateran Basilica is an annual reminder of that fact.

So, in this week’s Food for the Head, Heart, Hands and Feet the focus will be upon how we might become those living stones that reflect the brilliance of the Lord’s love to those around us as we continue on our journey towards holiness…

Food for the Head

"Just as God’s creature, the sun, is one and the same the world over, so also does the Church’s preaching shine everywhere to enlighten all men who want to come to a knowledge of the truth.”—St. Irenaeus

Saint Irenaeus points out how the Church’s preaching shines everywhere to enlighten all who want to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Or, at least it should.

Problem nowadays tends to be that we members of the Church sometimes aren’t as clear about what the truth is as we should be.

This usually is a result of our not knowing the truth, so we tend to make it up a bit as we go, don’t we?

Ever been in that situation where someone asks you about what the Church teaches about something and you know some of the answer, but not all? And instead of saying that you only know part of the answer, you kind of take a best guess at it?

Yeah, fairly sure we have all been there.

And that does not help to enlighten people who want to come to a knowledge of the truth.

What we should do instead is to be completely truthful and simply say that we don’t have the whole answer, but that we’ll go find out and then get back to them.

But that might mean that our pride is a bit injured because we might be a little embarassed.

But better embarassed than to misspeak the truth that people are relying upon, isn’t it?

This week, resolve to be truthful with others about how much you know—or don’t know.

Food for the Heart

"The Church is incapable of forgiving any sin without Christ, and Christ is unwilling to forgive any sin without the Church.”—Blessed Isaac of Stella

The Church (each one of the faithful) is not capable of forgiving anyone or anything without Christ.

What Blessed Isaac is telling us is that we are not able to do anything, especially forgiving, without Christ.

But even more importantly, Christ can not forgive anyone or anything with the Church—that’s us.

What that means is that Christ can not forgive any sin unless we, the Church, forgive.

Now, I am not suggesting that we, the Body of Christ, have the power to forgive sins—that is for God alone and for those whom He has granted that power—like His ordained bishops and priests.

My point is that for forgiveness to be possible within the Church, forgiveness must be offered in order to be received. Therefore, we have a role to play in order to foster forgiveness in the Body of Christ. We must be willing to forgive, even what is unforgiveable, so that Christ’s grace can wash it clean and make it new.

So, the question for us this week is, what sins are you hanging on to and are not willing to forgive?

Whatever they are, the grace of Christ can not fully transform the situation or person unless we are willing to be His instruments of mercy and grace as well.

This week, resolve to be an instrument of grace and mercy in a situation that you find to be unforgiveable so that Christ can bring about forgiveness and healing.

Food for the Hands

"United in the truth, show the Lord’s own gentleness in your dealings with one another, and look down upon no one.”—St. Polycarp

When we are united in the truth of Christ, then we are capable of what Saint Polycarp impores of us—to be gentle with one another and to look down on no one.

In our world today, we definitely are not united in truth, so that explains quite a bit for why we are not gentle with one another and look down on others who disagree with us.

How many arguments are there where the person trying to express a different view is made into the enemy? And then they are belittled, mocked and ostracized?

Gentleness and kindness they are not.

Instead, we need to seek the truth of a situation.

The only way to do this is through kindness and gentleness as we ask (not interrogate) what is going on, and then, regardless of the response, we continue to act with kindness and gentleness.

I remember coming across this quote a long time ago, and it has always stayed with me. It is, “There is nothing so strong as gentleness, and nothing so strong as a gentle man.”

This quote encapsulates how each of us should be as disciples of Christ as we seek His truth, are gentle in our dealings with others, and never look down upon another.

This week, resolve treat others with kindness and gentleness, especially those with who you may disagree.

Food for the Feet

"Our Catholic Mother is herself a shepherd; she seeks the straying sheep everywhere, strengthens the weak, heals the sick, and binds up the injured.”—St. Augustine

The Church is our Mother, and acts as a shepherd seeking the straying sheep wherever they may be, while strengthening the weak, healing the sick and binding up the injured.

Mary is our Mother as well, and she, like the Church, acts as a shepherd seeking out all of her Son’s straying sheep wherever they may be while strengthening the weak, healing the sick and binding up the injured.

How does the Church do this? Through each of us.

We are the instruments through which tthe lost, weak, sick and injured can be cared for. This might seem like a lot (and it can be), but we have help.

Mary.

Mary assists us in all of what we need to do in order to be the unbreakable stones of the Body of Christ.

One of the best descriptions of this is from Saint Teresa of Avila in a poem entitled, Christ Has No Hands:

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Mary assists us in being the eyes, hands, feet and body of Christ in the world today.

We merely must ask for her assistance.

This week, resolve to ask for Mary’s assistance to be the hands, feet, eyes and body of Christ for others.

One of the best ways to ask for Mary’s assistance is by praying the rosary. One of my favorites is the Daily Rosary podcast by the School of Faith, You can try it here.

Exhortation

"Not in this life, it is true, but only in eternity will God be all in all, yet even now he dwells, whole and undivided, in his temple the Church.”—St. Leo the Great

Saint Leo the Great reminds us that God dwells, whole and undivided, in His temple the Church. And because of this, He is dwelling within His people, the Body of Christ.

As the visible signs of God’s temple, we are called to proclaim the truth to others so they may become enlightened.

God’s love and mercy can overcome all things, even seemingly unforgiveable ones, but only if we as the Body of Christ are willing to be His instruments of forgiveness and healing.

We can bear witness to God’s love through kindness and gentleness, and by not looking down upon anyone—even those with whom we may disagree.

And we allow Mother Mary to assist us in being the eyes, hands, feet and body of Christ in the world each and every day.

In these ways, we are the Church.

We are the Body of Christ.

We are the living stones upon which all goodness, truth and beauty can be proclaimed and built so that the eternal Temple of the Lord can be made visible in this time and space in anticipation of when His Church will reign forever in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Therefore, may we continue to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to become those living stones, so that together we can tell the Master of Death, "NOT TODAY!"

All the best,

Christina

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