Say Yes to Holiness Newsletter #342
Inspiration for the week of November 24, 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.
Viva Cristo Rey!
Long live Christ the King!
Today is the last Monday of Ordinary Time.
It is the beginning of the last full week of the liturgical year before Advent begins this coming weekend, and with it, the beginning of a new liturgical year.
The conclusion of a year is the perfect time to reflect upon the year that has been, and to also consider making resolutions to try and make the next year a little better.
To that end, the Church gives us the Feast of Christ the King as a way to reflect upon how well are we living our lives as the sons and daughters of the King of Kings Himself.
So, in this week’s Food for the Head, Heart, Hands and Feet we will reflect upon that very question as we continue on our journey towards holiness…
Food for the Head
"Jesus Christ. You have heard Him spoken of,
indeed the greater part of you are already His – you are Christians. So, to you Christians I repeat His name, to everyone I proclaim Him –Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega. He is the king of the new world. He is the secret of history. He is the key to our destiny.”—Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI orients us to who should be the purpose and meaning of our life—Jesus Christ.
Paul VI reminds us that Christ is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega, and is the king of the world as He is the secret of history and the key to our destiny.
What do all those fancy phrases mean for us in the here and now?
That we should strive to do like Pope Paul VI and proclaim Jesus to everyone.
We do this by showing everyone that Jesus is the King, not worldly accolades, power, money, or possessions.
We should live with the reality of whose we are because Jesus is the key to our destiny, not anything or anyone else.
Not the President, the governor, the mayor or anyone else who is a part of government, so what they say should not matter to us, only what Jesus says should matter.
Now, this doesn’t mean that we disregard laws.
Rather, this means that we should be immersing ourselves in the Word who is the Word during every moment of our day in which we have the opportunity.
Most of us, myself included, are not doing that in our lives, so that sounds like a really good way to start for crafting a year ahead that will be filled with all of the graces God wants to give us.
This week, resolve to spend time with the Word of God found in Scripture every day.
Food for the Heart
"Christ, has dominion over all creatures, a dominion not seized by violence nor usurped but His, by essence and by nature.”—Saint Cyril of Alexandria
Saint Cyril tells us the essence and nature of our King.
He is a ruler who has dominion over all creatures.
He has this dominion not because He threatens or takes away the freedom of creatures, but because His very nature and essence speaks to His Kingship.
We can see His nature and essence in many ways, but I will highlight two for your consideration.
The first is creation itself.
The grandeur, majesty and beauty of all of creation is a wonder to behold and inspires awe when we spend the time to contemplate and behold it.
The second is the freedom with which we have been granted.
This freedom allows us the choice of whether we accept the Lord as our King and pay Him homage as is right and just.
So, during this last week of Ordinary Time as you prepare for the beginning of Advent, I invite you to reflect with wonder upon all of creation, and recognize the King who created all of it.
And you are also invited to make a resolution as to whether you will freely give the King of Kings glory and praise as is due the One whose very nature and essence is Kingship.
This week, make a resolution as to how you will give praise and glory to the One who is praise and glory.
Food for the Hands
"Christ’s kingdom is not just a figure of speech.
Christ is alive, He lives as a man, with the same body
He took when He became man, when He rose after His death, the glorified body which subsists in the person of the Word together with His human heart. Christ, true God and true man, lives and reigns. He is the Lord of the universe. Everything that lives is kept in existence
only through Him.”—Saint Josemaria Escriva
Saint Josemaria Escriva makes a point that most of us tend to forget or neglect in our daily life—the reality of Christ’s Kingdom.
This reality means that Christ is alive!
The Church has us reflect upon this mystery throughout the Easter season, but she reminds us again of this reality with the Feast of Christ the King.
Christ subsists in the Word along with His human heart making Him true God and true man who lives and reigns as Lord of the Universe.
As Lord of the Universe, it is with, through and in Him that we are kept in existence and have the possibility of living life to the full.
Each and every one of us is connected through, with, and in Christ, and to the extent of the depth of our union with Christ, this determines our capacity to see this connection with all of creation.
This means that we are not simply one with God, but with each and every one of His creatures. We are connected with every person that we encounter, not simply those who we care for and love.
EVERY person is the face of Christ to us, and we are the face of Christ to them.
How well are you doing at that?
I know that I fail miserably at times, particularly when the expectations I have for them (or myself) don’t come to fruition, and my response tends to be anger and frustration and this leads to discouragement, division and distrust.
Instead, we need to try to see with the eyes of Christ, hear with His ears, and reach out with His hands to those the Lord brings across our path.
As we prepare to begin a new year, reflect upon the ways that you might become a better face of Christ to others.
This week, make a resolution that will help you become a better face of Christ to those you encounter.
Food for the Feet
"But what is the “truth” that Christ came into the world to witness to? The whole of His life reveals that God is love –so this is the truth to which He witnessed to the full, with the sacrifice of His own life on Calvary.”—Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI identifies the truth that Christ came into the world to give witness to.
God is love.
This is exemplified perfectly by Christ sacrificing His own life on Calvary, and this brings us to a question.
Are we doing similarly?
How well are we sacrificing our life for others?
Are we living out that God is love in our thoughts, words and actions?
Do we SAY YES to all those instances of love that we do not like, did not choose, can not change and do not understand?
This is the truth that Christ lived and we must try to do the same.
Mary and the saints are premier models of witnessing to the truth, and the martyrs even more so.
Martyrs like Saint Jose Sanchez del Rio or Miguel Pro or Father Crisobal Magellanes during the Cristeros war in Mexico from 1926-1929.
Each of them gave their lives in witness to the truth of Jesus’ Kingship.
Their sacrifice also inspired and gave courage to others, and this courage was shared through the cry, “Viva Cristo Rey!”—“Long Live Christ the King!”
As we end this liturgical year and prepare to enter the holy season of Advent, we should question whether our lives reflect our belief in Christ the King.
Is Christ first in our lives? Do we consistently offer Him our first fruits of time, talent and treasure? Are we willing to lay down our lives for Him?
Do we?
If not, how can we adjust as we move into a new year?
This week, make a resolution that reflects more deeply that Jesus is King of your life.
Exhortation
"You say that I am a king. For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.”—John 18:37
Jesus Himself gives us the words upon which we must strive to live out each and every day.
We can do this by immersing ourselves in His Word every day.
We can give Him glory and praise as His right as the King of Kings.
We can strive to be the face of Christ to all whom we encounter.
And we can seek to make Him the King of our lives in time, talent and treasure.
As we do these things, our lives bear witness to the cry, “Viva Cristo Rey!”
May you have a blessed Thanksgiving, and continue to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to make Jesus King of your life, 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 appearances on the Religion to Reality podcast:
Catholic Podcasting with Paul Fahey, Christina Semmens, and Jose Manuel de Urquidi
Living the Works of Mercy: Bridging Faith and Action
(My comments can be found around the 24 minute mark.)
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:
Do Not Be Terrified (Nov 16)
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 #253—”Lessons for Greatness. Be Grateful, Be Honest, Be Kind.”
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The Say Yes to Holiness YouTube Channel
Episode #253—”Lessons for Greatness. Be Grateful, Be Honest, Be Kind.”
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.