Say Yes to Holiness Newsletter #348
Inspiration for the week of January 5, 2026
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.
Happy (almost) Epiphany!
I say almost because although we celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany yesterday at mass, the actual date of the Epiphany is tomorrow (January 6th).
Tomorrow will be the twelfth day of Christmas, when we celebrate the fullness of the theophany of God revealing Himself to humanity by becoming man Himself.
Although this mystery has been pondered and meditated upon for centuries, we have the opportunity to do the same and discover the wonder of the babe in the manger just like the three Wise Men.
Therefore, this week’s Food for the Head, Heart, Hands and Feet will focus upon this mystery and strive to inspire, encourage, and empower you to rejoice ever more fully in the great gift that is the Lord Emmanuel…
Food for the Head
"Truth, by which the world is held together, has sprung from the earth, in order to be carried in a woman’s arms.”—Saint Augustine
Saint Augustine lays out the magnificent mystery for us very simply.
Truth Himself, who holds the entire world together, become like us and was carried in a woman’s arms.
Just pause for a moment to think about that.
The fullness of truth, God became like us.
And because of that, God experienced everything that we experience.
Joy, sadness, hunger, thirst, longing, laughter, sleeplessness, bad hair days—you name it, He experienced it.
Now, knowing that should give you pause.
Why?
Because it proves how much God loves us.
But not just us in general, but each one of us specifically.
Ponder that.
This week, resolve to ponder how much God loves you.
Food for the Heart
"He laughs and cries and sleeps defenseless, as a baby, though He is God incarnate. And He does this, so that we may fall in love with Him, so that we may learn to take Him in our arms..."—Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
Just as Truth Himself became like us and experienced everything like us because of His love for us, God became like us so that we can learn to love Him.
Yes, God desires for us to love Him.
He desires it SO much that He became as easy to love as possible—a helpless, defenseless baby who desires for us to draw close and to take Him in our arms.
Saint Bernard tells us that God Incarnate desires for us to love Him.
But how well are we doing that?
Are we truly loving God?
Or are we loving things about God like His goodness, kindness, care, magnificence, etc.
That might not seem to be much of a distinction, but it is an important one for us to consider.
Same question applies to our relationships in the sense of do I actually love the person, or do I love the things that happen because I am with the person? For example, your friend has a really nice fishing boat and you love fishing . Because you are friends, you get to go fishing a lot. So, the question is whether you actually like your friend or whether you like your friend because you get to go fishing?
Same applies to our relationship with God.
So, do you love God Himself or do you love things about God?
This week, ponder how much you love God Himself and how you might grow in your love of Him.
Food for the Hands
"Christians are called to imitate the service that the star rendered to the Magi. We must shine out as children of light, so as to attract all people to the beauty of the Kingdom of God. And to those who seek the truth, we must offer the Word of God, which leads us to recognize in Jesus ‘the true God and eternal life.’” — Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI points out that the Star of Bethlehem was of service to the Magi.
The star was beautiful enough to attract their attention.
The star was extraordinary enough that they studied it and desired to learn more.
The star shined brightly enough for them to find their way to Bethlehem.
And the star pointed to the location where Jesus was laying in a manger so they could come and adore.
We need to do similarly for all those we encounter in our daily lives.
We need to shine brightly and be attract people to us by virtue of of the goodness and peace that we share.
We need to be willing to share the truth of the Word of God so that others can be nourished with food that lasts.
We need to be continuously pointing others to Jesus as the source of all goodness, truth and beauty so that others may experience that goodness, truth and beauty in their lives as well.
We are to be stars of Bethlehem in the lives of others that guide people to Jesus.
How well are you doing?
This week, resolve to be a light in the darkness to others in your life by pointing them towards Jesus through the light of your goodness, kindness, and peace.
Food for the Feet
"The Magi humbled themselves before the unheard-of logic of God. They welcomed the Lord not the way they had imagined him to be, but as he was, small and poor. Their prostration is the sign of those who place their own ideas aside and make room for God. It takes humility to do this.” — Pope Francis
The Magi encountered God in a way that had been unheard of prior to that first Christmas—God was small and poor.
God was not in a huge cathedral or rich palace. God was in a place where animals were kept in a cave.
To enter the cave, the Magi had to stoop low (and when you visit the Church of the Nativity to this day you still have to stoop to enter into the space where Jesus was lain in the manger), but the Magi did not hesitate. They humbled themselves before God and prostrated themselves.
They didn’t let their ideas of how they thought things should be get in the way. Instead, they made room for God, and accepted His plan for how things were.
Are we willing to do the same?
Are we willing to set aside our ideas of how we think things should be and accept how they actually are?
Each time we come to Church, we make the sign of the Cross as a recognition of how things are rather than how we think they should be.
Making a sign of the Cross intentionally and reverently helps us to signal to others, like when the Magi kneeled before Jesus, that we are making room for God.
How might you signal to others your humility in God’s Presence?
This week, resolve to humble yourself before Jesus by being very intentional and reverently making a Sign of the Cross when both entering the Church and your pew when you attend Mass.
Exhortation
"Today the Magi gaze in deep wonder at what they see: heaven on earth, earth in heaven, man in God, God in man, one whom the whole universe cannot contain now enclosed in a tiny body... incense for God, gold for a king, myrrh for one who is to die.”—St Peter Chrysologus
Saint Peter Chrysologus gives us a beautiful description of the Magi and what they saw.
The same invitation is offered to us.
We, too, can gaze in deep wonder at what we see—heaven on earth, earth in heaven, man in God, God in man in a tiny human body.
The Magi offered gifts of gold, francincense and myrrh to mark what they saw before them, and we have the opportunity to offer our gifts to the Lord as well.
We can offer our gifts, talents, prayers and works of our hands.
We can offer our thoughts, words and actions.
We can offer our hearts and souls.
And we can offer our lives as we continue to live the wonder of Christmas throughout the season.
May each of you do WHATEVER IT TAKES this week to offer yourself as a living offering, 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!
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(My comments can be found around the 24 minute mark.)
Guest appearance on the Equipcast Podcast:
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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!
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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.