Say Yes to Holiness Newsletter #351
Inspiration for the week of January 26, 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.
I rarely comment directly about current events, but the situation in Minnesota and across the country in regards to the activities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) must be addressed.
First, we NEED to pray and offer sacrifice. Prayers for the Lord to bring about healing, peace and wisdom to every person within our nation and offer sacrifice that the Lord will move swiftly and decisively to protect and care for every one of His sons and daughters being impacted.
Second, we need to take action as we are able wherever we live. For us as Catholics, social justice is a part of our DNA, and the essential dignity of every human being is the foundation upon which our faith rests. Therefore, I am going to urge that REGARDLESS of what you think of who/what is going on in our country right now, you need to reach out to your respective Congressional representatives and insist that something to be done to resolve this horrific and ongoing situation in our nation.
Finally, we need to follow Jesus. He is calling us to be His disciples—just like He called Peter, Andrew, James and John in the Gospel this weekend.
Our Christian witness can, and will, have an impact in the world and help build our Lord’s kingdom, if we are attentive to being faithful and steadfast.
Therefore, this week’s Food for the Head, Heart, Hands and Feet is going to seek to inspire, encourage, and empower you to become more faithful and steadfast as a disciple on our journey towards holiness…
Food for the Head
“And let me make it quite clear that when Christians say the Christ-life is in them, they do not mean simply something mental or moral. When they speak of being ‘in Christ’ or of Christ being ‘in them’, this is not simply a way of saying that they are thinking about Christ or copying Him. They mean that Christ is actually operating through them; that the whole mass of Christians are the physical organism through which Christ acts—that we are His fingers and muscles, the cells of His body. And perhaps that explains one or two things. It explains why this new life is spread not only by purely mental acts like belief, but by bodily acts like baptism and Holy Communion. It is not merely the spreading of an idea; it is more like evolution—a biological or superbiological fact. There is no good trying to be more spiritual than God. God never meant man to be a purely spiritual creature. That is why He uses material things like bread and wine to put the new life into us. We may think this rather crude and unspiritual. God does not: He invented eating. He likes matter. He invented it.” —C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 64
C.S. Lewis helps us understand the reality of what can happen when we allow ourselves to be “in Christ.” It means that we allow Christ to work through us—our hands, our feet, our words, our actions and the like.
God choose to use matter to bring us new life—not just bread and wine, but each and every one of us.
Now, we may think that God could use someone better, but the fact is, He calls you and I to follow Him—regardless of what we may think of our capabilities.
But the fact is, that if we are to be faithful disciples, then we need to be willing to follow and be His instruments wherever He desires us.
This week, resolve to be the Lord’s instrument wherever you are able.
Food for the Heart
"If the heart wanders or is distracted, bring it back to the point quite gently and replace it tenderly in its Master’s presence. And even if you did nothing during the whole of your hour but bring your heart back and place it again in Our Lord’s presence, though it went away every time you brought it back, your hour would be very well employed.”—Saint Francis de Sales
Saint Francis de Sales gives us some advice about our prayer life that will help us become more faithful and steadfast disciples.
If our heart wanders or is distracted, then bring our heart gently back and place it in the Lord’s presence. He also reassures us that even if we were to do this throughout our prayer time, our hour would be very well employed.
This is very contrary to our world’s opinion about having a “productive” or “good” time of prayer, so we are always judging ourselves and tend to become very frustrated if our time of prayer doesn’t go as we hope.
We need to set aside these expectations, and instead trust that by placing ourselves in the Lord’s presence, then He will bring about good fruit from the time.
This week, resolve to set aside your expectations for your time of prayer and accept whatever the Lord gives you.
Food for the Hands
"The right understanding of things is a necessary step in the way of perfection. The hunger and thirst after justice—after improvements—needs direction; the beginning of wisdom—the yearning and will to be holy—must be orderly; the growth in the knowledge and love of God—the giving of the mind and heart to God—have marks that show the way. To follow these, there must be a thought of spiritual need, a meditation on what has been acquired, a looking backward on the reasons and causes of failure or success, a searching anew for the means to avoid the mistakes of the past, while new courage, fresh resolve, and reborn yearning urge the soul to ascend the mountaintops where perfection waits.” --Fr James F. McElhone, CSC, Rooting Out Hidden Faults--How the Particular Examen Conquers Sin, p.31
Father McElhone tells us that how to take the necessary steps in the way of perfection.
First, to seek out direction for our hungering and thirsting for justice, for improvements.
Next, to be orderly in our yearning and will to be holy.
Then, we must be attentive to our spiritual needs and meditate upon it looking back upon it searching anew for the means to avoid mistakes of the past.
When we do these things, then we will be filled with new courage, fresh resolve, and a reborn yearnin to ascend the mountaintops where perfection waits.
Doing any of these things, will help us grow in faithfulness and steadfastness as disciples, so choose what you can do and do it.
This week, resolve to choose one way in which you can grow in faithfulness and steadfastness.
Food for the Feet
"Here is a rule for everyday life: Do not do anything which you cannot offer to God.” —Saint John Vianney
Saint John Vianney tells it like it is.
Don’t do anything that you cannot offer to God.
That is how we live out every day.
That is how we live as faithful and steadfast disciples of the Lord.
This week, resolve to not do anything that you cannot offer to God.
Exhortation
”The life of the body is the soul; the life of the soul is God.”—Saint Anthony of Padua
Saint Anthony of Padua tells us to what we must be attentive—God.
God is the life of our soul and the soul is the life of our body.
Our attention must be upon God.
When our attention is upon Him, then we will hear His call to follow, and we can respond with faithfulness and steadfastness.
His call might seem unexpected, but He will always provide whatever we need to do the work to which He desires for us to be about.
Therefore, may each of you do WHATEVER IT TAKES this week to be faithful and steadfast disciples 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!
The Lenten Audio Online Retreat is COMING!!
This retreat will see us reading from the spiritual classic, Rooting Out Hidden Faults: How the Particular Examen Conquers Sin by Father James McElhone, CSC. This audio retreat will include a brief reflection and daily resolution that is designed to help you incorporate using a particular examen in your daily life. So, join with me now, as we take our next step on our pilgrimage towards holiness. If you are interested, send me a message by clicking below.
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 #258—”Creating Sacred Spaces: The Mission of Grand Coteau—1:1 With Fr Patrick Hough, SJ, Executive Director Grand Coteau Retreats
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Episode #258—”Creating Sacred Spaces: The Mission of Grand Coteau—1:1 With Fr Patrick Hough, SJ, Executive Director Grand Coteau Retreats
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.