Say Yes to Holiness Newsletter #353
Inspiration for the week of February 9, 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.
In the Gospel yesterday, Jesus speaks to His disciples (us) about the need for us to be salt and light for the world.
But what does it mean to be salt? What is entailed in to be light for the world?
These are the essential questions we must answer for ourselves as disciples of Christ.
So, this week’s Food for the Head, Heart, Hands and Feet is going to seek to inspire, encourage, and empower you to be the salt and light you have been created to be on your journey towards holiness…
Food for the Head
“Faced with problems and disappointments, many people will try to escape…But today, I propose to you the option of love, which is the opposite of escape.”—Saint Pope John Paul II
Who isn’t facing problems and disappointments right now?
Each of us, in our own way, are facing problems in our lives and the disappointments that come with not seeing life going as we had planned or hoped.
But we have a choice in how we respond.
The world tells us to escape. To seek escape through distractions or avoidance, and things like entertainment, busyness, and social media will cause us to forget for a time that we are facing problems and experiencing disappointments.
Christ tells us to love, and Pope John Paul II reminds us of this.
When we love, we are not escaping. Instead, we are engaging. We are engaging with others who need to be loved. And when we love them, we are being the salt of the earth as we flavor others around us with the love of God.
This week, resolve to not seek to escape, but to love others around you this week.
Food for the Heart
"Salt becomes salt when it is given to others. Salt does not give flavor to itself.”—Pope Francis
As salt, we do not give flavor to ourselves.
We get our salty flavor from the One who made us salt to begin with, therefore, we need to turn to Him as frequently as possible. We need to turn to Him in prayer and receive Him frequently in the sacraments so we are filled with the saltiness of the Onein whom we live and move and have our being.
There is one main way that salt loses its flavor—by dilution. Dilution happens when salt gets wet from too much moisture. We get “wet” by immersing ourselves too long in the world around us, so we get “diluted” and lose our flavor. We need to not allow this to happen.
Therefore, if we desire to remain flavorful, we need to make sure that we are being flavored by the Lord.
This week, resolve to remain salty by spending more time with the Lord in prayer and/or receiving Him in the sacraments.
Food for the Hands
"I see now that true charity consists in bearing with the faults of those about us, never being surprised at their weaknesses, but edified at the least sign of their virtue.”—Saint Therese of Lisieux
Saint Therese gives us our marching order for how we can be light to others.
We focus upon doing three things:
Bear the faults of those around us;
Never be surprised at their weaknesses; and
To be edified at the least sign of their virtue.
We are light by not complaining or becoming angry or discouraged when we have to bear the faults of those around us.
We also bear light when we are not surprised at someone’s (or own own!) weakness, so we do not become resentful or revengeful or mistrustful.
And finally, we bear light by giving witness to the slightest sign of another person’s virtue.
As we do these things, we shine brightly amongst all those who are complaining, angry, resentful, and discouraged. We shine brightly because we choose to see the good, true and beautiful around us. And we shine brightest as we hold up others to be lauded for their goodness, truthfulness and beauty in a world that focuses upon all that is horrible, deceitful and ugly.
Those things are not of the Lord, and we need to shine brightly to remind others that all is not darkness, sin and death.
This week, resolve to bear the faults of those around you; fail to be surprised at their weakness and allow yourself to be edified by the least sign of virtue.
Food for the Feet
"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”—Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta
When you see pictures of Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, one of the most striking things was that she was invariably smiling. Smiling at the baby or child in her arms, or the person to whom she was speaking, or to the people she was visiting in the hospital or houses of the dying.
A smile is an action of love, a gift to a person, a beautiful thing.
We need more beauty in the world.
So why are we not smiling more?
As disciples of Christ, we have everything to smile about.
We are beloved sons and daughters of God.
We know that we are loved beyond measure.
We know that we are SO valuable that the One who created us died for us so we could be with Him for all eternity.
We know that darkness, sin and death have been vanquished.
So, again, why are we smiling more?
This week, resolve to smile and give a smile to each person you encounter.
Exhortation
”When I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of Spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.”-Saint Paul to the Corinthians, Ch 2:1-5
To be salt and light is the great calling of Christian discipleship.
We can seek to be salt and flavor the people around us through our loving words and actions as we light up the environment around us with the truth and beauty of the Word Himself, the Son of God.
Even when we come to others in weakness and fear and trembling, the Lord will still make use of us, especially if we do this in humility. Therefore, we should always strive to do as St Paul did and to preach Christ crucified to exemplify that any good we do is not of our own power, but is of the Spirit, and our faith rests not on human wisdom, but on the power of God Himself.
This is our call. This is our privilege.
Be salt and love those around you.
Be light and smile.
And may each of you do WHATEVER IT TAKES to be salt and light each and every day ahead, 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 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.
PS—The link above will take you to my Substack page, so simply sign up by entering your email, and then send me a message that you desire to be a part of the Lenten Online Retreat
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 #259—”Embracing the Cross”
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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.