Say Yes to Holiness Newsletter #359
Inspiration for the week of March 23, 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.
We have now entered Passiontide.
We are now in the final days of Lent before we enter the holiest days of our liturgical year.
This is the time to remember our need for the Lord and ask for the an increase in the graces of faith and love so that we may be ready to rejoice on Easter Sunday morning.
Therefore, this week’s Food for the Head, Heart, Hands and Feet will inspire, encourage and accompany you in preparing for the hope that is the Resurrection on our journey towards holiness…
Food for the Head
“Faith is the light that dispels the darkness of ignorance.” – St. Thomas Aquinas
Saint Thomas Aquinas reminds us of the power of faith.
Faith is so powerful that it dispels the darkness of ignorance. A darkness that seems to be consuming much of our world today.
Ignorance of truth. Ignorance of goodness. Ignorance of beauty.
Ignorance of God.
There is a reason the world is a very dark place.
Yet, we have darkness within as well. Places where we do not allow the light of Christ to shine—our wounds, petty rivalries, jealousies, and worldly ambitions. We remain in darkness so that we may hold on to these dark spots within us.
But faith is the key to dispelling all the darkness within ourselves as well as what we see around us. Faith becomes the key to opening the door to Heaven for those who believe in the One whom has the power that overcame darkness, sin and death.
As we prepare for Holy Week, let us be mindful of our own ignorance. Let us examine our minds and hearts to see if darkness is creeping in, and if we need the power faith has to dispel it.
This week, resolve to make an act of faith each time you encounter darkness in your mind, heart or soul.
Food for the Heart
“Healing comes when we recognize our need for God.” – St. Therese of Lisieux
All of us are wounded.
There is not a person alive who can honestly claim they have gotten through life without being hurt or injured in some way—be it physically, mentally, emotionally or even spiritually.
Our wounds color our perception and then cause us to hurt others out of our own pain. But Saint Therese gives us the path we must follow if we desire to be healed of our wounds.
We recognize our need for God.
Particularly, we recognize our need for Him to heal us of all of our wounds and be whole again. When we are whole, then we do not have a need to harm others, but rather, we seek to love as we have been loved.
So, in this week prior to Holy Week, make it a point to go to the sacrament of Confession to be healed of your wounds.
This week, resolve to be healed of your wounds by availing yourself of the graces found in the sacrament of Reconciliation.
Food for the Hands
“The passage of time has not altered the capacity of the Redeemer to change men’s lives. As he said to the dead Lazarus, so he says to you and me: “come forth.” Come forth from the despair of doubt. Come forth from the sorrow of sin. Come forth from the death of disbelief. Come forth to a newness of life. Come forth.”—Thomas S. Monson
What does the resurrection of Lazarus say to us? That every person can be changed through the power of God.
Jesus told Lazarus to “come forth” from death. He tells us the same. To come forth from the despair of doubt, the sorrow of sin, death of disbelief into the newness of life.
This is what Passiontide is for. To enter further into the dark so we can be called forth into new life.
So what parts of you need to be brought to life again?
It is those parts of you from which the Lord commands you to come forth.
This week, resolve to enter more deeply into Passiontide to prepare for the new life the Lord longs for you to come forth.
Food for the Feet
“For He raised not Lazarus alone, but the faith of all; and if you believe, as you read, your spirit also, which was dead, revives with Lazarus.”—Saint Ambrose
Saint Ambrose captures the essence of the power of Lazarus’ being raised from the dead. Through Lazarus’ resurrection we are all given faith in our own eventual resurrection.
The sister of Lazarus, Martha, expressed her faith in Jesus as Lord, and that she believed that her brother would be raised on the last day. Jesus affirmed her faith, but then told her that her brother would be alive again that very day.
I can only imagine how that must have increased Martha’s faith. And it shoudl increase ours as well—if we believe.
For that is what Passiontide is preparing us for —to deepen our faith in the midst of seeming hopelessness. To remain faithful when all seems lost. To declare faith when that faith seems foolhardy.
With each moment that we remain faithful, our trust grows and is magnified in the Lord. And as our trust grows, so does our capacity for hope. For the Resurrection is about hope. Let us prepare for hope during these final days of Lent by remaining faithful to all that we have promised.
This week, resolve to remain faithful to your Lenten promises so as to prepare for hope.
Exhortation
”I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live.”—John 11:25
As we enter into the final week of Lent before Holy Week, we should strive to keep this pronouncement that Jesus made to Martha prior to His raising of Lazarus.
It is His promise to each one of us that if we believe in Him, then we will live.
If we believe, then we make acts of faith to increase our belief.
To increase our belief, we seek to be healed of our wounds.
We seek to discover the parts of ourselves that are in darkness, so can set them adie and come forth into the light.
And we remain faithful to all of our Lenten promises to prepare for eternal hope.
This is what we do during this Passiontide time.
I pray that you may do WHATEVER IT TAKES to prepare for hope, 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 continues!!
This retreat has us reading from the spiritual classic, Rooting Out Hidden Faults: How the Particular Examen Conquers Sin by Father James McElhone, CSC.
This online retreat includes a brief reflection and daily resolution that is designed to help you incorporate the use of a particular examen in your daily life to help you take the next step on our pilgrimage towards holiness. If you are interested, send me a message by clicking below.
The link above will take you to my Substack page where you can find all the latest podcast posts for the Lenten Online Retreat. If you are not subscribed yet, I invite you to do for free—or you can make a donation in support of the work associated with this endeavor.
Latest Post on the Women of the New Evangelization (WINE) blog:
Harden Not Our Hearts (Mar 9)
Do Not Be Terrified (Nov 16)
Gaining Wisdom of Heart (Sept 9)
Guest appearance on the Equipcast Podcast:
"When God Asks, How Do You Answer?: The Power of 'Yes' with Christina Semmens
Article on Catholic365.com Platform:
We Are All Eucharistic Missionaires!
Latest episode of the Say Yes to Holiness podcast...
Episode #260—”Helping Your Marriage Flourish—1:1 with Katie Zulanas, Executive Director, Couple to Couple League”
Subscribe to the Say Yes to Holiness podcast!
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You can also watch the podcast on the Say Yes to Holiness YouTube channel
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The Say Yes to Holiness YouTube Channel
Watch the Lenten Book Online Retreat—”Rooting Out Hidden Faults” by Father James McElhone on YouTube—Click here to be taken to the playlist
The content found at the Catholic Leadership Puzzle is now going to be in a book!
Solving the Parish Puzzle: One Person, One Disciple, One Leader at a Time is scheduled to be released on April 21st.
More information will be coming soon, so stay tuned!
The Catholic Leadership Puzzle is a initiative that shares and discusses content from my upcoming book () 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.