Say Yes to Holiness Newsletter #363
Inspiration for the week of April 20, 2026 and Book Launch is this TUESDAYat 9am!
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.
It’s Book Launch Week! I invite you to consider purchasing a copy of my latest book, Solving the Parish Puzzle: One Person, One Disciple, and One Leader at a Time beginning on Tuesday, April 21st at 9am.
I will send out an email reminder on Tuesday with a link to the page on Amazon where you can purchase a copy if you would be so kind. More information on the book can be found at the bottom of this email. Thank you in advance for your support.
Now that the PSA is done, here is this week’s newsletter…
Happy Easter! He is Risen! Alleluia! Alleluia!
We are now moving deeper into the Easter season—a time when the Church invites us not just to celebrate the Resurrection, but to live from it. The joy of Easter is not meant to be a single moment, but a transformation that unfolds in our hearts day by day.
This week, we focus on a powerful truth:
“Love takes up where knowledge leaves off.” — St. Thomas Aquinas
We can know many things about God—but holiness begins when we love Him, trust Him, and allow His mercy to transform us.
So this week’s Food for the Head, Heart, Hands, and Feet is designed to help you move from knowing… to loving… to living.
Food for the Head
“If God had not permitted suffering, man would not know his limits, nor his need for God.” — Saint Gregory the Theologian
Easter reminds us that suffering is never the end of the story.
But we often still resist it, question it, or try to escape it.
Why?
Because we forget what suffering reveals—it shows us our need for God.
Without that awareness, we begin to rely on ourselves. With it, we begin to surrender.
This week, don’t run from your limitations. Let them point you back to Him.
This week, resolve reflect on one area of weakness or struggle—and invite God into it instead of trying to fix it alone.
Food for the Heart
“Those who sincerely say ‘Jesus, I trust in You’ will find comfort in all their anxieties and fears.” — Saint John Paul II
Trust is not a feeling—it’s a decision.
And most of us wait to feel peace before we trust God… when in reality, peace comes after we trust Him.
Easter is the ultimate proof that God is trustworthy.
Even when everything looked lost…
Even when darkness seemed to win…
God was still working.
He still is.
Whatever anxiety, fear, or uncertainty you’re carrying right now—this is your invitation:
Say it. Mean it. Live it.
“Jesus, I trust in You.”
This week, resolve to repeat “Jesus, I trust in You” whenever anxiety rises—and consciously place that situation in His hands.
Food for the Hands
“He who knows how to forgive prepares for himself many graces from God.” — Saint Faustina
If Easter is about Resurrection… then forgiveness is where resurrection begins in our lives.
Because unforgiveness keeps us stuck in the tomb.
We often think forgiveness is about the other person.
It’s not.
It’s about freeing your heart so grace can flow again.
Every time you choose to forgive, you make space for God to act more powerfully in your life.
This week, resolve to forgive someone—fully, intentionally, and without conditions—even if it has to be done daily.
Food for the Feet
“Do not let the past disturb you, just leave everything in the Sacred Heart and begin again with joy.” — Mother Teresa
This is one of the most practical—and most ignored—keys to holiness:
Begin again.
Not next month.
Not when you feel ready.
Not when everything is perfect.
Today.
The enemy wants you stuck in the past.
God is always calling you forward.
Holiness is not about never falling—it’s about never refusing to rise.
And Easter proves: rising is always possible.
This week, resolve to let go of one past failure or regret—and intentionally begin again with joy.
Exhortation
”Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing.” — Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
At the end of the day, holiness is not about how much you do.
It’s about how much you love.
Love in your suffering
Love in your trust
Love in your forgiveness
Love in your beginning again
This Easter season, don’t overcomplicate it.
Return to love.
Choose love.
Live love.
Because that is where transformation happens.
Your Mission This Week:
Trust God in one area of anxiety
Forgive someone completely
Begin again without hesitation
Choose love in everything
Easter is not just something we celebrate.
It is something we become.
So this week, do WHATEVER IT TAKES to live as a resurrected people…
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!
Our Lenten Online Retreat has now concluded, but it is still possible to participate!
This retreat saw us read the spiritual classic, Rooting Out Hidden Faults: How the Particular Examen Conquers Sin by Father James McElhone, CSC. This online retreat included 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, in using this online retreat during the Easter season, you can simply go to the Say Yes to Holiness podcast (you can also find the podcast on Spotify and Apple) or watch the episodes on the Say Yes to Holiness YouTube channel.
Finally, if you participated in the retreat and would like to make a donation in support of the work associated with this endeavor, you can click the link below.
Latest Post on the Women of the New Evangelization (WINE) blog:
Mercy, Peace and Exultation (April 12)
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!
You can listen to the latest episodes of the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts.
You can also watch the podcast on the Say Yes to Holiness YouTube channel
Click Here to Check Out All the Podcast Episodes
The Say Yes to Holiness YouTube Channel
The latest offering is available—the Lenten Book Online Retreat—”Rooting Out Hidden Faults” by Father James McElhone on YouTube—Click here to be taken to the playlist
As I stated at the beginning of the newsletter, it’s Book Launch Week! On TUESDAY (April 21st) at 9AM, Solving the Parish Puzzle: One Person, One Disciple, One Leader at a Time will be available for purchase on Amazon!
The book 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.
The book will become available for purchase on Amazon at 9am on Tuesday, April 21st. Plan to purchase your copy that day to help make this book’s message get out far and wide!
In the interim, here is an endorsement of the book for your consideration…
“From my perspective, the value of Solving the Parish Puzzle is that it brings much-needed clarity and integration to a space that is often fragmented. Parish leaders, ministry teams, and disciples are usually generous and committed, but not always aligned around a common mission or framework. This book provides a language and structure that helps unify efforts, ensuring that what we do is not simply activity, but intentional participation in forming missionary disciples and building communities that truly accompany people toward Christ.
As a leader, what stands out is how the book reinforces that healthy ministries do not emerge from isolated talent or charisma, but from a disciplined commitment to principles that can be learned, practiced, and replicated. By identifying the twelve “puzzle pieces,” it gives leaders a roadmap for sustainability. It shifts the focus from short-term success or programmatic growth to long-term fruitfulness rooted in evangelization, formation, relationships, and accountability. That is exactly what is needed to form leaders who can endure, multiply, and build environments where others can flourish.
What I find most compelling is the insistence on integration and the rejection of the “Christmas tree” mentality. That diagnosis is both honest and accurate. Too many of our parishes are doing a lot but not always moving in the same direction. The call to rediscover the “why,” to place everything at the service of mission, and to intentionally build communities where people are known, formed, and sent, is not only helpful but also, urgent. The Church does not need more activity. It needs greater coherence, deeper conviction, and leaders who can align people and purpose toward the work of making saints.”
Cristofer Pereyra
Chief Executive Officer
Tepeyac Leadership Initiative (TLI)
Again, I pray that you will consider purchasing a copy when it becomes available on Tuesday. If you do purchase a copy, send me an email saying “I purchased your book” and I will make sure you are sent information so you can participate in a special “Zoom Q&A” about the book.
Also, I humbly ask you to consider posting a review on Amazon as well. If you do, I will enter you into a special drawing for a one hour 1:1 consultation with me ($250 value).
To learn more, click here: The Catholic Leadership Puzzle