Say Yes to Holiness Newsletter #365
Inspiration for the week of May 4, 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.
Short PSA—In case you missed the last few weeks, my new book, Solving the Parish Puzzle: One Person, One Disciple, One Leader at a Time is now available for purchase on Amazon and my updated christinasemmens.com website is now live and taking appointments for anyone who would like to work with me…I hope you choose to reach out!
Now, without further ado, your Food for the Head, Heart, Hands and Feet…
Happy Easter! He is (STILL) Risen! Alleluia! Alleluia!
We now are into the fifth week of Easter, and the Church is continuing to draw us deeper into the heart of the Resurrection.
This week, the message is clear and direct—so simple that we often overlook it:
“Love one another as I have loved you.”
Not as we prefer, or is convenient, or how it feels comfortable.
But how Jesus has loved us.
So, this week’s Food for the Head, Heart, Hands, and Feet will focus on helping you move from simply understanding love to actually living it as we continue on our journey towards holiness…
Food for the Head
“When love comes into contact with evil, there is suffering.” — Father Benedict Groeschel
One of the greatest misunderstandings in life is that we tend to think that if we love well, then things should go smoothly, right?
But the opposite is often true.
When we love, we become vulnerable and experience misunderstanding, and we suffer as we encounter resistance.
Not because love is failing.
But because love is confronting what is broken.
Easter reminds us that suffering is not the end.
Love wins.
Love Himself defeated everything instance and aspect of sin and evil in the world at Easter, and all the pain and suffering and darkness and death that accompanies it.
The Easter season is the opportunity for us to remember that victory often looks like the Cross before it looks like the Resurrection, so we need to remember to not get discouraged or give up hope.
Instead, we need to see beyond the struggle and see that the victory is already won.
This week, resolve to reframe your struggles and see them as places where love is meeting resistance, rather than as signs of failure.
Food for the Heart
“How you respond to suffering becomes your source of despair… or the source of inner peace and spiritual joy.” — Saint Pope John Paul II
You cannot always control what happens to you, but you CAN control how you respond.
This is where transformation happens.
Whenever you choose patience instead of frustration, or trust instead of fear, or love instead of withdrawal, you begin to experience something unexpected:
Peace.
Peace even in the midst of difficulty.
A peace that is not natural, it’s supernatural.
Because it is the fruit of the Resurrection alive wi thin you.
This week, resolve to pause before reacting—and intentionally choose to respond in love.
Food for the Hands
“A single act of love makes the soul return to life.” — Saint Maximilian Kolbe
We often overcomplicate holiness, don’t we?
We think being holy requires big gestures, or a dramatic change, or extraordinary sacrifice. But the truth is much simpler, and if we are honest, much more demanding—to make each act of love matter.
Saint Maximilian Kolbe definitely made his final acts of love matter as he offered to take the place of another condemned man at Auschwitz, and then as he prayed with and ministered to the other men who were condemned with him in the starvation bunker.
Each kind word, act of forgiveness, moment of patience, and quietly offered sacrifice all made a difference in that starvation bunker in Auschwitz, and each time we do the same, they make a difference here in now, too.
We may never know the impact, but heaven does.
This week, resolve to make one intentional act of love each day this week—especially if it is difficult.
Food for the Feet
“Every time you encounter a trial… enter into the wounds of Christ crucified.” — Mark Wahlberg
The path forward for each of us this Easter season is not avoidance.
It is union.
Whenever something is hard, don’t run. Don’t numb or distract yourself.
Instead, enter into the trial, difficulty, or challenge alongside Christ.
Remember that none of our struggles are meaningless.
Rather, they are invitations.
Invitations to unite our suffering to Jesus’, and to love as He loved, and to trust as He trusted.
This is how Easter will becomes real in our lives, and will become real to those around us, and real to a world that desperately needs all of the graces of Easter.
This week, whenever you face a difficulty, resolve to consciously unite it to Christ instead of resisting or running away from it.
Exhortation
”Rejoice in the Lord always… Have no anxiety about anything.” — Philippians 4:4-7
At first glance, Saint Paul’s advice seems unrealistic.
Rejoice always? Have no anxiety?
But in light of the Resurrection, it makes perfect sense.
Because Love has conquered death, and light overcome darkness, and our Lord and Savior is alive.
And if Christ is alive, then nothing we face is without hope.
So, this week, strive to see suffering as love encountering resistance, and choose your response intentionally, especially by making one act of love each day as you unite your struggles to Christ.
These actions will ensure that this Easter season, you don’t just believe in the Resurrection, you will live it.
So, keep loving when it’s hard, trusting when it’s unclear, and acting when it’s inconvenient, because that is how the world will be changed.
So this week, keep doing WHATEVER IT TAKES to love as Jesus loves to live the graces of Easter, 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!
My christinasemmens.com website is LIVE!
Be sure to check it out and let me know what you think, AND if you have been wanting to work with me in some capacity, please sign up for a FREE consultation. I look forward to hearing from you!
The Lenten Online Retreat is still available for you 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. If you are interested, simply go to the Say Yes to Holiness podcast (plus, you can find the podcast on Spotify and Apple) or watch the episodes on the Say Yes to Holiness YouTube channel.
Finally, if you 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
Update from The Catholic Leadership Puzzle
My new book, Solving the Parish Puzzle: One Person, One Disciple, One Leader at a Time is 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, and is a compilation of the work I have been sharing on The Catholic Leadership Puzzle Substack.
I encourage you to read the reviews below to help you determine if you should pick up a copy today…
“Christina's book is both thoughtful and practical. I appreciate the careful attention to crafting a solid plan for reinvigorating and reenergizing parish life from from the 'ground up' - in other words, she writes with wisdom and experience about starting small and engaging individuals and small groups who can then passionately spread this message like fire. Helpful resource for anyone seeking to help take their parish community to a place of deep spiritual, practical, and holy love for the Lord and for one another!”—Matthew Koscal
“This book is for anyone who wants to see their parish thrive. Whether you are a priest or lay person, read Solving the Parish Puzzle for clear guidance on taking an average parish to the next level of discipleship. What we have been doing is not working. It’s time for something new. Semmens lays the groundwork so we can put the pieces together.”—Carol Wiget
“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 of the book. 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.
And if you already have a book, please consider posting a review on Amazon as well.
To learn more, click here: The Catholic Leadership Puzzle