Holy Spirit Mondays: Holiness is Surrender

Fr. Thomas Colyandro
11 hours ago
2 min read

Each week I send a short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. If you have a question or a prayer request, please reach out here.

Read: (This is a short reflection I created recently)

You are the Lord, the Giver of Life—not a distant force, but the living breath of God who dwells within me. How strange and wondrous that the same Spirit who moved over the waters at creation, who spoke through prophets, who descended as fire at Pentecost, now rests as the uncreated silence in this fragile heart.

I confess I forget You. I go about my days as though I were alone, as though transformation were my own project, my own striving. But You are patient. You wait. You work in silence, in the slow turning of seasons within me—purifying what is disordered, illuminating what is dark, drawing me toward a wholeness I cannot manufacture.

When I call upon Your Presence over the bread and wine, I am reminded that the ordinary can become a vessel for the holy. If wheat and grapes can bear Your presence, maybe I can too. Perhaps that is the mystery—that You do not disdain this clay but choose to dwell in it.

The saints knew this. Seraphim spoke of acquiring You as the whole aim of life. Not ideas about You, not feelings, but You—the living flame, the gentle warmth, the presence that makes all other pursuits seem pale.

Come, Holy Spirit. Not because I have prepared a worthy place, but because You are merciful. Teach me to pray. Teach me to be still. Teach me that holiness is not achievement but surrender—a slow yes, repeated daily, to the One who already dwells within.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Ponder:

It's the end of 2025. Take time to examine your spiritual life. Are you more truthfully aware of God, yourself, and others? Are you more deeply filled with love and forgiveness? Are you more clearly aware of your calling as you begin 2026? In the end, have you grown in your relationship with the Holy Spirit?

Pray:

"Most Holy Spirit, save me from myself and sanctify me."

Ask:

If you have a question or a prayer request, please reach out here.