The Surrender Novena

Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo (1882–1970), a priest in Naples, wrote the Surrender Novena as words of Jesus to a soul that worries. Each day you read that day’s meditation, then repeat this line ten times. Below is what each day is about, in our own words, with a short prayer and audio. Fr. Dolindo’s full text is still under copyright, so it isn’t reproduced here. Write the line on a card and keep it where you’ll see it.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything! Jesus, I’m starting these nine days tired of trying to control what I can’t. Here is what I’m carrying. You already know it. Teach me to let go of it, and let You work. Amen.

Day one: worrying and fretting don’t solve anything. Peace starts when you hand the situation over and stop anxiously checking on it. Then repeat the line ten times.

Cast your burden on Yahweh, and he will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22

Jesus, I’ve been carrying this in my head all night, turning it over and over. Worrying hasn’t fixed one thing. So I’m putting it down in front of You, and I’m going to try not to keep checking on it. You know what to do far better than I do. O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!

Day two: surrender isn’t fussing, planning, and rehearsing what might happen. It’s a child resting while a parent takes care of things. Then repeat the line ten times.

Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 18:4

Jesus, I fuss like a child who won’t let a parent help. I plan, I rehearse, I imagine the worst. Today I want to be small again. Let me rest while You work, the way a child sleeps in the back seat on a long drive. O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!

Day three: praying “Your will be done” means letting Him act, not handing Him a list of instructions. Then repeat the line ten times.

Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Matthew 6:10

Jesus, I pray “Your will be done,” and then I tell You exactly how to do it. Forgive me. I don’t know what’s best here, and You do. Do it Your way and in Your time, even if it isn’t the way I pictured. O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!

Day four: when illness or trouble seems to grow instead of shrink, don’t take it back. Keep trusting, the way a patient trusts the doctor in the middle of treatment. Then repeat the line ten times.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and flame will not scorch you. Isaiah 43:2

Jesus, it’s getting worse, not better, and I’m tempted to grab it back and fix it myself. Help me hold still. A patient doesn’t take the scalpel from the surgeon. Keep me trusting You right through the hardest part. O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!

Day five: He may lead you by a way you would never pick. The path isn’t the heavy part; the worry you carry along it is. Then repeat the line ten times.

I will bring the blind by a way that they don’t know. I will lead them in paths that they don’t know. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. I will do these things, and I will not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16

Jesus, this isn’t the road I would have chosen, and I can’t see where it goes. You never promised me the whole map, only that You would lead. Carry me where my own feet won’t go, and take the weight of worry off me. O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!

Day six: leaning on your own strength, or on people, instead of on Him gets in the way. Surrender puts you back in His hands. Then repeat the line ten times.

Don’t put your trust in princes, each a son of man in whom there is no help. Psalm 146:3

Jesus, I’ve been leaning on my own plans and on people who can’t carry this. I made them my safety and left You for last. I’m turning back now. Be my help first, not my backup. O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!

Day seven: the novena links miracles to a trust so complete that you forget yourself. It’s an invitation to trust, not a formula. Then repeat the line ten times.

Jesus, looking at them, said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God.” Mark 10:27

Jesus, I’m not asking You to perform on cue. I’m asking You to have all of me. Help me forget myself long enough to trust You completely. What’s impossible for me isn’t impossible for You, and whatever You do, I’ll trust that it’s good. O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!

Day eight: let go the way a swimmer rests on the water, without replaying the past or rehearsing the future. Then repeat the line ten times.

Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient. Matthew 6:34

Jesus, I keep replaying yesterday and rehearsing tomorrow. Teach me to float instead of thrash. Today has enough in it. Let me rest on Your grace the way a swimmer rests on the water, and go where You carry me. O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!

Day nine: the novena ends by asking you to stay surrendered every day. Peace comes from living this way, not from finishing nine days. Then repeat the line ten times.

In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Jesus, the nine days are ending, but I don’t want this to end. Keep me handing things over every day, the small things and the big ones. Let Your peace stand guard over me, even before the answer comes. O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!

After the ninth day, keep the line as your first prayer of the morning.

Good morning, Jesus. Before I check my phone, before the worries line up, I give You this day. Everything I can’t control, I put in Your hands. Everything I can do, help me do with peace. O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!