I remember once telling a wonderful priest named Fr. Richard Parle that I was afraid to surrender to God out of fear of what He would ask of me. Surrender is literally giving up total control over everything I know, understand, and hold dear, which is so much easier said than done. Many a time I will have good intentions, but almost always in the final moments, pride, doubt, fear, and worry will all creep in, stealing my sense of control and causing me to break my resolve. How is it that my mind and heart want so much to surrender to God, and yet my will strongly opposes? In the bible, Peter and the disciples loved Jesus very much, and they were adamant that they would never abandon Him. However, in the final moment, all the Apostles (except for John the Beloved) failed and in fact abandoned Jesus at the cross: Peter saith to him: Yea, though I should die with thee, I will not deny thee. And in like manner said all the disciples. (Matthew 26:35)

Jesus, in His infinite goodness, gave Don Dolindo the words of The Surrender Novena. These powerful prayers are full of love, kindness and patient teachings, which immediately captured my senses when I first came across this novena. It seemed that God was answering my prayers and teaching me a way to surrender and to give up all control to Him. Each day I meditate on the prayer of the day three times and allow the words to soak into my being. Then after nine days, I start all over again. It all makes perfect sense for me to allow myself to be a child, to rest in His presence, and to trust Him to take care of everything. And, by adopting an attitude of gratefulness I am able to endure and persevere through the challenging times.   

Gradually and over time, I have noticed that my cloak of pride, doubt, fear, and worry is being chipped away. Like a master artist, God is sculpturing and molding me to be who He created me to be because I finally understand what it means to “Let go, and let God”. I invite you all to participate in the Surrender Novena as well – give God your troubles; give God your worries. Give Him your whole heart and your whole life, and let Him take care of you.

The Surrender Novena

Day 1

Why do you confuse yourselves by worrying? Leave the care of your affairs to Me and everything will be peaceful. I say to you in truth that every act of true, blind, complete surrender to Me produces the effect that you desire and resolves all difficult situations.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

Day 2

Surrender to Me does not mean to fret, to be upset, or to lose hope; nor does it mean offering to Me a worried prayer, asking Me to follow you and change your worry into prayer. It is against this surrender – deeply against it – to worry, to be nervous, and to desire to think about the consequences of anything.

It is like the confusion that children feel when they ask their mother to see to their needs, and then try to take care of those needs for themselves so that their childlike efforts get in their mother’s way. Surrender means to placidly close the eyes of the soul, to turn away from thoughts of tribulation, and to put yourself in My care, so that only I act, while you say to Me, “Jesus, You take care of it.”

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

Day 3

How many things I do when the soul, in so much spiritual and material need, turns to me, looks at me, and says to me, “You take care of it,” then closes its eyes and rests. In pain you pray for Me to act, but that I act in the way you want. You do not turn to Me; instead, you want Me to adapt to your ideas. You are not sick people who ask the doctor to cure you, but rather sick people who tell the doctor how to. So do not act this way, but pray as I taught you in the Our Father: “Hallowed be thy Name;” that is, be glorified in my need. “Thy kingdom come;” that is, let all that is in us and in the world be in accord with Your kingdom. “Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven;” that is, in our need, decide as You see fit for our temporal and eternal life. If you say to Me truly, “Thy will be done,” which is the same as saying, “You take care of it,” I will intervene with all My omnipotence, and I will resolve the most difficult situations.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

Day 4

You see evil growing instead of weakening? Do not worry. Close your eyes and say to Me with faith: “Thy will be done, You take care of it.” I say to you that I will take care of it, and that I will intervene as does a doctor, and I will accomplish miracles when they are needed. Do you see that the sick person is getting worse? Do not be upset, but close your eyes and say, “You take care of it.” I say to you that I will take care of it, and that there is no medicine more powerful than My loving intervention. By My love, I promise this to you.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

Day 5

And when I must lead you on a path different from the one you see, I will prepare you; I will carry you in My arms; I will let you find yourself, like children who have fallen asleep in their mother’s arms, on the other bank of the river. What troubles you and hurts you immensely are your reason, your thoughts, your worry, and your desire at all costs to deal with what afflicts you.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

Day 6

You are sleepless; you want to judge everything, direct everything, and see to everything. You surrender to human strength, or worse – to men themselves, trusting in their intervention. This is what hinders My words and My views. Oh, how much I wish from you this surrender, to help you, and how I suffer when I see you so agitated! Satan tries to do exactly this: to agitate you and to remove you from My protection and to throw you into the jaws of human initiative. So trust only in Me, rest in Me, surrender to Me in everything.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

Day 7

I perform miracles in proportion to your full surrender to Me and to your not thinking of yourselves. I sow treasure troves of graces when you are in the deepest poverty. No person of reason, no thinker, has ever performed miracles, not even among the saints. He whosoever surrenders to God does divine works. So don’t think about it anymore, because your mind is acute and for you it is very hard to see evil and to trust in Me and to not think of yourself. Do this for all your needs; do this, all of you, and you will see great continual silent miracles. I will take care of things – I promise this to you.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

Day 8

Close your eyes and let yourself be carried away on the flowing current of My grace. Close your eyes and do not think of the present, turning your thoughts away from the future just as you would from temptation. Repose in Me, believing in My goodness, and I promise you by My love that if you say, “You take care of it,” I will take care of it all – I will console you, liberate you, and guide you.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

Day 9

Pray always in readiness to surrender, and you will receive from it great peace and great rewards, even when I confer on you the grace of immolation, of repentance, and of love. Then what does suffering matter? It seems impossible to you? Close your eyes and say with all your soul, “Jesus, you take care of it.” Do not be afraid, I will take care of things and you will bless My name by humbling yourself. A thousand prayers cannot equal one single act of surrender – remember this well. There is no novena more effective than this.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

Mother, I am yours now and forever.
Through you and with you
I always want to belong
completely to Jesus.