The Surrender Novena Prayer: O Jesus, I Surrender Myself to You
Praised be Jesus Christ!
In these turbulent times, when souls groan under the weight of anxiety, illness, financial distress, and spiritual aridity, Holy Mother Church places before us a heavenly remedy of childlike trust: the Surrender Novena Prayer. Revealed by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself to the Servant of God Father Dolindo Ruotolo (1882–1970), this surrender novena invites every faithful soul to repeat with perfect abandonment: “O Jesus, I surrender myself to You; take care of everything!”
This novena of surrender is not a modern innovation but a return to the eternal Gospel command of Our Divine Master: “Do not be anxious about your life… Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well” (Mt 6:25, 33). Rooted in the perennial doctrine of Divine Providence and the mystical tradition of total self-abandonment taught by the Church Fathers and Doctors, the surrender novena prayer has consoled countless traditional Catholics who have cast their cares upon the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The Origin of the Surrender Novena
The surrender novena sprang from the interior locutions Our Lord granted to Father Dolindo Ruotolo, a humble Neapolitan priest who offered himself as a victim soul for humanity and the Church. Jesus spoke directly to this faithful servant, urging complete surrender so that He might act with full freedom in our lives. As verified in reliable Catholic sources including Catholic Exchange and the official biographical materials preserved by those promoting his cause of beatification, these words were recorded by Fr. Dolindo and have been transmitted faithfully ever since.
Father Dolindo, known affectionately as “Mary’s little old man,” lived a life of profound suffering and hidden sanctity. Contemporary of Saint Padre Pio—who declared, “The whole of paradise is in your soul” and directed penitents to him—Fr. Dolindo bore stigmata-like sufferings and complete paralysis in his final decade. Yet in his agony he learned the secret of peace: to let Jesus “take care of everything.”
Who Was Servant of God Father Dolindo Ruotolo?
Born 6 October 1882 in Naples and dying on 19 November 1970, Don Dolindo was ordained at twenty-three and spent his priesthood in tireless spiritual direction, writing, and heroic charity. The Catholic Church has granted him the title Servant of God; his cause for beatification proceeds under the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. He called himself a “mouthpiece of the Holy Spirit” and lived the spirituality of total Marian and Christocentric abandonment. His life echoes the words of Saint Paul: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20).
How to Pray the Surrender Novena Prayer
The surrender novena prayer is prayed for nine consecutive days. Begin each day with the Sign of the Cross and the intention for your particular need. Read the short reflection given by Jesus, then repeat ten times with loving insistence:
O Jesus, I surrender myself to You; take care of everything!
Close with an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be, and the following prayer composed by Fr. Dolindo:
“Mother, I am yours now and forever. Through you and with you, I always want to belong completely to Jesus.”
Here follows the complete text of each day, drawn verbatim from the authentic transmission of Our Lord’s words to Fr. Dolindo:
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 to offer Me a worried prayer asking Me to follow you and to 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 mother may see their childlike efforts and may try to help them. 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, saying, “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 for a cure, but rather sick people who tell the doctor how to cure them. 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 even I will accomplish miracles when they are needed. 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 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 and 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, and 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 does divine works whosoever surrenders to God. So do not think about it anymore, because your mind is at ease, and for you it is very hard to see evil and to trust in Me and not to 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 Me 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, I surrender myself to You; take care of everything!” 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!” O Jesus, I surrender myself to You; take care of everything! (10 times)
The Theology of Surrender in Catholic Tradition
The Catholic surrender novena perfectly embodies the Church’s perennial teaching on holy abandonment. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “the prayer of faith consists in an unconditional acceptance of the power of the Word of God… and in a loving obedience to the Lord” (CCC 2717). Saint Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church, writes in his Treatise on the Love of God that perfect abandonment is the summit of charity. Saint Thérèse of Lisieux lived this “little way” of spiritual childhood, trusting Jesus even in darkness.
Our Lord Himself practiced total surrender: “Not My will but Yours be done” (Lk 22:42). The surrender novena prayer is therefore an echo of Gethsemane and a school of conformity to the Divine Will.
Scriptural Foundations
The surrender novena rests squarely upon Sacred Scripture. Our Divine Savior commands: “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28). Saint Peter exhorts: “Cast all your anxieties on Him, for He cares about you” (1 Pet 5:7). Saint Paul assures us: “Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God… will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:6–7).
Integrating the Surrender Novena into Daily Catholic Life
Traditional Catholics who pray the Dolindo Ruotolo novena prayer daily report profound peace, resolution of impossible situations, and deeper union with the Sacred Heart. Pair it with the Most Holy Rosary, frequent Confession, worthy reception of Holy Communion, and consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Offer it especially for the Church in crisis, for persecuted priests, and for the conversion of sinners.
A Pious Call to Action Dear reader, this very day begin the surrender novena prayer. Kneel before a crucifix or image of the Sacred Heart. Say with all the love of your soul: “O Jesus, I surrender myself to You; take care of everything!” Entrust your family, your vocation, your trials, your very eternity to Him who loves you more than you can imagine. Then turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mediatrix of all graces, and consecrate yourself anew to her Immaculate Heart.
May the Servant of God Father Dolindo intercede for us, and may the peace that surpasses all understanding guard your hearts in Christ Jesus.
O Jesus, I surrender myself to You; take care of everything!
In the Most Holy Name of Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the intercession of Saint Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church.
