The Surrender Novena is built on one short prayer of total trust: “O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!” It comes from the Italian priest Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo (1882–1970), who wrote down nine meditations in which Jesus invites the soul to stop worrying and to abandon itself completely to him. Millions now pray it in times of anxiety, illness and impossible situations. Below is how the Surrender Novena is prayed, where it comes from, nine days of surrender with Scripture you can pray alongside it, and other classic prayers of abandonment.
The prayer of the Surrender Novena
The heart of the novena is a single line, prayed ten times after each day’s meditation:
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
In Fr. Dolindo’s Italian it is even shorter: «Gesù, mi abbandono a te, pensaci tu!», literally, “Jesus, I abandon myself to you; you think about it.”
How to pray the Surrender Novena
- Each day for nine days, read the meditation for that day. In Fr. Dolindo’s text, Jesus speaks in the first person, explaining what true surrender means: not worrying, not trying to control the outcome, not telling him how to answer, but closing the eyes of the soul and letting him act.
- Then repeat ten times: “O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!”
- Bring your intention, but hand it over completely, without anxiety about how or when it will be resolved.
The nine meditations are published in many prayer books and pamphlets and by Catholic publishers. If you do not have the text, you can pray the nine days of surrender below, which use the same prayer with a passage of Scripture for each day.
Nine days of surrender with Scripture
Read the passage, pause in silence, then pray ten times: O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
Day 1: Cast your care upon him.
Cast thy care upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall not suffer the just to waver for ever.
Day 2: Do not worry about tomorrow.
Be not therefore solicitous for tomorrow; for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.
Day 3: Trust, not your own understanding.
Have confidence in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not upon thy own prudence.
In all thy ways think on him, and he will direct thy steps.
Day 4: All things work together for good.
And we know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints.
Day 5: Do not be afraid.
Fear not, for I am with thee: turn not aside, for I am thy God: I have strengthened thee, and have helped thee, and the right hand of my just one hath upheld thee.
Day 6: Pray instead of worrying.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice.
Let your modesty be known to all men. The Lord is nigh.
Be nothing solicitous; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Day 7: Into your hands.
Into thy hands I commend my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth.
Day 8: He cares for you.
Casting all your care upon him, for he hath care of you.
Day 9: The last surrender of Jesus.
And Jesus crying out with a loud voice, said: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. And saying this, he gave up the ghost.
Who was Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo?
Dolindo Ruotolo was born in Naples on October 6, 1882, and ordained a priest in 1905. A gifted writer and spiritual director, he wrote a commentary on the whole of Sacred Scripture in many volumes, as well as works of spirituality and music. For years he suffered misunderstanding and restrictions from Church authorities, which he accepted with obedience before being fully rehabilitated. He spent his last years paralyzed and in great poverty, and died in Naples on November 19, 1970. His tomb in the church of San Giuseppe dei Nudi in Naples is visited by many pilgrims, and his name is closely linked with this prayer of abandonment.
Other classic prayers of surrender
The Suscipe of St. Ignatius, from Father Lasance’s My Prayer-Book (1908):
Take, O Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. Thou hast given me all that I am and all that I possess; I surrender it all to Thee that Thou mayest dispose of it according to Thy will. Give me only Thy love and Thy grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will have no more to desire.
The Act of Confidence in God of St. Claude de la Colombière, from With God (1911):
My God, I believe most firmly that Thou watchest over all who hope in Thee, and that we can want for nothing when we rely upon Thee in all things; therefore I am resolved for the future to have no anxieties, and to cast all my cares upon Thee. “In peace in the self-same I will sleep and I will rest; for Thou, O Lord, singularly hast settled me in hope.”
Men may deprive me of worldly goods and of honors; sickness may take from me my strength and the means of serving Thee; I may even lose Thy grace by sin; but my trust shall never leave me. I will preserve it to the last moment of my life, and the powers of hell shall seek in vain to wrest it from me. “In peace in the self-same I will sleep and I will rest.”
Let others seek happiness in their wealth, in their talents; let them trust to the purity of their lives, the severity of their mortifications, to the number of their good works, the fervor of their prayers; as for me, O my God, in my very confidence lies all my hope. “For Thou, O Lord, singularly hast settled me in hope.” This confidence can never be vain. “No one has hoped in the Lord and has been confounded.”
I am assured, therefore, of my eternal happiness, for I firmly hope for it, and all my hope is in Thee. “In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped; let me never be confounded.”
I know, alas! I know but too well that I am frail and changeable; I know the power of temptation against the strongest virtue. I have seen stars fall from heaven, and pillars of the firmament totter; but these things alarm me not. While I hope in Thee I am sheltered from all misfortune, and I am sure that my trust shall endure, for I rely upon Thee to sustain this unfailing hope.
Finally, I know that my confidence can not exceed Thy bounty, and that I shall never receive less than I have hoped for from Thee. Therefore, I hope that Thou wilt sustain me against my evil inclinations; that Thou wilt protect me against the most furious assaults of the evil one, and that Thou wilt cause my weakness to triumph over my most powerful enemies. I hope that Thou wilt never cease to love me, and that I shall love Thee unceasingly, “In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped; let me never be confounded.”
See also St. Teresa of Avila’s Bookmark (“Let nothing disturb thee”) and the Catholic prayer for anxiety.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Surrender Novena prayer?
“O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!”, prayed ten times each day after a short meditation, for nine days.
When should I pray the Surrender Novena?
Whenever you feel overwhelmed: illness, a family crisis, money worries, a decision you cannot control. Many people also pray the short prayer many times a day as an act of trust.
Is surrender the same as doing nothing?
No. Surrender means doing what is ours to do and leaving the outcome to God, without anxiety. It is the attitude of Jesus in Gethsemane: “not my will, but thine be done.”
More prayers of trust
- Catholic prayer for anxiety
- Litany of Trust
- Litany of Humility
- Catholic prayer for a miracle
- Novenas
Texts and sources
- The surrender prayer: Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo (1882–1970), quoted briefly in Italian and English; the nine meditations are not reproduced here.
- Suscipe of St. Ignatius: F. X. Lasance, My Prayer-Book (1908), public domain (Wikisource). Act of Confidence: F. X. Lasance, With God (1911), public domain (Wikisource).
- Scripture: Psalm 54:23; Matthew 6:34; Proverbs 3:5–6; Romans 8:28; Isaias 41:10; Philippians 4:4–7; Psalm 30:6; 1 Peter 5:7; Luke 23:46, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.