You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that He jealously longs for the spirit He has caused to dwell in us? But He gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:4-7
“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!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
Day 6 of 9 of The Surrender Novena by Dolindo Ruotolo (1882-1970).
James, the half-brother of Jesus and head of the church in Jerusalem exhorts us to avoid friendship with the world. Or as Ruotolo describes it, trusting in human intervention and initiative.
This relates to generosity because our whole construct for giving must be rooted in trust, rest, and surrender, and not sleeplessly trying to judge and direct everything.
When our lives exhibit this surrender, believing that Jesus can and will take care of everything, we avoid Satan’s distractions, we live unhindered lives, and we sleep good.
How is The Surrender Novena impacting you? What stirs within you from today or the collection of days? I experience some conviction, freedom, grace, and profound peace.
O Jesus, we surrender ourselves to you, take care of everything.