Jesus I surrender
Ever wonder how Jesus takes care of everything?
In early October this year, I received the gift of detachment under rather stressful circumstances.
A week before leaving on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje, I discovered that I did not have an airport transit visa for a three-hour stopover at a European capital city. Procuring such a visa would take six to eight weeks!
I called my mother, who, with a confidence that can only be described as deep faith, assured me that Our Lady, who loved me, would get me the visa. All I had to do, my mother advised, was to write an email to the consulate in question and all would be well. Then my mother changed the subject and went onto speak of her favourite topic — her grandchildren.
“You of little faith. …” the words seemed to echo as I typed a short email to the consulate explaining that I would lose all my ticket money since I had bought the cheapest possible ticket,allowing for no changes. I also called three friends, who said they would pray for me.
At the start of compline that night, I was downcast about the looming possibility of forfeiting my pilgrimage plans. But by the end of compline, something had shifted in my spirit. Much to my surprise, I had total detachment!
I knew God loved me, and that was all that mattered. I was deeply surrendered to any outcome and went to bed in quiet joy, resting in the immense love of God.
In the morning, the first email I opened was from a friend I had contacted the previous day. As I had been praying compline, she had prayed the entire Surrender Novena by Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo (surrendernovena.com).
We cried together as I shared the fruit of her prayer — total detachment from the pilgrimage and gratitude for God’s great love. The heart of the novena is “Jesus, I surrender – take care of everything.”
I went about my morning duties. Midday, while checking emails for our mission house, I opened one from the consulate giving me a visa appointment 48hours before I was to fly to Medjugorje.
Detachment is a scary word, and yet, once experienced, it brings an abiding freedom.
[Calligraphy by Fr. Eric Lies]
