Tuesday 28 March 2023

Jesus, You Take Over - Father Dolindo Ruotolo - Prayers for Surrender to God's Will for Private Devotion

Jesus, You Take Over: 
Prayers for Surrender to God's Will for Private Devotion
Father Dolindo Ruotolo
ISBN 9798541960907


The devotion in the booklet and the author Father Dolindo Ruotolo was mentioned to me in the confessional, not as penance but as a devotion worth looking up. I have not been able to find a biography of Father Ruotolo in English. I did find Spanish and polish editions of several of his works, many more than appear to be available in English. There seems to be several different booklet forms of just the Surrender Novena, some stapled editions and some trifold. This booklet form contains the following chapters and sections:

About Fr. Donlindo Ruotolo
Jesus, You Take Over 
The Surrender Novena
     Day 1
     Day 2
     Day 3
     Day 4
     Day 5
     Day 6
     Day 7
     Day 8
     Day 9
The Rosary of Abandonment

The description of this booklet states:

“This peace-invoking, beautiful little prayer book includes private devotions by Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo (1882-1970), including the Surrender Novena, Rosary of Abandonment, and words of comfort. It is a perfect little prayer book to add to one's prayer life when one is struggling with stress and anxiety, especially during our weary present-day times. Placing one's trust in God alone is the only remedy for truly calming the soul. Padre Pio often recommended souls to Fr. Ruotolo while he was alive.”

The booklet comes in at 42 pages. For the size I found it a but pricy. But For the content worth it. Most of what is in this booklet, however, is available online if you search for it. I found several different PDF downloads of the Novena, and many have the into about Father Ruotolo. I really wish this was available as an eBook. I have a dual form of dyslexia and my son has eye tracking issues. We prefer eBooks so that we can change the font, font and page colour to make reading easier. As we can use adaptive technology and listen to help as well. 

That being said this is an excellent little booklet. If it was more reasonably priced I would keep a stack on hand to give out to friends and family. I am thankful my parish priest recommended this volume, I had previously read A Month with Mary and I will be reading some of the other volumes by Father Dolindo and will be keeping my eye out for a biography in English. This is a great little resource that I can easily recommend.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2023 Catholic Reading Plan

Books by Father Dolindo Ruotolo:
Come, O Holy Spirit
Meditations on the Holy Rosary
Surrender Novena
The Afterlife: Purgatory and Heaven Explained

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