Into Your Hands: A Surrender Chaplet

Kevin Tondra shares a scriptural chaplet for letting go of worry and resting in the care of Jesus.  

I first turned to prayers of surrender during a few seasons in my life where things felt completely out of my hands. It’s incredibly hard to quiet your brain when you are deeply worried about the people you love, and in those moments, I found myself turning to a simple prayer by an Italian priest, Father Don Dolindo Ruotolo (1882–1970). You might know it as the Surrender Novena.

To help those words really sink into my heart, I started pairing them with a few specific scenes from the Gospels. That’s how this chaplet came about. It’s meant to be a quiet space where we can look at the life of Christ, loosen our grip on fear, and remember that God is still in control — even when we can’t see the way forward.

How to Pray the Surrender Chaplet

You can pray this using a standard set of Rosary beads.

First Meditation: The Flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13–15)

Think about that sudden knock in the middle of the night, the scramble to gather a few belongings, and the long journey into the dark. Joseph and Mary had to carry the infant Jesus into a completely foreign land. They didn't have a long-term plan, and they didn't know what awaited them. They just knew they had to move, and they trusted that God would be there when they arrived.

When your own future feels entirely unclear and life changes without warning, remember that midnight journey. God rarely gives us the whole blueprint. Usually, He just asks us to trust Him for the very next step.

• On the large bead: Our Father
• On the 10 small beads: Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything. 

Second Meditation: Jesus Led into the Desert (Matthew 4:1–11)

Picture the sheer silence of the wilderness — the heat, the isolation, and that heavy feeling of emptiness. Before starting His public ministry, Jesus went straight into the desert and relied entirely on the Father. In His real human weakness, He faced temptation and exhaustion, but He never moved away from God’s will.

There are days when we feel stripped down, too: short on answers, short on comfort, and completely out of direction. In those quiet, heavy moments, God is often teaching us to rely a little less on our own strength and a little more on His.

• On the large bead: Our Father
• On the 10 small beads: Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything.

Third Meditation: Jesus Asleep in the Storm (Mark 4:35–41)

Look at the disciples for a second. The waves are crashing, the boat is filling with water, and they are absolutely terrified. Meanwhile, Jesus is asleep on a cushion.

The storm is real, and it's dangerous, but He is completely at rest. He isn't afraid — not because the storm is small, but because His trust in the Father is absolute. When your own thoughts start racing and you can't get them to settle, look at Him there in the boat. He isn't panicked. He is right there with you.

• On the large bead: Our Father
• On the 10 small beads: Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything.

Fourth Meditation: The Feeding of the Five Thousand (John 6:1–14)

Thousands of hungry people. Five loaves of bread. Two fish. To the disciples, it looked like a joke compared to what was actually needed. They saw only the lack. But Jesus just asked them to bring what they had.

So often we look at our own lives and think, I just don’t have enough patience for this today. I don’t have the strength, or the energy, or even enough faith. But Jesus doesn't ask us to bring an overflowing, perfect basket. Give Him whatever you actually have right now — not what you wish you had — and trust Him to handle the rest.

• On the large bead: Our Father
• On the 10 small beads: Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything.

Fifth Meditation: Jesus Hangs on the Cross (Luke 23:46)

The sky goes dark. People are mocking Him from the ground. The pain is closing in from every side. And yet, Jesus gives everything left of Himself to the Father: “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit.” In that moment, there is no visible Resurrection yet. There is only the Cross. And still, He trusts.

In your own darkest moments — when nothing makes sense and nothing seems to be changing — remember that surrender isn't giving up. It's simply the place where we step out of the way and let God continue working, even in the silence.

• On the large bead: Our Father
• On the 10 small beads: Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything.

Conclusion

Conclude by praying three times:

"Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in You."

Bringing It Into Your Day

The next time you find yourself gripping the steering wheel a little too tight with worry, or your mind starts racing as you try to go to sleep, try reaching for your rosary beads. Finding peace doesn't require a lot of complicated words — just the simple reminder to let go and let Him take care of everything.

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Copyright 2026 Kevin Tondra
Images: Canva