Fall 2019 was another busy semester.  I had the most writing assignments for a semester: two 8-page papers (1 replacing a midterm), two 5-page papers and a 20-page term paper.  October, November and December each had two papers due.

But looking back, it wasn’t as stressful as I thought it would be.

I noticed constantly to power of God’s providence in my life.  In my Theological Anthropology class, providence means that God sustains, maintains and governs all creation at every moment.  But I noticed how particularly concerned He is about me.

I was received the Novena of Surrender to the Will of God by Fr. Ruotolo this past summer.  The short prayer intrigued me: “O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!”  I tweaked it into this version for my personal use: “O Jesus, I surrender myself completely to you.  You take care of everything!”  That is a surrender to Divine Providence.

Every time that a busy assignment was due, time always opened up for me to complete it.  Beyond the papers, delays and random introductions would connect me with people who needed prayers, advice or a listening ear.  Always see interruptions as invitations, a Jesuit advised.  Check out these videos.

Even registering for spring classes, I was foiled in finding an available elective on the Virgin Mary.  But I ended up with an elective on a completely different topic that I realized that I needed.  Then, a class on Mary was shifted to a time slot that I can attend.  God abounds in generosity.

If you want to learn more about Providence, Bishop Robert Barron connects an all-too-familiar app with Divine Providence.

Here is a challenge:  Pray this short prayer at every stressful moment: “O Jesus, I surrender myself completely to you.  You take care of everything!”  You’ll be amazed at what Jesus can do.

God bless.