 |
| Our Lady Undoer of Knots |
When the
devil tells an exorcist: “It is the
novena to ‘she who unties the knots’ that destroyed my plans…,” it is a
powerful endorsement.
devil tells an exorcist: “It is the
novena to ‘she who unties the knots’ that destroyed my plans…,” it is a
powerful endorsement.
In the
booklet, Our
Lady Untier of Knots: Story of a Marian Devotion, the testimony of Capuchin
Father Capriano deMeo during an exorcism in Torre LeNocelle Avellino, Italy,
revealed that a possessed woman was reacting with loud screams and complaints
of defeat.
booklet, Our
Lady Untier of Knots: Story of a Marian Devotion, the testimony of Capuchin
Father Capriano deMeo during an exorcism in Torre LeNocelle Avellino, Italy,
revealed that a possessed woman was reacting with loud screams and complaints
of defeat.
“I was supposed to blow that
man’s brains out but she saved him…It was the woman who ruined me! It was that
novena, that accursed novena that saved him!
The novena to that woman…Of all the novenas that his wife recited for
him, that was the most powerful, that was the one that saved him!”
man’s brains out but she saved him…It was the woman who ruined me! It was that
novena, that accursed novena that saved him!
The novena to that woman…Of all the novenas that his wife recited for
him, that was the most powerful, that was the one that saved him!”
Fr. deMeo,
wondered if it was simply any novena to Our Blessed Mother, but he wanted to be
sure. So, he beseeched Our Lord to require Satan to reveal through the
possessed woman, the exact novena that had shattered his plans. It was then the
devil blamed the novena to “she who unties the knots.” (Novenas are 9 days of prayer; just like the
apostles and Blessed Mother prayed from Jesus’ ascension into heaven until
Pentecost Sunday.)
wondered if it was simply any novena to Our Blessed Mother, but he wanted to be
sure. So, he beseeched Our Lord to require Satan to reveal through the
possessed woman, the exact novena that had shattered his plans. It was then the
devil blamed the novena to “she who unties the knots.” (Novenas are 9 days of prayer; just like the
apostles and Blessed Mother prayed from Jesus’ ascension into heaven until
Pentecost Sunday.)
Roots
of the Devotion
of the Devotion
It is
believed that the devotion to Our Lady Undoer (or Untier) of Knots was inspired
by a meditation of Saint Irenaeus (Bishop of Lyon and martyred in 202). St.
Paul had made parallel between Adam and Christ and Saint Irenaeus, in turn,
made a comparison between Eve and Mary. “Eve, by her disobedience, tied
the knot of disgrace for the human race; whereas Mary, by her obedience, undid
it”.
believed that the devotion to Our Lady Undoer (or Untier) of Knots was inspired
by a meditation of Saint Irenaeus (Bishop of Lyon and martyred in 202). St.
Paul had made parallel between Adam and Christ and Saint Irenaeus, in turn,
made a comparison between Eve and Mary. “Eve, by her disobedience, tied
the knot of disgrace for the human race; whereas Mary, by her obedience, undid
it”.
Wolfgang Langenmantel (1586-1637) set
this devotion in motion through his struggles in marriage with his wife Sophie.
He had visited the Jesuit Father Jacob
Rem for his counsel. Wolfgang had given
the priest the ribbon from his wedding.
It was a German custom for the bride and groom to gently bind their
hands with a silk ribbon during the wedding ceremony as a symbol of their
unbreakable bond. Fr. Rem and Wolfgang
spent time in his monastery chapel praying before an image of the Blessed
Mother. The couple was reunited.
this devotion in motion through his struggles in marriage with his wife Sophie.
He had visited the Jesuit Father Jacob
Rem for his counsel. Wolfgang had given
the priest the ribbon from his wedding.
It was a German custom for the bride and groom to gently bind their
hands with a silk ribbon during the wedding ceremony as a symbol of their
unbreakable bond. Fr. Rem and Wolfgang
spent time in his monastery chapel praying before an image of the Blessed
Mother. The couple was reunited.
Years later, the grateful grandson of the couple donated a family altarpiece
and painting by Schmittdner, portraying the Virgin Mary as the “Untier of
Knots” to reflect the family story.
and painting by Schmittdner, portraying the Virgin Mary as the “Untier of
Knots” to reflect the family story.
Pope
Francis
Francis
Pope Francis
fell in love with the devotion to Our Lady, Undoer of Knots while studying for
his doctorate in Germany in 1986. He was
then, Fr. Jorge
Mario Bergoglio and laid eyes on the painting at the church in Augsburg. It shows Mary in heaven surrounded by angels.
She stands on the crescent moon crushing the head of the serpent. Satan and
holds a long ribbon and is untying one of several large knots on the ribbon.
Pope Francis bought a postcard of the paining and brought it home to Argentina.
fell in love with the devotion to Our Lady, Undoer of Knots while studying for
his doctorate in Germany in 1986. He was
then, Fr. Jorge
Mario Bergoglio and laid eyes on the painting at the church in Augsburg. It shows Mary in heaven surrounded by angels.
She stands on the crescent moon crushing the head of the serpent. Satan and
holds a long ribbon and is untying one of several large knots on the ribbon.
Pope Francis bought a postcard of the paining and brought it home to Argentina.
Marge
Fenelon, author of Our
Lady Undoer of Knots: A Guided Meditation from the Holy Land explained: “As cardinal, he had the image engraved into
a chalice and had it presented to Pope Benedict XVI.” She
reported that Fr. Bergoglio later relied on Our Lady, Undoer of Knots through a
very difficult time in his life. As a
result, author Paul Valleley titled his biography of the pope Pope
Francis: Untying the Knots.
Fenelon, author of Our
Lady Undoer of Knots: A Guided Meditation from the Holy Land explained: “As cardinal, he had the image engraved into
a chalice and had it presented to Pope Benedict XVI.” She
reported that Fr. Bergoglio later relied on Our Lady, Undoer of Knots through a
very difficult time in his life. As a
result, author Paul Valleley titled his biography of the pope Pope
Francis: Untying the Knots.
 |
| PaintedFaith.net |
The pope’s
enthusiasm for this devotion quickly spread through Argentina during his time
as cardinal. On October 12, 2013, during
his catechesis, Pope Francis shared his devotion to the world.
Marge’s own
devotion to the Our Lady, Undoer of Knots as expressed in her book of Holy
Land-inspired meditations, is intertwined with her trip there as a Catholic
journalist with Pope Francis’s Pilgrimage.
The meditations run for nine days beginning with pleas for justice and
reunification in the Holy Land and following with appeals of healing from
afflictions of every kind including envy, pride betrayal, discord and
grief.
devotion to the Our Lady, Undoer of Knots as expressed in her book of Holy
Land-inspired meditations, is intertwined with her trip there as a Catholic
journalist with Pope Francis’s Pilgrimage.
The meditations run for nine days beginning with pleas for justice and
reunification in the Holy Land and following with appeals of healing from
afflictions of every kind including envy, pride betrayal, discord and
grief.
Families
Need This Now!
Need This Now!
Mary, Untier
if Knots is venerated in Rome at the church of Santa Anastasia Palatino, the
first Roman parish to have Eucharistic adoration day and night. The devotion covers all of life’s knots but
it has been closely connect to marriage and the family.
if Knots is venerated in Rome at the church of Santa Anastasia Palatino, the
first Roman parish to have Eucharistic adoration day and night. The devotion covers all of life’s knots but
it has been closely connect to marriage and the family.
Never,before at any time in history, has marriage and family been under such brutal
attack. So perhaps as never before, we
need this devotion.
At the
opening Mass of the Synod of Bishops on the Family October 3, Pope Francis
stressed the importance of marriage and family during his homily. He said that people today are “less and less
serious about building a solid and fruitful relationship of love: in sickness
and in health, for better and for worse, in good times and in bad.” He
explained that, “Love which is lasting, faithful, conscientious, stable and
fruitful is increasingly looked down upon, viewed as a quaint relic of the
past. “ And Pope Francis encouraged the
faithful to “overcome every form of
individualism and legalism which conceals a narrow self-centeredness and a fear
of accepting the true meaning of the couple and of human sexuality in God’s
plan.”
opening Mass of the Synod of Bishops on the Family October 3, Pope Francis
stressed the importance of marriage and family during his homily. He said that people today are “less and less
serious about building a solid and fruitful relationship of love: in sickness
and in health, for better and for worse, in good times and in bad.” He
explained that, “Love which is lasting, faithful, conscientious, stable and
fruitful is increasingly looked down upon, viewed as a quaint relic of the
past. “ And Pope Francis encouraged the
faithful to “overcome every form of
individualism and legalism which conceals a narrow self-centeredness and a fear
of accepting the true meaning of the couple and of human sexuality in God’s
plan.”
Please share
your own answers to prayers through this devotion. Click here for the novena to Our Lady
Undoer of Knots.
your own answers to prayers through this devotion. Click here for the novena to Our Lady
Undoer of Knots.
~~~~~~~
Patti was co-author and managing editor of theAmazing Grace Series. Follow her at Twitter and Pinterest, like her pages at Dear God Books, Big Hearted Families, Catholic News & Inspiration on Facebook, and her author Facebook page. Sign up at the right column to receive articles in your inbox. God bless you!
