A Week of Prayer to Mary, Untier of Knots will be held from Monday to Friday, August 23 to August 27, after the 12:00 PM and 5:00 PM Masses.
Here is the novena prayer for this week:
Introduction
The devotion to Mary, Untier of Knots was inspired by a painting created in 1700 for the Church of St. Peter am Perlach in Augsburg, Germany. In the image, Mary stands above a crescent moon, crushing a serpent under her foot. An angel passes a knotted white ribbon to Mary who unties knots in the ribbon. Another angel receives the smooth, unknotted portion.
Both the painting and the devotion to Mary, Untier of Knots, trace their roots to the second-century bishop, Saint Irenaeus of Lyons. Referring to Mary’s role as the Second Eve, Saint Irenaeus wrote that “the knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what Eve had bound fast through unbelief, thus did Mary set free through faith” (Against Heresies).
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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
— Amen.
Let us pray for all who are having difficulty with the knots of their lives.
— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all struggling families, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all beset by financial struggles, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all seeking employment, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all suffering from mental and physical illness, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all bound by political ideologies, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all the homeless and the destitute, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all burdened with loneliness, fears or worries, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all living with addictions, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all estranged from the church, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all who have been abused by the church, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all enduring religious or ethnic persecution, we pray: — Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all overwhelmed by shame or despair, we pray: — Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all traumatized by violence or neglect, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all targeted by racism or discrimination, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all struggling to let go of grudges, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all working to protect our planet, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With all seeking peace, we pray:— Mary, Untier of Knots, pray for us.
With confidence in God let us pray:
Holy Mary, full of grace,
during your life you accepted with great humility the holy will of the Father
and the legacy of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
You were never entangled with confusion.
As you did for the young couple at the wedding feast of Cana, you intercede for us in all of our difficulties.
With simplicity and patience, you have given us an example
of how to untangle the knots in our complicated lives.
By being our mother forever,
you arrange and make clear
the path that unites us to Our Lord.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, and our mother,
untie the knots that beset our lives.
Receive us into your hands,
as well as those for whom we pray.
Blessed Virgin Mary, through your grace, your intercession, and by your example, deliver us from evil,
and untie the knots that keep us from being united to God so that free of all that binds us,
we may find Him in all things, keep Him in our hearts,
serving Him always in our brothers and sisters. Amen.
Through the intercession of Holy Mary, Untier of Knots, may almighty God bless you:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
— Amen.