Is Your Life in a Knot?

My husband picked up a book of Mark Twain’s short stories at a little neighborhood library the other day.  While reading it, he burst out laughing when he got to the end of one of the stories titled A Medieval Romance.  As he explained the story and its surprise ending to me, I thought it was absolutely genius.  So here is my spoiler alert for anyone who happens to be reading it.

The story is convoluted and too complicated to explain here except to say that as you arrive near the ending, you cannot imagine how it will end.  The characters have tied themselves into quite a knot making it difficult to come to any satisfactory conclusion.  How will he resolve their problem? Twain’s genius is that he admits he can’t, and concludes his short story this way:

“The truth is, I have got my hero (or heroine) into such a particularly close place that I do not see how I am ever going to get him (or her) out of it again, and therefore I will wash my hands of the whole business, and leave that person to get out the best way that offers—or else stay there.  I thought it was going to be easy enough to straighten out that little difficulty, but it looks different now.”

Isn’t that hilarious?  He cannot untie the literary knot he created, so he just stops.  Who does that?

It makes me think that sometimes we get our own lives tied up in knots that are so gnarled we wish we could just undo the mess, but unlike Twain, we cannot simply “wash our hands of the whole business.”  

We can however, turn to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, in a devotion known as Our Lady Untier of Knots.  It has been reported that Pope Francis took this devotion back to Argentina (before he became Pope) after seeing the original painting in Germany.

I like the image because it calls to mind, visually, the work of the Blessed Mother on our behalf—she helps us untie the knots in our life.  There is a quote linked to St. Irenaeus, and this image also has a very interesting story about a couple whose marriage was saved.

The prayer attached to the image is one you can pray for yourself or someone else.  It can be prayed as a Novena (recited for a determined set of days).

I have included a website below that has the Novena, as well as a copy of the version of the closing prayer that I prefer.  You do not have to pray the entire Novena.  Sometimes I just pray the prayer below.

Everyone knows someone that can use some help with the knots in their life.  I strongly encourage you to take up this prayer.  Remember, prayers do not work like magic.  We do not approach God in prayer with the idea that we can manipulate him or situations.

God bless,

Janet Cassidy

janetcassidy.com

Here is the Novena website:

Prayer to Mary, Undoer of Knots

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in your heart, cast your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life.

You know very well how desperate I am, my pain, and how I am bound by these knots.

Mary, Mother to whom God entrusted the undoing of the knots in the lives of his children, I entrust into your hands the ribbon of my life.  No one, not even the Evil One himself, can take it away from your precious care.

In your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone.

Powerful Mother, by your grace and intercessory power with Your Son and My Liberator, Jesus, take into your hands today this knot.

[Mention your request here]

I beg you to undo it for the glory of God, once for all.  You are my hope.  O my Lady, you are the only consolation God gives me, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution, and, with Christ, the freedom from my chains.  Hear my plea.  Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge!

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me.