In 1612, in the town of Augsburg Germany, a nobleman made a journey to visit a Jesuit priest four times in 28 days. He was seeking the counsel and prayers of the holy priest to save his marriage. Together the two men would pray and venerate the Blessed Mother. On his final visit to the priest, he brought his wedding ribbon with him. It was a Bavarian tradition for the mi of honor to bind together the arms of the bride and groom symbolizing the newly formed bond of matrimony. The priest took the ribbon, held it up before the image of Our Lady, and one by one, untied the knots in the ribbon. When he finished, the knots in the ribbon were completely undone and a miracle occurred. The marriage was healed!
In the year 1700, the grandson of the nobleman had become a priest of the Church of Saint Peter am Perlach. He dedicated a family altar to Our Lady of Good Counsel and he commissioned a painting to commemorate how Mary powerfully intervened to save his grandparent's marriage. The painting was done in oil on poplar wood. At the bottom of the image, a nobleman is accompanied by the Archangel Raphael on his journey to visit the priest and save his marriage.
Mary Undoer of Knots can undo the most difficult of problems with great grace. This image was inspired by a meditation of early Father of the Church, Saint Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon who was martyred in 202. In his book, Against Heresies, he wrote, "And thus also it was that the knot of Eve's disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the Virgin Mary set free though faith." The meditation of Saint Irenaeus was based on a parallel made by Saint Paul between Adam and Christ. He extended the parallel to 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”.
But what are these knots?
They are the problems and struggles we face for which we do not see any solution. knots of discord in your family, lack of understanding between parents and children, disrespect, violence, the knots of deep hurts between husband and wife, the absence of peace and joy at home. There are also the knots of anguish and despair of separated couples, the dissolution of the family, the knots of a drug addict son or daughter, sick or separated from home or God, knots of alcoholism, the practice of abortion, depression, unemployment, fear, solitude. The knots of our life suffocate the soul, beat us down, remove joy and separate us from God.
Let us remember that devotion to Mary Undoer of Knots began because a miracle a occurred and a marriage was healed.
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