Mary Undoer of Knots
The prayer associated with the devotion and with the the painting, Mary Untier of Knots, is simple, profound and effective: Desata nos! Untie us!
Mary Undoer of Knots , also known as Mary Untier of Knots, is both a painting and a Marian devotion. Pope Francis venerated the painting in a church in Bavaria while he was a student in Germany and brought the devotion home to South America. What a blessing that now we can all give this beautiful devotion a home in our heart.
Two angels stand beside Mary holding the ribbon of life, symbolic both of the life of the world and the life of each person in the world. One angel holds up the part of the ribbon that is still full of knots, and Mary, our mother, takes the ribbon into her hands. Together with the angel we look up to her and feel the compassion and tenderness with which God hears our plea:
DESATA NOS! UNTIE US!
The painting also lets us see the way the prayer is answered. Knots are undone! Worry, doubt, confusion, temptation, false beliefs, estrangement from God and from one another... knots large and small, loose and tight are miraculously undone through the action of the Holy Spirit. The angel who is holding the part of the ribbon symbolic of our life freed of knots, looks toward us to remind us to give thanks and to remember to ask again and again for the help we need:
DESATA NOS! UNTIE US!
Beneath the action taking place in heaven, the painting also shows us the guardian angel leading the soul along the path of her life on earth. It has been my experience that, through the guidance of our guardian angel, the prayer can become one's constant companion, and knots will fall away as if they had never existed.
Lengthy prayers have been composed, but I believe it is enough to simply bring this image into the home of the heart and there ~ at any moment of the day or night ~ to call out in faith:
DESATA NOS! UNTIE US!
Feast Day, September 28