Mary Unties Knots

Allison Auth recounts a few experiences where Mary came through by untying difficult knots in her life.  

Three years ago, I went on a retreat with the women at our parish. I discovered in our retreat bag a brochure detailing devotion to Our Lady, Undoer of Knots. I was unfamiliar with this title of Mary and discovered that this devotion was promoted by Pope Francis. 

Praying to Our Lady, Undoer of Knots 

A little while later, my husband and I were going through a difficult period in our marriage.  Not sure where else to turn, I remembered the devotion and began to pray the prayer printed on the brochure: 

Virgin Mary, Mother who never refuses to come to the help of your children in need, Mother whose hands never stop working for the welfare of your children, moved as they are by the loving mercy and kindness that exists in your Immaculate heart, cast your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life. 

 Oh Mother! You know the difficulties, sorrow, and pain that I’ve had because of them. O loving Mother, I place the ribbon of my life and this knot (mention request here) into your loving hands, hands which can undo even the most difficult knot.  

Most holy Mother, come to my aid and intercede for me before God with your prayers. I cast this knot into your hands (mention request again) and bed you to undo it, in the name of your son, Jesus, Christ, and for the glory of God, once and for all. Our Lady Undoer of Knots, pray for us! 

As I prayed the prayer over the course of several weeks (maybe months?), something in me changed: my heart softened, my hope increased, and my commitment deepened. I could tell my husband was changing, too, although I don’t think he could have put his finger on it. But I knew — grace was at work. 

More Knots, More Prayers 

A year later, I went through a really difficult experience with a friend. Not sure how to move forward, I prayed a novena to Mary, Undoer of Knots. Our problems weren’t resolved by the end of the novena, but I felt assured of God’s presence. I saw the truth that I needed to hold on to my boundaries, no matter how uncomfortable it felt. 

Months later, as I struggled with the unresolved feelings and tensions, I sat in the chapel and prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. I experienced profound insights with each meditation as I realized Jesus was uniting my suffering to His. All the sorrow, rejection, misunderstandings: He had felt it, too. That Rosary marked a meaningful change in my healing journey, because I now knew how to bring my feelings to Jesus — even if external situations didn’t change — and Mary showed me the way. In my sorrow, I felt closer to God than ever before. 

Mary, Our Advocate Against the Enemy 

Not long ago, I was in the midst of planning a retreat for young mothers. The schedule was set, the mothers were signed up, but I couldn’t make any progress on my talks, and I felt anxious about providing food. I mentioned to the priest assisting me with the retreat that I thought it was spiritual warfare. There was this resistance to sitting down to write the talks, and it felt like my words were all stopped up. 

“Hold on,” he said. “You say you are experiencing spiritual warfare? We need to pray. We have nine days before the retreat, so we are going to pray a novena. Are you familiar with the novena to Mary, Undoer of Knots?” 

I smiled. “Yes,” I told him. “I’m very familiar.” So we prayed, and not even two days later, the burden lifted; the anxiety was alleviated. As I turned to Mary to undo the knots, I realized that this retreat was God’s problem now. I was obedient to setting it up, to inviting the women, but now God was in control of the rest. It would be up to Him to show up on retreat as I was just the messenger. When I stepped out of the way, the words flowed and I had peace. 

Through these experiences, I realized the power not only in this devotion, but in the person of Our Lady. In addition to being our Mother, she is also our advocate against the enemy. She fights for us! Spiritual attack is nothing for Mary because the Devil fears her. And her whole role is to lead us to the saving power of her Son. 

So now I know: when I feel baffled and don’t know where to turn, Mary is there waiting for me to ask for her help in untying those knots. Relational, spiritual, practical: there is not a knot that Mary isn’t willing to undo.  

Share your thoughts with the Catholic Mom community! You'll find the comment box below the author's bio and list of recommended articles.

Copyright 2025 Allison Auth
Images: iStockPhoto.com, licensed for use by Holy Cross Family Ministries; Canva