Our Lady, Untier of Knots

Alexander the Great wanted the world as his kingdom. He was a young man in a hurry, a big hurry.

A legend tells that Alexander, impatient in his attempt to untie the Gordian knot, sliced it in two with his sword. Thus he fulfilled the prophecy that whoever could untie the knot would rule the world. The legend then gave rise to the saying, “to cut the Gordian knot”— to solve a difficult problem in a simple—or sometimes disingenuous—way.

But many problems in our complicated world, unlike the Gordian knot, do not always have a simple solution. And who among us does not have some sort of difficulty in our lives? Yet we have access to a heavenly resource to aid us: Our Lady, Untier of Knots.

While you may have never heard of the Blessed Mother Mary with that title, it may be due to the fact it is a rather new one even though theologically it dates back to the second century. St. Irenaeus of Lyons wrote, “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 through faith.” (Against Heresies 3, 22)

Fast forward to 1700. Wolfgang Langenmantel and his wife Sophie were on the verge of divorce. Wolfgang presented his wedding ribbon to a priest he had approached for help during their fourth visit. The ribbon was the traditional symbol used during the wedding ceremony to signify the couple’s union.

After the priest prayed, untied the knots and smoothed out the ribbon, it became brilliantly white. Wolfgang and his wife Sophie reconciled and their marriage was saved. The couple’s grandson, Father Hieronymus Langenmantel of Augsburg arranged for Johann Melchior Georg Schmittdner to paint the image for a family altar that was donated to the church of St. Peter am Perlach where it now hangs.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, SJ, now Pope Francis, brought a postcard of the image to Argentina after he had seen the original in Germany where he was studying. He had the image engraved on a chalice which he presented to Pope Benedict XVI in 2006. The people of Argentina presented another chalice with the same image when Bergoglio was elected pope.

Veronica Guerra, an Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament associate as well as a retired university professor, shared her story concerning a novena she made to Our Lady, Untier of Knots. She began her novena and the Divine Mercy chaplet approximately a week before her brother died of esophageal cancer. He was not only estranged from the church, he had also lived a dissolute life.

On her way into the hospital a priest walked out. Asking him to join her, they both entered her brother’s room. Due to the fact that her brother was semi-conscious, the priest spoke to him saying, “Show me by a head nod if you will accept absolution.” Which he did and a short time later he died smiling; reaching out into the air as if grasping someone’s hand.

Alexander’s empire came and went, however, Mary remains queen of heaven and earth.  May she untie the difficult knots in our lives.