Maria Knotenlöserin

For the tangles in a life that will not come loose.

A baroque painting in Augsburg shows Mary patiently working a long ribbon, untying knot after knot. A young Jesuit named Jorge Bergoglio saw it while studying in Germany, brought devotion to it back to Argentina, and later became Pope Francis. It has spread across the world since.

The Prayer

Holy Mary, full of God's presence during the days of your life,
you accepted with full humility the Father's will,
and the devil was never able to entangle you with his confusion.

Once with your Son you interceded for our difficulties,
and full of kindness and patience you gave us an example
of how to untangle the knots in our life.

And by remaining forever Our Mother,
you put in order and make clearer
the ties that link us to the Lord.

Holy Mother, Mother of God and our Mother,
to you who untie with a motherly heart
the knots of our life,
we pray to you to receive in your hands [name the knot]
and to free us from the entanglements and confusion
with which our enemy attacks.

Through your grace, your intercession and your example,
deliver us from all evil, Our Lady,
and untie the knots that prevent us
from being united with God,
so that we, free from sin and error,
may find Him in all things,
may have our hearts placed in Him,
and may serve Him always
in our brothers and sisters. Amen.

About This Devotion

The image comes from St. Irenaeus in the second century: the knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by Mary’s obedience. Most people who pray this novena bring a specific knot — an estrangement, an addiction, a decision that has tangled everything behind it. The devotion is usually prayed as a nine-day novena.