Got troublesome ‘knots’ in your life? There’s a Marian novena for that

I first heard about the novena to Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, in a homily given by an exorcist priest. He described it as a “very powerful novena” and talked about its history. Perhaps I would have been less intrigued if I didn’t know the priest to be highly educated and experienced in the spiritual realm. He spoke with conviction, challenging the congregation to pray the novena and witness its power for themselves. With skepticism about unfamiliar devotions, I took up the priest’s challenge.

I began the novena by daring the Blessed Mother to prove herself victorious as Our Lady, Undoer of Knots. I offered it for a complicated and years-long dilemma burdening our family. One day into the novena, I felt a sense of peace enfold me and experienced an inexplicable “knowing” that Our Lady was already at work, loosening the knots that entangled our family. These convictions grew stronger by the day. By the devotion’s end, I felt completely at ease, convinced that although I could not immediately see tangible results, they would appear in time. The dilemma rested in the capable and dedicated hands of Our Lady.

I have heard others speak of this same experience with the novena, the same sense of peace and “knowing.” As with my family situation, the miracles granted through the Our Lady, Undoer of Knots novena do not come suddenly and all at once, but gradually and with a broader reach. I also believe that the unique efficacy of this devotion lies in its origin.

In the early 17th century, a German nobleman, Wolfgang Langenmantel, was having difficulty in his marriage of many years to his wife, Sophie. The marriage teetered on the brink of collapse, leading the couple to consider divorce. Desperate to save his marriage, Wolfgang sought the counsel of Jesuit Fr. Jakob Rem, who lived in a monastery at the University of Ingolstadt, about 70 kilometers north of the Langenmantels’ Augsburg home. Father Rem was honored for his holiness, wisdom, and exceptional intelligence. Wolfgang visited him four times over the course of 28 days, and each time they prayed together to the Blessed Virgin Mary for help with Wolfgang’s marital problems.

At the time, it was customary for a German bride and groom to have their hands gently bound with a silk ribbon during the wedding ceremony, symbolizing the unbreakable bond between spouses. On the day of their final visit, Wolfgang gave his marriage ribbon to Fr. Rem. The priest lifted the ribbon up to the image of Mary, motioning as if to untie the knots that had occurred over the years. Miraculously, the ribbon became intensely white. Because of this miracle, Wolfgang and Sophie were reunited and lived a long, happy marriage thereafter.

Many years later, the couple’s grandson, Ambrosious Langenmantel, commissioned a painting depicting Wolfgang and Sophie’s miraculous story and hung it above the family altar commemorating the reunion in the Church of St. Peter am Perlach in Augsburg. This image became known as Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, and the devotion spread worldwide.

Turning their marriage ribbon over to Our Lady was the first step in healing Wolfgang and Sophie’s marital difficulties and resolving their family problems. From there, she adeptly smoothed it out, untying its tangled knots and making it new and gleaming white again. Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, repeats this process with every ribbon that is placed into her hands with faith and trust. When we surrender to her the ribbons of our lives – regardless of how snarled and dirty they’ve become – she takes them in her skilled hands and lovingly, patiently, unknots and renews them.

MARGE STEINHAGE FENELON is an award-winning author and journalist, retreat leader, internationally known speaker, and Catholic media personality (margefenelon.com). She has written several books on Marian devotion and Catholic spirituality including the best-selling Our Lady, Undoer of Knots: A Living Novena (Guided Reflections from the Holy Land) and award-winning My Queen, My Mother: A Living Novena (A Marian Pilgrimage Across America). Her next book, America’s Mary: The Story of Our Lady of Good Help, will be released in June. She is an instructor for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Deacons’ Wives Program, and her podcast, Simply Holy, airs weekly on Breadbox Media.