Miraculous -- Our Lady, the Undoer of Knots

Why is our atheistic and materialistic world stuck in so many crises and endless problems?

              

Family life is in tatters; people are on the verge of despair, or on the wrong path of vice or drugs; financial problems, misunderstandings and moral or spiritual troubles plague modern man. There are many knots to undo...

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While taking a bus in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I saw a poster of the Mother of God with this caption: "This bus goes by the church of Our Lady, the Undoer of Knots."

I thought, “What a curious title.”

I later learned that this devotion came to Argentina from Germany. Three faithful replicas of the painting of Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, where brought to Argentina.

And without much human propaganda, Our Lady started to grant graces to Her devotees under this curious title, so that from every corner of Buenos Aires, pilgrims flocked to pray, especially on the 8th of each month.

On the first anniversary of the enthronement of Our Lady Undoer of Knots, there were 8 000 faithful. On the second, 70 000, and on the third the crowd reached 130,000.

The modest church of San José del Talar in the neighborhood of Agronomy, Buenos Aires, where the painting is located, quickly became an important pilgrimage site.

We all have problems or knots to undo. That’s why it is not surprising that this new devotion has gained such popularity.
I decided to go on pilgrimage to see Our Lady, the Undoer of Knots. I took the bus and asked the driver to please let me know where to get off.

After an interesting bus ride through the Greater Buenos Aires, the driver motioned to me that we were close. "You get down here, take a left at the first street, walk 3 blocks, then you will see the church."

It was not as easy as it sounds. But I finally reached my destination. The church was surrounded by kiosks with pious objects for sale to the pilgrims.

The church of San José del Talar is different from the beautiful and magnificent churches in the capital city of Buenos Aires. It is poor and simple, even for the middle-class suburb in which it is located.

The painting of Our Lady that has attracted a large audience to this church. Even at around three in the afternoon on an extremely hot weekday, a dozen people were prayed before Her painting. This immediately inspires confidence.

After greeting the Blessed Sacrament and the patron of the church, I approached the painting to pray.

The original painting of Mary Knotenlöserin or "Mary, the Undoer of Knots", was painted in the early eighteenth century by the German artist Johann Schmidtner. It is in the church of St. Peter am Perlach, built in 1067, in the heart of the city of Augsburg, Germany.

(The church of St. Peter am Perlach, Augsburg, Germany.)

In the baroque style, the painting shows the Virgin Mary as the Immaculate Conception, over the crescent, crushing the serpent with Her foot.

It also represents Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, with the Holy Spirit over Her head represented by a dove.

She is also the Queen of Angels, with angels depicted all about Her. One angel presents Our Lady with a long ribbon that is tied to all of our problems, anxieties, sorrows, etc. She takes each one and unravels them with her pure and virginal hands.

Another angel looks with compassion at the faithful, as if to say: "Do need help with any problems? Here is the Almighty Supplicant, which can solve them for you. Look how easily it is. Come. Ask!"

The look of the Blessed Virgin is very serene and maternal, with some sadness because of the suffering of Her children, despite their ingratitude, and satisfaction by being able to help them. It also reflects the highest purity.

According to research, to painting is inspired by a text of St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon. He was born in Asia Minor in 140, and was a disciple of St. Polycarp of Smyrna who, in turn, was a disciple of St John the Evangelist.

St. Irenaeus was sent to evangelize the ancient Gauls and is the first major Catholic theologian to write a treatise in five volumes called Adversus haereses (against the heretics), which refutes the Gnostics ¹ Gauls and defends the primacy of the pope. According to tradition, he was martyred in the year 202.

Here is the text of St, Iraenaeus that inspired the painting:
"The knot of Eve's disobedience was undone by Mary's obedience: for what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith." ²

This phrase is an application to Our Lady of the words from the Apostle Paul referring to Jesus Christ, in his Epistle to the Romans: "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one they will be made righteous" (Rom. 5, 19) .

After original sin, all feel the weight of life, concerns and temptations, "the sting of Satan that we feel" in the words of St. Paul (cf. 2 Cor. 12, 7). How often do good intentions fail, how many times do we go astray and get entangled in our own problems. Many knots to undo...

For the grace to undo these knots, there’s nothing better than continuous prayer to the one who can undo them!

By Plinio Maria Solimeo, From: Peru necesita de Fatima, http://www.fatima.org.pe/seccion-verarticulo-466.html