Our Lady Undoer of Knots Novena

 This Novena is prayed to untangle the difficulties in our lives. It is a true Novena, in that, as the name means, it is prayed for nine days in a row (unlike the Advent 'Novena', which is prayed throughout the four weeks of Advent).

Our Lady, Undoer of Knots by
Johann Melchoir Georg Schmittdner, 1700

While the idea of 'Undoer of Knots' comes originally from the words of St. Irenaeus, in the second century AD [“The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by the obedience of Mary; what the virgin Eve bound by her unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosened by her faith.”], I find this Novena to still be a remarkable set of prayers that does not require belief in Eve's doing wrong or Mary being a sinless human. It has deepened my practice and my faith considerably, and I urge you to give this Novena a chance!

 ~*~

Unlike the Advent Novena, which is a phrase repeated throughout the day, this Novena is done using the Rosary. You pray the first three decades of the Rosary as usual, then pause to say the Meditation for each day before continuing with the final two decades. At the end of the Rosary, you stop to say the Closing Prayer -- the websites I found detailing how to pray this Novena never say when exactly to say the Closing Prayer (is it done before or after Hail Holy Queen?); my personal choice was to say it before the Hail Holy Queen prayer.

There are a few changes made to the wording to make this Novena appropriate for Filianic use (see the original here). Some of the prayers below have notes on these changes and where you may prefer to further alter the wording. Overall:

• I have retained the use of Mary as the Mother, in line with the regular Rosary prayers we see provided by the Chapel of Our Mother God.
• The original prayers occasionally capitalized 'You/Your' when speaking of Mary & Her attributes, and I have chosen to capitalize all such instances.
• I have left the references to sin/asking for forgiveness for sins as they were in the original: though our concepts of sin and wrongdoing are different from those espoused by Catholics and other Christians, in context of certain issues this may make sense (e.g., problems caused by our own pride/ego/etc.) -- of course if you wish to leave out such references you may.
• Minor grammatical edits were made as necessary. 

~See how to pray a regular Rosary here.
Remember you'll be praying the Rosary as normal until the end of the third decade, where you pause for the Meditation (I read this aloud), then continue as normal with the Closing Prayer at the end. The Meditation is different for each day of the Novena; the Closing Prayer is the same for all days.

~You may also wish to ask the Janyati to pray for you at the end of each day.
I asked the Janya of whatever weekday it was to pray for me at the close of each Rosary. As the Seven major Janyati together rule all aspects of life, asking each for their prayers and aid in their respective 'fields' would cover just about all the bases and I wasn't going to turn down extra help if I could find it!

Meditation for Day One

Dearest Holy Mother, Most Holy Mary, You undo the knots that suffocate Your children; extend Your merciful hands to me. I entrust to You today this knot [detail the problem(s)] and all the negative consequences that it provokes in my life. I give You this knot that torments me and makes me unhappy and so impedes me from uniting myself to You and Your Holy Daughter.

I run to You, Mary, Undoer of Knots because I trust You and I know that You never despise a sinning child who comes to ask You for help. I believe that You can undo this knot because You, O Queen of Heaven, can do all things. I believe that You want to undo this knot because You are my Mother. I believe that You will do this because You love me with eternal love.

Thank You, Dear Mother.

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me/help me/shelter me/bless me.*

The one who seeks grace, finds it in Mary's hands.

*Note: the original says 'pray for me,' as in Catholic belief Mary is viewed as only an intercessor with God & Jesus; since we are praying directly to Her for Her aid, you may prefer to use any of the optional phrases added, or use your own words here.

Closing Prayer

Virgin Mary*, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve Your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in Your heart, cast Your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life.
You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound by these knots.
Mary, Mother, I entrust into Your hands the ribbon of my life.
No one, not even the evil one himself/herself/itself**, can take it away from Your precious care. In Your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone.
Powerful Mother, by Your grace and intercessory power take into Your hands today this/these knot(s) [name the problem(s) being prayed for]: I beg You to undo it, once for all; You are my hope.
O my Lady, my only consolation, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution, and the freedom from my chains.
Hear my plea.
Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge!

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me/help me/shelter me/bless me.

*Note: the original says "Virgin Mary" -- you may use it as-is, or drop 'virgin'. As we do refer to our Mother as virgin in the Creed ("And I believe in Her virgin Daughter, born of the virgin Mother, the ruler of all the energies of creation, Whose nature is perfect Love."), I have not removed it here.

**Note: the original says 'himself' in line with Christian theology; depending on your denomination 'himself' may still be appropriate, or 'herself' in reference to Irkalla; 'itself' may be substituted as well, or simply use 'evil one' with no reflexive (i.e. 'not even the evil one can take it...'). The entire phrase may also be deleted (leaving only: ''No one can take it away from Your precious care.").

Meditation for Day Two

Mary, Beloved Mother, channel of all grace, I return to You today my heart, recognizing that I am a sinner in need of Your help. Many times I lose the graces You grant me because of my sins of egoism, pride, rancor and my lack of generosity and humility. I turn to You today, Mary, Undoer of knots, to ask You to grant me a pure, humble, and trusting/loving* heart. I will live today practicing these virtues and offering You this as a sign of my love for You. I entrust into Your hands this/these knot(s) which keeps me from reflecting the glory of God/Your glory: [detail the problem(s)].

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me/help me/shelter me/bless me.

*Note: the original read "a pure, divested, humble, and trusting heart". I am not sure of the meaning behind 'divested' in this context so I have removed it; you may wish to replace it with another attribute.

 Closing Prayer

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve Your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in Your heart, cast Your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life.
You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound by these knots.
Mary, Mother, I entrust into Your hands the ribbon of my life.
No one, not even the evil one himself/herself/itself, can take it away from Your precious care. In Your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone.
Powerful Mother, by Your grace and intercessory power take into Your hands today this/these knot(s) [name the problem(s) being prayed for]: I beg You to undo it, once for all; You are my hope.
O my Lady, my only consolation, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution, and the freedom from my chains.
Hear my plea.
Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge!

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me/help me/shelter me/bless me.

Meditation for Day Three

Meditating Mother, Queen of Heaven, in whose hands treasures are found, turn Your merciful eyes upon me today. I entrust into Your holy hands this/these knot(s) in my life [name problem(s)] and all the rancor and resentment these knot(s) have caused in me. I ask Your forgiveness for my sin. Help me now to forgive all the persons who consciously or unconsciously provoked this knot. Give me, also, the grace to forgive me for having provoked this knot. Only in this way can You undo it. Before You, dearest Mother, and in the name of Your Daughter who suffered, having been granted forgiveness, I now forgive these persons [names of those you are forgiving] and myself, forever. Thank You, Mary, Undoer of Knots for undoing the knot of rancor in my heart and the knot which I now present to You. Amen.

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me/help me/shelter me/bless me.

Turn to Mary, you who desire grace.

Closing Prayer

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve Your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in Your heart, cast Your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life.
You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound by these knots.
Mary, Mother, I entrust into Your hands the ribbon of my life.
No one, not even the evil one himself/herself/itself, can take it away from Your precious care. In Your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone.
Powerful Mother, by Your grace and intercessory power take into Your hands today this/these knot(s) [name the problem(s) being prayed for]: I beg You to undo it, once for all; You are my hope.
O my Lady, my only consolation, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution, and the freedom from my chains.
Hear my plea.
Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge!

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me/help me/shelter me/bless me.

Meditation for Day Four

Dearest Holy Mother, You are generous with all who seek You, have mercy on me. I entrust into Your hands this knot which robs the peace of my heart, paralyzes my soul, and keeps me from going to my Lady/to You and serving Her/You* with my life.
Undo this knot in my love [detail/name the problem(s)], O Mother, and heal my paralytic faith which gets down-hearted with the stones on the road. Along with You, dearest Mother, may I see these stones as friends; not murmuring against them anymore but giving endless thanks for them/thanking them for the chance to grow in faith.

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me/help me/shelter me/bless me.

Mary is the Sun and no one is deprived of Her warmth.**

*Note: phrasing here depends on whether you are Deanic or Filianic, e.g., one could say "from going to my Lady/to You and serving You with my life" meaning the Mother, or "from going to my Lady and serving Her with my life" meaning the Daughter. The original read "from going to my Lord and serving Him" which could also be referring to God or Jesus.

**Note: this phrase is quite surprisingly in the original meditation! 

Additional Note on Day Four: This meditation originally ends with "May I smile trustingly in Your power" which sounds creepy to me. I have chosen to delete it; but if you wish to use it, you may!

Closing Prayer

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve Your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in Your heart, cast Your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life.
You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound by these knots.
Mary, Mother, I entrust into Your hands the ribbon of my life.
No one, not even the evil one himself/herself/itself, can take it away from Your precious care. In Your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone.
Powerful Mother, by Your grace and intercessory power take into Your hands today this/these knot(s) [name the problem(s) being prayed for]: I beg You to undo it, once for all; You are my hope.
O my Lady, my only consolation, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution, and the freedom from my chains.
Hear my plea.
Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge!

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me/help me/shelter me/bless me.

 

Meditation for Day Five

Mother, Undoer of Knots, generous and compassionate, I come to You today to once again entrust this/these knot(s) in my life to You [name/detail problem(s) being prayed for], and to ask the divine wisdom to undo, under the light of Heaven*, this snarl of problems. Take away from me the bitterness, anger and hatred which this knot has caused me. Give me, o dearest Mother, some of the sweetness and wisdom that is all silently reflected in Your heart.

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me/help me/shelter me/bless me.

Mary is powerful.

*Note: the original read ‘under the light of the Holy Spirit’; you may also choose to delete the phrase, so it instead reads: “and to ask the divine wisdom to undo this snarl of problems.”

Closing Prayer

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve Your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in Your heart, cast Your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life.
You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound by these knots.
Mary, Mother, I entrust into Your hands the ribbon of my life.
No one, not even the evil one himself/herself/itself, can take it away from Your precious care. In Your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone.
Powerful Mother, by Your grace and intercessory power take into Your hands today this/these knot(s) [name the problem(s) being prayed for]: I beg You to undo it, once for all; You are my hope.
O my Lady, my only consolation, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution, and the freedom from my chains.
Hear my plea.
Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge!

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me/help me/shelter me/bless me.

 

Meditation for Day Six

Queen of Mercy, I entrust to You this/these knot(s) in my life [name problem(s)]; I ask You to give me a heart that is patient until You undo it/them. Teach me to persevere (in my faith, with Your blessed Rosary, in remembering You, O Queen of Heaven)*; stay with me and prepare my heart to celebrate with the angels/Janyati the grace that will be granted to me. Amen!

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me/help me/shelter me/bless me.

You are beautiful, Mary.

*Note: the original read “teach me to persevere in the living word of Jesus, in the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Confession”; you may choose to stop at ‘in my faith’ or if you have important Rites/rituals you perform regularly in your devotions, you may wish to say them instead.

Closing Prayer

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve Your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in Your heart, cast Your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life.
You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound by these knots.
Mary, Mother, I entrust into Your hands the ribbon of my life.
No one, not even the evil one himself/herself/itself, can take it away from Your precious care. In Your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone.
Powerful Mother, by Your grace and intercessory power take into Your hands today this/these knot(s) [name the problem(s) being prayed for]: I beg You to undo it, once for all; You are my hope.
O my Lady, my only consolation, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution, and the freedom from my chains.
Hear my plea.
Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge!

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me/help me/shelter me/bless me.

 

Meditation for Day Seven

Mother Most Pure, I come to You today to beg You to undo this/these knot(s) in my life [name/detail problem(s)] (and free me from the snares of Evil)*. You have great power over all the demons/keres. I renounce all of them today, every connection I have had with them and I proclaim You/Your Holy Daughter, Queen of Heaven and Princess of the World as my Savior. Mary, Undoer of Knots, crush the evil one's head and destroy the traps he/she/it** has set for me by this knot. Thank you, dearest Mother.

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me/help me/shelter me/bless me.

You are the glory of Heaven, the joy of all maid.***

*Note: you may of course end with the naming of the knots you are praying for, omitting the phrase (‘and free me from the snares of Evil’) entirely.

**Note: see notes for Day One

***Note: the original read “You are the glory of Jerusalem, the joy of our people.”

Additional Note for Day Seven: I left the imagery of demons/keres and crushing of the ‘evil one’s head’ as-is, since I feel these are well-attested motifs in our own Scriptures. Keres are seen as tempters and ensnarers in our Scriptures (tempting of the Daughter before She goes down to Her fate: The Holy Mythos, Chapter 7 NCU/Mythos of the Divine Maid, Chapter 4 ECE). The Mother is depicted as bruising the snake’s head after the coming together of the waters and the first night (the Holy Mythos, Chapter 2 NCU/The Creation, Chapter 2 ECE). The Mother defeating a snake/evil one by stepping on it/crushing it is also a motif found in early Greek/pre-Greek myths as seen in the story of Eurynome in the Pelasgian Creation Myth.

Closing Prayer

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve Your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in Your heart, cast Your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life.
You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound by these knots.
Mary, Mother, I entrust into Your hands the ribbon of my life.
No one, not even the evil one himself/herself/itself, can take it away from Your precious care. In Your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone.
Powerful Mother, by Your grace and intercessory power take into Your hands today this/these knot(s) [name the problem(s) being prayed for]: I beg You to undo it, once for all; You are my hope.
O my Lady, my only consolation, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution, and the freedom from my chains.
Hear my plea.
Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge!

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me/help me/shelter me/bless me.

 

Meditation for Day Eight

Virgin Mother, overflowing with mercy, have mercy on Your child and undo this/these knot(s) in my life [name/detail problem(s)]. I need Your visit to my life. Teach me to practice the virtues of courage, joyfulness, humility, and faith. Make me joyfully rest on your bosom, Mary*/Shelter me under Your mantle, Mary,** You, who are my Mother, Queen, and Friend.

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me/help me/shelter me/bless me.

Let us go, therefore, full of trust, to the throne of grace.

*Note: use this or what follows after the slash; this is the original line in the meditation. See The Clew of the Horse, verse 23.

**Note: see The Mantle, verse 4; I prefer this instead of the original, which again, sounds a little creepy to me.

Closing Prayer

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve Your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in Your heart, cast Your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life.
You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound by these knots.
Mary, Mother, I entrust into Your hands the ribbon of my life.
No one, not even the evil one himself/herself/itself, can take it away from Your precious care. In Your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone.
Powerful Mother, by Your grace and intercessory power take into Your hands today this/these knot(s) [name the problem(s) being prayed for]: I beg You to undo it, once for all; You are my hope.
O my Lady, my only consolation, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution, and the freedom from my chains.
Hear my plea.
Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge!

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me/help me/shelter me/bless me.

 

Meditation for Day Nine

Most Holy Mary, our Mother, Undoer of Knots, I come today to thank You for undoing this/these knot(s) in my life [you may choose to name the problem(s) again here]. You know very well the suffering it has caused me. Thank You for coming, Mother, with Your long fingers of mercy to dry the tears in my eyes; You receive me in Your arms and make it possible for me to receive once again divine grace.

Mary, Undoer of Knots, dearest Mother, I thank You for undoing the knots in my life. Wrap me in Your mantle of love, keep me under Your protection, enlighten me with Your peace! Amen.

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me/help me/shelter me/bless me.

(Oddly, Day Nine does not have a final line in italics like the others do.)

Closing Prayer

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve Your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in Your heart, cast Your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life.
You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound by these knots.
Mary, Mother, I entrust into Your hands the ribbon of my life.
No one, not even the evil one himself/herself/itself, can take it away from Your precious care. In Your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone.
Powerful Mother, by Your grace and intercessory power take into Your hands today this/these knot(s) [name the problem(s) being prayed for]: I beg You to undo it, once for all; You are my hope.
O my Lady, my only consolation, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution, and the freedom from my chains.
Hear my plea.
Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge!

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me/help me/shelter me/bless me.

Praying this novena has been a blessing and a joy to me -- I hope it can be to you, as well!

May our Mother smile upon you.

~*~