We can’t do it alone

Lately, the gals have been sharing our stories of what we have learned from being involved in ministry, how we’ve been blessed by the “yes” of others to serve, and how ministry has affected our own faith walks.

While I can share a few hundred bits of knowledge from my years of being involved in various ministries – from how many people fit on an average size school bus, how to cheaply feed 200 teenagers, and how to plan your yearly calendar – there’s one lesson that continually stands out: we can’t do it alone.  Jesus Himself sent us out two by two.   He told us that the road of ministry (wherever that ministry may be) would be difficult.  That the message would be difficult for people to hear and accept.  That the message would be hard for us to hear and accept, too.  So, He told us to rely on each other.

And then, He gave His mother.

We close the month of May, the month of Mary, by focusing on one specific devotion: Our Lady, Undoer of Knots.  Compared to some of the other Marian devotions, little is actually known about how this devotion got started.

Simply put, to show us the mission given to Mary by God, an unknown artist painted Mary, Undoer of Knots with such grace and detail.

Since 1700, this unknown artist’s painting of Our Lady has been venerated in St. Peter’s Church in Perlack, Germany.  Originally inspired by a meditation of Saint Irenaeus, based on the parallel made by Saint Paul between Adam and Christ.  Saint Irenaeus, in turn, made a comparison between Eve and Mary, saying: “Eve, by her disobedience, tied the knot of disgrace for the human race; whereas Mary, by her obedience, undid it.”

These knots can be anything – financial problems, lack of understanding, grief, depression, unemployment.  These knots suffocate our souls, and block our hearts from hearing God’s word.

Mary’s faith unties the knot of sin!

We pray that the Blessed Virgin Mary will intercede for us, to untie the knots of sin in our lives, so that we may be purified and grow ever closer to God.

Our Lady, Undoer of the knots in our lives, pray for us.