# Mary, Undoer of Knots – A Prayerful Reflection
*2016-08-08*

> Bill Young leads listeners in two powerful prayers—the devotion to Mary as Undoer of Knots and the heartfelt “Holy Father, I abandon myself to You”—inviting us to trust God’s mercy amid life’s complications.

## Opening Thoughts

Welcome to Prayer at Lunch. In a world filled with turmoil, we turn to Mary’s intercession and to the Father’s loving invitation to surrender ourselves. My hope is that these prayers will strengthen your own prayer life, whether you’re at home, traveling, or living where religious freedom is limited.

## Mary, Undoer of Knots – Prayer

We all carry knots—tangled problems from work, family, and personal struggles. Mary, who unties these knots, intercedes for us. Let us pray together:

“Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for us. Through your grace, intercession, and example, deliver us from all evil. Untie the knots that keep us from union with God, that we may be free from sin and error, and may find Him in all things. May our hearts be placed in Him, that we may serve Him always, together with our brothers and sisters. Amen.”

## Holy Father, I Abandon Myself to You – Prayer

The next prayer calls us to surrender wholly to the Father, uniting our sufferings with Christ’s for the salvation of the world:

“Holy Father, I abandon myself to You. Do with me as You please. I am poor and weak, yet I offer my humility and my weakness, that Your power may be shown. Unite my sufferings with those of Your Son for the salvation of the world. May my suffering be offered with a childlike spirit of sacrifice, leading to the grace that transforms our hearts. Manifest the strength of redemption for humanity. I offer You every tear, every fear, every feeling of powerlessness, that Your Kingdom may come among the little ones of this world. Strengthen all missionaries who go to the ends of the earth. I offer my love for every person living in spiritual and material poverty, for every mother who watches her child die of hunger, for every abandoned child. May all people come to know Your love through the brotherly love of others, and may they come to You, God of love, liberation, and consolation. Amen.”

## Closing Prayer and Thanksgiving

Let us conclude by praying for the less fortunate, the elderly, the sick, and all who are in need. May the Holy Spirit fill them with hope and life. Mary, intercede for us to your Son, who died for our sins and rose on the third day, seated at the right hand of the Father, present to us in the Eucharist. Thank you, Lord, for the gifts of my wife, my child, my work, and the food on my table. May my upcoming pilgrimage to Rome bear fruit for Your kingdom and bring joy to those who cannot see the holy sites.

*In surrendering to Mary’s intercession and the Father’s love, we find the strength to untie life’s knots and walk in hope.*