Let St. Irenaeus’ Example
Untangle Your Hot MessFeeling overwhelmed or like life right now is a hot mess out of your control?
Call for the intercession of our saints, specifically this week to St. Irenaeus.
When your life is tied in knots look to St. Irenaeus, who we honor tomorrow, June 28th.
He was a second century Greek bishop, who described Eve’s sins as knots of disobedience, and the Virgin Mary as the undoer of knots through her faith and devotion to God.
He wrote, taught, and preached about fundamental beliefs, doctrines, and theology – the Incarnation, the Eucharist, and the how the Old Testament prepared the way for Christ. He spoke adamantly and complete certainty that Christ is truly present in the Holy Eucharist. Additionally, that the Church is built on apostolic succession and the role of the pope – of which keep the Church organized and accountable.
Centuries later in the 1600s, St. Irenaeus’ teachings were the inspiration of Fr. Jakob Rem, as he counseled a married couple who considered divorce. Fr. Rem held up their old wedding ribbon tied with knots before an image of Mary. As he and the couple prayed, he untied the knots, when he finished the ribbon miraculously became sparkling white. This event led to the commissioning of a famous painting by the couples grandson 85 years later.
Let us all honor St. Irenaeus’s vision and turn to Mary, Undoer of Knots, when the knots in our lives seem impossible to untie alone – marriage troubles, money problems, unemployment, illness, loneliness, loss, depression, and self-pity. Have the confidence of St. Irenaeus with Mary as our intercessor to keep moving forward and placing all of our trust in Jesus.
Note: September 28th is the Feast Day of Mary, Undoer of Knots.
