Amanda, a friend of mine who does not blog but doles out her wisdom, humor, and wonderfulness the old fashioned way - through personal interactions, gave me the name for my blog. For a long time I wrote under the title "Learning to Be a Newlywed" and then without having learned all my lessons I was no longer a newlywed and it was time to move on.
Amanda's clever title was (I think) mostly a reference to my son JF (Short version of that story: JF was a stillborn because of a knot in his umbilical cord, but he amazingly came back to life after being dead for 61 minutes and miraculously is okay thanks to the intercession of Ven. Sheen. The Vatican is looking into it as a possible *real* miracle that will get Sheen beatified. More info here.)
I loved the title because it perfectly went along with what this blog has always been about: me figuring out my vocation, working out my salvation with fear and trembling, having it all untangled for me by the grace of God and the help of my loved ones. It also made me think of an image I had seen of our Blessed Mother before.
I googled "Mary untying knots" and sure enough there she was, in a beautiful painting. I read about the devotion and I felt like it was a perfect fit for my blog and my life.
And now we have Pope Francis, whose devotion to Mary under this title has brought even more attention to the Undoer of Knots.
Today I was happy to Catholic Cuisine share some ideas to celebrate today, September 28th being a day suggested to commemorate Mary under this title. I thought it would then also be a fitting day to reinstate my "for Pete's sake" prayer ministry.
As you may know, my last pregnancy was very difficult for me and that was followed by postpartum depression. That led to me barely being able to pray at all. I tried to, I really did, but offering up my suffering was incredibly difficult and because of that I didn't do a "for Pete's sake" for a very long time. Lately though I've been feeling much better and I once again feel called to pick up this small ministry of mine. I've therefore added a button on my sidebar and a tab at the top of my site. If you or someone you know needs prayers related to infertility or the loss of a child please head to that section of the blog and let me know about it. I will pray with Our Lady and trust that the knots in your hearts, wombs, and lives will be untangled.
But today is a feast day so let's not be sad. Let's pray for our pope, buy some Twizzlers, tie them in knots, and celebrate!
Happy Feast Day everyone!
*I always refer to my blog as "ye olde blog" because I'm lame like that. Thanks for reading anyways.
I love twizzlers and have ALWAYS loved Mary, Undoer of Knots! Hence my love for you Bonnie and Pope Francis - well, a reason among many to love you each!
ReplyDeleteI love ye olde blog.
ReplyDeleteLove Mary Undoer of Knots, it's what first drew me to your blog as well!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday blog!
ReplyDeleteMy Mom introduced me to this devo and I think it just can speak to so many people in different stages of life...good choice!
I think the phrase "ye olde blog" is awesome!
ReplyDeleteHappy feast day! I am so grateful for your blog and how you've shared about your miscarriage; it's been a huge blessing to me after I miscarried last December.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I am so glad to read all about how your blog came to be titled as such and the ministry you felt called to. Wow.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I have to say that I am super bummed that my eyes are just reading about today's feast when it's nearly the end of the day :( I'm sorry I didn't read this post in my feed earlier. Only in recent months have I been drawn to OL Undoer of Knots and that was just prior to Pope Francis becoming Pope. It has now unfolded in a number of different places in my life when I least expected. And, I am just learning now after reading this post that infertile couples also pray to her. As a woman who has formerly dealt with infertility/subfertility and then blessed with babies afterward, I may have now put yet another connection piece together with Her. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Now I need to go have a drink or some kind of treat to celebrate Mary under one of my newest favorite titles! :)
Thanks for the wonderful shout out Bonnie! It made me smile. There was a three-fold reason for my suggestion. The first clearly referencing James. The second referencing that you had of course "tied the knot" (not that you want to undo that one). And lastly, as most people do at one time or another, I had created lots of knots as I went along my way in my vocation. So during a particularly dark and difficult time in my marriage, I relied heavily on Mary the Undoer of Knots. She carried me through those dark times and I feel especially bonded to her in this particular devotion.
ReplyDeleteAmanda, you're brilliant! I hadn't even thought of the marriage knot. And now I love it even more!
DeleteYou are not lame, lol! You make me chuckle. Is chuckle too manly? Well, just know you make me laugh. I think you're cool!!! :) And sweet!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that is why you named your blog The Knotted Life. How beautiful, not so much the painful part but how God turned things around. When I was in my early 20's I didn't want kids (I was the oldest of 9 and felt I did enough mothering already.) But after my reversion and marriage I wanted a big family. It took a year to conceive my daughter and after that there was six years of trying to conceive again and two miscarriages. I learned the hard way that life is precious and it is a gift - not a right and not to be taken for granted. Thankfully, God blessed us with three little guys after that difficult time but it was a hard lesson learned.
ReplyDelete