Mary’s Yeses -Cl. Leroy Mascarenhas

free from knots, to us. Underneath Mary, the worried noble Wolfgang, accompanied by the Archangel Raphael, walks towards a monastery. Pope Francis, then Jorge Bergoglio, saw the painting in person while studying in Germany during a very difficult and dark time of his life. He brought the devotion back with him and introduced it in Argentina. He expressed how this particular image of Mary can help people, by bringing the difficulties of our everyday lives to Our Mother, who looks to unbind the struggles so that we are free to see the presence of her Son working in our lives. Our Lady Untier of Knots is the patroness of personal challenges, family struggles, anxiety and addiction. As in our lives too we feel certain knots which are impossible to untie, at these moments of difficulty let us invoke the assistance of Mary under the title of the Untier of Knots. Cl. Melvin Mathew

Mary the Way to Christ

Mary was the daughter of Sts. Anne and Joachim. We do not know from the Gospel the exact date of Mary’s birth. However, Christians celebrated it on the 8th of September since the 7th Century. In accordance with the Jewish tradition, our Lady’s parents named her eight days after her birth and were inspired to call her Mary. The parents of Mary offered her to God in Temple when she was only three years old. Mary is the icon of holiness which was nurtured from the beginning of her life. One day St. Francis of Assisi had a vision that he and his companion were in front of the throne of God. St. Francis and his friends tried to go nearer to God who sat on the throne, but their efforts were in vain. They could not reach God. After sometime, Francis found that on the other throne a soft voice that said, “Francis lead your sons to our heavenly mother. That is the easy way to reach me”. God lives in the holy heart. We are all sinners, full of sins, weak and helpless but our mother metaphorically comes to our help to preserve us; as salt preserves the meat. She makes us Holy and worthy of the promise of Christ. As we have heard from that short story; how St. Francis and his friends were trying to go nearer to God who sat on the throne, but their efforts were in vain and they could not reach him. But after some time, God, who loves his people, speaks to Francis and says, “Francis lead your sons to our heavenly mother for that is the easy way to reach me.” Similarly, in our life too, to be saved from sin, to live a holy life, and to attain Heaven, God has given us a helper and this DD Express 15