Dear Reader

PUBLISHER PRESIDENT EXECUTIVE EDITORS

FRANCISCAN EDITOR ART DIRECTOR MANAGING EDITOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR EDITORIAL ASSISTANT PRINTER Daniel Kroger, OFM Kelly McCracken Christopher Heffron Susan Hines-Brigger Pat McCloskey, OFM Mary Catherine Kozusko Daniel Imwalle Sandy Howison Sharon Lape EP Graphics

ST. ANTHONY MESSENGER (ISSN #0036276X) (USPS PUBLICATION #007956) Volume 129, Number 10

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TYING AND UNTYING LIFE’S KNOTS

WHEN MY SON, Alex, was a Boy Scout, one of the skills that he had to master was tying various types of knots—square knot, clove hitch, sheet bend. Each one had its own purpose and design. e goal was to make sure each one was sturdy and tight. e bene t, according to the Scouts, is that the practice promotes discipline and focus, and teaches useful skills that can be used immediately.

And while those knots can be very bene cial, the same does not go for all knots. Sometimes we want them to work the opposite way and come undone. As a mom, I have spent plenty of time getting knots out of shoes, hair, and the dog, thanks to the kids. I have also dealt with less tactile knots, like ones in my kids’ nervous or excited stomachs. ere were some knots, though, that I could not and still cannot untie.

In her article on page 23, author Maureen O’Brien writes about some of life’s more challenging knots that she has found herself facing recently, such as the stress of COVID-19 and other knots that are out of our hands. It was in the midst of her struggles that this author discovered Mary, Untier of Knots, and received her help in loosening the grip of those personal struggles.

is month, as we celebrate Mother Mary, let us embrace and express gratitude for the many ways in which our mother helps us untie our troubles when we most need her.

Executive Editor