Guardian Angels

[HisChildForever]

I have a few random questions about guardian angels. So, I am in my bedroom right now sitting on the floor. Where would my guardian angel be? Sitting on my bed? Sitting in the desk chair? Standing by the door? When I get up to get a snack in the kitchen, does my guardian angel follow? Or do guardian angels stay in Heaven, with the sole duty of watching their charge? If our angel is literally with us on earth, well what if you are in a huge crowd of people. What if you end up walking through an angel. Would he or she even follow you into the confessional? Interestingly your angel would know all the sins you commit, right? OH, and are they only male? I think that is all for now hah.

[Vincent Vega]

I do not believe that angels have sex (in other words, I do not believe they are sexed), as they are incorporeal.

[HisChildForever]

[quote name='USAirwaysIHS' date='08 August 2010 - 04:54 PM' timestamp='1281300848' post='2154245']
I do not believe that angels have sex (in other words, I do not believe they are sexed), as they are incorporeal.
[/quote]

But sex has been designated in regards to St. Michael, St. Raphael, and St. Gabriel.

[MIKolbe]

I believe the fact that they are incorporeal would not negate gender, as I have always thought (or thought I heard..lol) gential organs are the effect of gender, not the cause, so incorporeality would be a non-issue.

I think there are female guardian angels...just stands to reason, I would assume.

I think guardian angels are both with us and 'seeing' the face of God. Not sure if at the same time, but I would guess they could.

I feel sorry for any angels I have stepped through, as I am sure it was not a pleasant experience for them.

Following into the confessional? I would doubt it, as I would see them having respect for the sacrament. Though one might think if they would 'accompany' you to aid in rememberance of sins... so, I suppose maybe, maybe not.


Well, that's 1 "believe", 5 "thinks/thought", 1 "assume", 1 "suppose", 1 "guess", 1 "maybe", and 1 "maybe not".

As you can tell, I'm pretty darn sure I got it right.

[Vincent Vega]

Mat. 22:30 "For in the resurrection they neither amarry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven." seems to indicate to me that since the ultimate goals of marriage (and the marital embrace) (and therefore the fact that we humans have sexes) are to 1. give aid to your spouse to and be aided in getting to heaven and, 2. to complete the two purposes of the marital embrace, the angels need not have gender because they have eternally been in heaven and have no need for reproduction.

I seem to recall too that God the Father is also (seemingly paradoxically) without sex.

[dominicansoul]

i know that humans who are destined for great works on earth had larger than life guardian angels, as attested by St. Padre Pio, who was beat up and thrown into a river by some demons, just cos they saw the size of his guardian angel and figured this kid was something special in the eyes of God...

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='USAirwaysIHS' date='08 August 2010 - 03:16 PM' timestamp='1281302198' post='2154268']
I seem to recall too that God the Father is also (seemingly paradoxically) without sex.
[/quote]
Yes, only the incarnate Logos, the second person of the Holy Trinity, is physically male.

[Crispy]

Angels are neither male nor female b/c they are pure spirit (no body). Angels are always with us, along with the saints, because of the Communion of Saints which binds us together in God. As for "where" angels are, it takes some explanation. They also have no location in the way that bodies take up space. According to Aquinas, an angel's location is the place that they exercise their power (their "causality"). It is really more appropriate to speak of a place contained by an angel than an angel contained by a place. Think of sunlight shining in a room through a window. The sunlight isn't contained by the room. It is more that the room is in the sunlight. In a similar way, when an angel exercises power upon a thing/place, that place is "in the sunlight" of the angel's influence.

[Resurrexi]

[quote name='HisChildForever' date='08 August 2010 - 03:59 PM' timestamp='1281301177' post='2154255']
But sex has been designated in regards to St. Michael, St. Raphael, and St. Gabriel.
[/quote]

Angels have grammatical gender (i.e. in Latin and Greek they are considered masculine nouns, and in English they are substituted with masculine pronouns), but they do not have a physical gender.

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='dominicansoul' date='08 August 2010 - 03:17 PM' timestamp='1281302262' post='2154269']
i know that humans who are destined for great works on earth had larger than life guardian angels, as attested by St. Padre Pio, who was beat up and thrown into a river by some demons, just cos they saw the size of his guardian angel and figured this kid was something special in the eyes of God...
[/quote]
Interesting. How does something that is immaterial have size? Do you think that the story related could actually be speaking about spiritual [i]power[/i] or [i]greatness[/i] rather than size?

[Crispy]

[quote name='Apotheoun' date='08 August 2010 - 06:20 PM' timestamp='1281302438' post='2154273']
Interesting. How does something that is immaterial have size? Do you think that the story related could actually be speaking about spiritual [i]power[/i] or [i]greatness[/i] rather than size?
[/quote]

Yeah, I'd tend to agree. Even the lowest angel has immense spiritual power. Angels can manifest themselves in many ways. I think any angel could appear gigantic it it wanted to.

[dominicansoul]

[quote name='Apotheoun' date='08 August 2010 - 05:20 PM' timestamp='1281302438' post='2154273']
Interesting. How does something that is immaterial have size? Do you think that the story related could actually be speaking about spiritual [i]power[/i] or [i]greatness[/i] rather than size?
[/quote]

perhaps... all I understood from that story is that the guardian angel somehow reflects the uniqueness of the soul he is protecting...and seeing that St. Pio was chosen by God for the work he was to do in the world, "greatness" of the angel may definitely be referring to spiritual power rather than size... but at the same time...

...it is interesting to note that when the children at Fatima spoke of the vision of hell, they spoke of the various sizes of the demons. When Lucifer appeared to Francisco, Francisco described him as a demon like all the rest, but "much bigger." That could also mean "more powerful?" I don't know... maybe somehow there is size??? I pictured larger than life angels, rather than the little ones that sit on your shoulder... (the way we mortals portray angels...so very simplistic... but then again... I always seem to think in simple, easy-to-understand terms...)

[Bennn]

Angels are pure spirits, meaning that they have no bodies or genders. They can, however, appear in the form of men to us. They are often depicted with wings, but that is only to signify their office as messengers. Your guardian angel is always with you, making them witnesses of everything you do and say. But they do not litterally 'sit on beds', so to speak.

[HisChildForever]

I understand that angels do not have a physical gender, but obviously when they appear to human beings (i.e. Mary) they do take on a gender, probably to be less startling or as a manifestation of their role (i.e. Michael as the great warrior would be depicted as a male because traditionally speaking war and fighting is "masculine"). I know that God does not have a gender but despite that we refer to God as "Father". I was thinking along those lines with angels and their gender or lack of one. That is, do angels only appear as men or do they appear as women as well.

[HisChildForever]

The above was only a fragment of my question anyway and in the end is of lesser importance to my other questions. Are guardian angels outside of time like God is, or are they inside of time because they hang around their human charge? Etc.