chrysostom Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 The way that I understand, is that it's something to have something for yourself. Could you re-phrase that? I don't understand what you mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarysLittleFlower Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I just call my Angel as "Angel" or "Guardian Angel" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopefulHeart Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I get that this happened in kindergarten, but I don't understand why one would ever undertake to name one's guardian angel. They have names already; we just don't know them nor do we need to know. Do you look back on this as an example of wonky catechesis or do you still use the name? I'm actually curious. No, I don't use the name. I usually just address my guardian angel as "dear guardian angel." I'm rather surprised when I think back on the naming incident, because the homeschooling curriculum that I used during kindergarten was typically very careful to present orthodox, traditional teaching. I wonder if the naming thing was kept in more recent editions of the textbook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarysLittleFlower Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 (edited) Oh that's so wonderful! And yes I forgot about the fact that there are guardian angels of churches. The idea of guardian angels is a lovely thing to meditate upon. Princes of heaven they are, powerful enough to destroy the universe with a sword slash and filled with radiance and majesty and dignity. Yet they bind themselves to us in humble prayer. About the statement that guardian angels choose their humans - I would not be surprised, given that I have heard several other times that saints in heaven choose their friends on earth more than we choose the saints we are close to. Here's a lovely meditation on one's guardian angel by a priest: http://vultuschristi.org/index.php/2015/10/my-friend/ My favourite lines are the priestly bits. "His greatest joy — perhaps you have already guessed it — is when he accompanies me to the altar to offer the Holy Sacrifice. There he becomes absolutely radiant. He stands, like a deacon, at my side. He is completely at home in the liturgy of the Church, and he knows it inside out. He sings with understanding, he bows profoundly, he teaches me how I am to conduct myself in the presence of the Thrice Holy God. "At the moment of the Consecration, he becomes all luminous: beautiful with an indescribable beauty. I feel him trembling with joy next to me. And then he becomes utterly silent; he becomes like a flame of adoration. At this moment he is never alone. All his confrères arrive and sometimes, just sometimes, one feels, but ever so slightly, the hushed movement of wings of light. They arrive, all of them together, to surround the altar and then, they adore, they adore, they adore. "For him Mass is never too long. Holy Mass is what he loves most on this earth of ours: Holy Mass, and then adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. He is always directing me towards the tabernacle. ... "So there you have it: a little portrait of my friend. Each of you has one rather like him. Love these celestial friends of ours, honour them, and consult them; and, today, give thanks to the Father for having given them to us." thats so awe.some Edited November 16, 2015 by MarysLittleFlower Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisa Marie Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I like the idea of giving your guardian angel a name. Not to make them like your pet or something (which is what I think people want to discourage against), but because it's easier for me to think of something as a "being" in a personal way if they have a name. Because I'm a human and humans have names, my friends have names, my mentors have names. "Guardian Angel" just feels so generic to me. It feels like a "Something" instead of a "Someone." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthfinder Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 (edited) I like the idea of giving your guardian angel a name. Not to make them like your pet or something (which is what I think people want to discourage against), but because it's easier for me to think of something as a "being" in a personal way if they have a name. Because I'm a human and humans have names, my friends have names, my mentors have names. "Guardian Angel" just feels so generic to me. It feels like a "Something" instead of a "Someone." I'm pretty sure the Vatican has weighed in and warned against naming our guardian angels. I'll see if I can pull it up. Part of naming denotes ownership - and we do not own our guardian angels; they are given to us by God. EDIT: Found it: para 217 from the Directory on Popular piety "The practice of assigning names to the Holy Angels should be discouraged, except in the cases of Gabriel, Raphael and Michael whose names are contained in Holy Scripture." http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20020513_vers-direttorio_en.html#Chapter Six I believe there was another document on New Age practices that also touches on the subject. Edited November 16, 2015 by truthfinder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vee Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I believe there was another document on New Age practices that also touches on the subject. Would it be Jesus Christ the Bearer of the Water of Life? http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/interelg/documents/rc_pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthfinder Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Would it be Jesus Christ the Bearer of the Water of Life? http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/interelg/documents/rc_pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.html Yes, that was the one which I was thinking of. I doesn't specifically list naming the angels but I think a pretty good argument can be made that naming guardian angels is on the spectrum of New Age spirituality (or influenced by it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopefulHeart Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Thanks for providing those documents. I did not know that the Vatican so strongly discourages the naming of guardian angels. I want to clarify that I agree with the Church's teaching on this matter and do not encourage naming angels, regardless of what I did in kindergarten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriela Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 A nun once told me to ask my angel her name, because if I did, she'd tell it to me. I did, and I'm pretty sure she did. Since then I've called her that. I agree with Basilisa that assigning a word to an angel simply makes it easier to refer to the angel. And don't anyone even dare try quoting that silly story where someone asked their angel her name and a demon responded instead and then every time she called the angel she was actually calling a demon. That's nonsense. Intent matters. And I'm pretty sure the devil doesn't name his demons after Italian saints, so not even possible in my case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NadaTeTurbe Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 What the Vatican is referring to is a New Age practice who is to search the "real" name of your angel (not the one that you're giving to him), by using numerology, date of birth, etc... in a list of angel name who sound hebrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatitude Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Perhaps I'm unusual, but I don't particularly want to know my angel's name. I like that there is some mystery about them. I'm happy just saying 'Angel'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizabeth09 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Could you re-phrase that? I don't understand what you mean. When I was little, I thought that my middle name was for my Guardian angel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisa Marie Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 That's the thing - I know the name I use for my angel isn't the angel's real name. I don't presume to know that. I know there are people out there who try to discern the true names of angels and use it as a source of power or false spiritualism, and that practice is really popular with new age crud. And obviously my guardian angel isn't a pet. Some people treat their guardian angels like a pet. I don't refer to my father by his first name. I feel weird calling him "Father," even thought that's who he is to me. I call him "Dad." It's like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pia Jesu Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 I just call my Angel as "Angel" or "Guardian Angel" I do the same. In fact, driving home from class last night--a car missed a stop sign and came straight toward me as I went through an intersection. The only thing I had time to utter was "Angel help me!" Unbelievably--with a feeling of slow motion--I was able to accelerate in a half circle in front of him and avoid the accident. There is no doubt in my mind that I was saved by divine intervention! Praise God for our angels! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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