Guardian Angel's Names

[The Joey-O]

Cool. I had no idea. So, we have Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Father, Mary, ALL the Saints, a patron saint, the angels AND a guardian angel looking out for us?

Sometimes I feel like sombody's watching me...

[Innocent]

I know I still have a miniscule post count here, and I don't want to be thought of as a "doom and gloom" person....


But, at another forum where I am a member, [url="http://www.saint-mike.org/qa/hosts.asp#Ignatius"][color="#0000FF"][b]Bro. Ignatius Mary,[/b][/color][/url] (<=link) an experienced Catholic lay member of the Monastic Order of the Legion of St. Michael, who has much first hand experience with angels, demons, possession, exorcism, and the like has warned us repeatedly against trying to speculate about the names of our Guardian Angels.

Once, he told me this:

[quote]It is EXTREMELY rare for our Guardian Angel to reveal his name. We must be careful that if we think he has revealed his name, that it is not just our imagination, or worse.

Since it is utterly unnecessary to know the name of our Guardian Angel it is best, and safer to not seek to know. If he happens to reveal it, fine, but to seek it we may get an answer from somewhere other than our Guardian angel.[/quote]

This question is also addressed at another ( Q&A ) section of these board:

[url="http://saint-mike.org/apologetics/qa/Answers/Spiritual_Warfare/s010112Lilly.html"]http://saint-mike.org/apologetics/qa/Answe...10112Lilly.html[/url]


Yours in Christ,
Innocent.

[CoffeeCatholic]

My angel's name is Sage. :-D

Also, to the person hearing the name Gabriel- that could be the name of your angel, but that doesn't mean the Archangel. Archangels are in a different choir (or class) than guardian angels.

[chelsea]

Angels do not have genders.

Only humans have genders, because we have bodies and need genders. God doesnt even have a gender. Angels dont.

[Totus Tuus]

[quote name='Proud2BCatholic139' post='1289385' date='Jun 6 2007, 09:40 AM']I think it is ok to ask the name of your angel. I mean, our angel is our friend, our best friend. I don't see any reason in why we can't ask or even pray about it.

Besides, we should constantly talk with our angel.[/quote]

I can see your point. And you're right -- our Guardian Angel is our friend. But to know his name is, first of all, in no way a necessity to depending our relationship with him. Secondly, demons have the same powers as good angels, as well as an unquenchable intent to deceive. Therefore, it is in now way certain that the spirit who answers your request to know a name is a [i]good[/i] angel.

[quote name='EWTN.com']A guardian angel is a pure spirit with an intellect and will. He intimately knows the person he is guarding. The person can get to know this spirit but not in any obvious way.[/quote]

God bless

[prose]

I had no idea that was dogma!! Coooooool!!!

[MissScripture]

[quote name='hot stuff' post='1289286' date='Jun 6 2007, 12:29 AM']But make it a nice one if you name it. You'll have to deal with your angel for eternity if you give it a lame name.[/quote]
When I mentioned that I'd named my angel Theophilus, my brother said, "Wait...you gave him a name like that and he STILL protects you??" Does that mean it's too lame?

[quote name='Phoenix Reborn' post='1289357' date='Jun 6 2007, 08:28 AM']I heard you shouldn't name your guardian angel...[/quote]
Why not? Even if that isn't their "real" name, it's sort of like giving your friends nicknames.

[quote name='The Joey-O' post='1289423' date='Jun 6 2007, 11:49 AM']Cool. I had no idea. So, we have Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Father, Mary, ALL the Saints, a patron saint, the angels AND a guardian angel looking out for us?

Sometimes I feel like sombody's watching me... [/quote]
Yes, every night when I was little, we said the guardian angel prayer before bed! I can't imagine NOT knowing that I had a guardian angel!

[Totus Tuus]

When I was little, I kept waiting for someone to tell me that guardian angels were not real. Santa Clause came and went, the tooth fairy, the Easter bunny... but the time to inform me that the guardian angels were not real never rolled around! I was so happy in my earlier teens when I started to appreciate more and more the presence of my guardian angel. I have named mine "Christopher" Has anyone read [u]Under Angel Wings[/u]?

[Sojourner]

[quote name='MissScripture' post='1289487' date='Jun 6 2007, 12:42 PM']Yes, every night when I was little, we said the guardian angel prayer before bed! I can't imagine NOT knowing that I had a guardian angel![/quote]
I did not know ... Protestant kids don't have them. Or at least don't know about them. Truthfully I've really never given my guardian angel much thought.

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='Terra Firma' post='1289533' date='Jun 6 2007, 07:55 PM']I did not know ... Protestant kids don't have them. Or at least don't know about them. Truthfully I've really never given my guardian angel much thought.[/quote]

Yeah, same here. I mean, my Catholic friend growing up (it was the Bible belt, I had one Catholic friend. . . and 5 Catholic cousins) told me I had a guardian angel, but neither one of us understood it. And it's not something I really thought about much when I got older. Hmm, something to think about now.

[Era Might]

I don't think the Church allows us to name our Angels. I remember reading something from the Holy See that spoke against the practice, but I can't find it. I'm not completely sure, but I'll post it if I find it.

[Totus Tuus]

[quote name='Era Might' post='1289567' date='Jun 6 2007, 04:15 PM']I don't think the Church allows us to name our Angels. I remember reading something from the Holy See that spoke against the practice, but I can't find it. I'm not completely sure, but I'll post it if I find it.[/quote]


Yes, that would be good if you could find it. I attended a series of conferences given by an Opus Angelorum priest (a member of the Canons Regular, whose Order has been entrusted by the Holy See with the mission of educating the faithful about the Holy Angels). He told us that asking your angel's name was a dangerous and discouraged practice. He did say, however, that naming your angel was all right (and I believe he said that it was mostly practiced to encourage a personal relationship with your angel). However, please correct me if I'm wrong on this. We'd love to view the document you mentioned.

[Era Might]

Found it. It's the "Directory On Popular Piety and the Liturgy":

[quote]217. Popular devotion to the Holy Angels, which is legitimate and good, can, however, also give rise to possible deviations:

When, as sometimes can happen, the faithful are taken by the idea that the world is subject to demiurgical struggles, or an incessant battle between good and evil spirits, or Angels and daemons, in which man is left at the mercy of superior forces and over which he is helpless; such cosmologies bear little relation to the true Gospel vision of the struggle to overcome the Devil, which requires moral commitment, a fundamental option for the Gospel, humility and prayer;

When the daily events of life, which have nothing or little to do with our progressive maturing on the journey towards Christ are read schematically or simplistically, indeed childishly, so as to ascribe all setbacks to the Devil and all success to the Guardian Angels. [b]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.[/b]

-[url="http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20020513_vers-direttorio_en.html"][u]LINK[/u][/url]-[/quote]

[Totus Tuus]

That's very informative. Thank you! I would guess that includes naming our guardian angels God bless!

[Sojourner]

So ... does that mean I'm OK not naming [i]or[/i] talking to my guardian angel?

Because honestly the thought of doing that feels a little weird, and maybe dangerous for the same reason that asking my angel for his name (i.e., you can't be sure that you're actually talking to your guardian angel).