IS IT PERMISSIBLE TO ASK YOUR GUARDIAN ANGEL HIS NAME?
“You
are not allowed to name your Guardian Angel,” declares the social media pundit,
Dr. Taylor Marshall. “Some Catholics practice a devotion of giving personal
names to their guardian angels. However, the Holy See does not allow this
practice and formally discourages it.”
He
cites the Directory on Popular Piety and
the Liturgy, 216, issued in December 2001 by the Congregation for Divine
Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments:
“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.”
He
argues that the act of naming indicates authority over it.
begin
We
cannot name our Guardian Angel because naming another implies authority over
the other. I name my children and I name my pets. I have authority over them.
However,
my Guardian Angel is OVER me in authority:
Angel
of God my Guardian Dear
to
whom God’s love commits me here
Ever
this day be at my side
To
light, to guard, to RULE, to guide.
Therefore,
I do not have the authority to name my angel.
end
—Dr.
Taylor Marshall, “Naming Your Guardian Angel: Don’t Do It,” Dr. Taylor Marshall: Pray the Rosary Daily
I
fully agree that we should not name our guardian angel for the reasons given.
It’s
a different matter, however, if the name is revealed to you.
In
this case, the angel’s name—like any private revelation—should be evaluated and
judged accordingly.
Is
it permissible to ask your guardian angel their name? I believe the answer to
this question is not settled in the Church.
It
has been observed that in at least two instances in Scripture the angel does
not reveal their name when they are asked, indicating that we should not seek
to know the hidden names of the angels other than those which have already been
revealed.
begin
In
the Book of Genesis, the patriarch Jacob was unsuccessful in obtaining the name
of the mysterious being who wrestled with him in the desert. Jacob asked him,
“Please tell me your name.” The angel answered, “Why do you ask for my name?”
(Genesis 32:24-29). Jacob received no answer but a gentle rebuke in the form of
a question.
When
an angel appeared to Samson’s mother as recorded in the Book of Judges, she
told her husband, “A man of God came to me; he had the appearance of an angel
of God, fearsome indeed. I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell
me his name. [He] said to me, ‘You will conceive and bear a son…’”
When
the angel returned, Samson’s father asked him, “What is your name, that we may
honor you when your words come true?” But the angel would not tell him:
And
the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is
wonderful?”—Judges 13:18
These
angelic rebukes tell us to respect the hiddenness of the names these spirits
have received from God.
end
—The
Catholic Company, “4 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Name Your Angel,” good catholic.
It
has also been argued that the alleged revelation of an angel’s name makes us
vulnerable to the harmful influence of the evil spirits.
“…we
may receive a name in prayer, but it may not be divinely inspired. It could be
influenced by the devil or by our own human thoughts. We have only three names
of angels confirmed in Scripture and so any other name we receive is difficult
to confirm as inspired by God.”
—Philip
Kosloski, “Should you name your Guardian Angel?” March 8, 2021, Aleteia
At
least one spiritual writer has opined that if your guardian angel wishes to
reveal their name to you, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“I
think I understand why some people feel a need to give their guardian angel a
name – they want to be able to relate to their guardian angel more directly. …That,
I think, can be a healthy desire. But our guardian angels already have names,
so it’s really not our job to give them names. If they want to reveal their names to us, fine. [boldface mine] But otherwise, we
should simply accept them and be grateful for their protection.”
—Fr.
John Bartunek, L.C., “Should We Name our Guardian Angels?” September 28, 2015, SpiritualDirection.com
We
recall that the revelation of a name in Scripture conveys spiritual benefits. An
obvious illustration of this point is the Holy Name of Jesus, the name which is
above every other name and by which everyone is saved. The name “Michael,” meaning,
“Who is like God?” attests that no one is like God. All of creation is wholly
not God, so that it is only right and just that all creation accords God all praise, glory, and honor, for everything good, including existence
itself, proceeds from him and to him is due every good thing.
Outside
of Scripture, private revelation has made known to the world many names by
which the Blessed Virgin Mary is venerated today, names that have been
officially approved by Church authority—“The Immaculate Conception,” which
affirmed the dogma promulgated by Pius IX on December 8, 1854, “Virgin of the
Poor,” and “Mother of the Word,” among others. Under the auspices of the privately revealed names
of Mary, the entire Church is blessed.
In
the private revelation of our guardian angel’s name, therefore, Providence possibly intends
for us a special blessing.
Surely, we are allowed to ask for God for his blessings even as we acknowledge that they are not always granted to us in the manner that we might expect.
Public domain photo
ReplyDeletePhoto link:
https://pixabay.com/photos/angel-figure-statue-mourning-1507747/
Gonzalinho
HOW DO I COMMUNICATE WITH MY GUARDIAN ANGEL?
ReplyDeleteYou can pray to your guardian angel, just as you can pray to any saint. It is important to note that this is not an act of worship, but of the honor due to the ministers of God sent to serve our salvation (Heb. 1:14).
Indeed, Scripture shows that the appeal to God bears fruit in the mediation and help of the angels, whether it was Abraham’s appeal for Sodom, ultimately unfruitful due to human obstinacy in sin, or Tobit’s appeal for healing, which resulted in the sending of St. Raphael to help him and his family. St. Raphael’s mediation of the divine will is shown to be direct, immediate and personal. The intercessory role of Raphael is also shown, when he reveals,
“I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints and enter into the presence of the glory of the Lord.” (Tobit 12:15)
This important intercessory role is further shown in the New Testament in Rev. 8:3-4.
“And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God.”
Following Scripture and Tradition, therefore, popes and saints have encouraged Christians to seek the help of their angels through prayer. As St. Bernard of Clairvaux said, “We should show our affection for the angels, for one day they will be our co-heirs, just as here below they are our guardians and trustees appointed and set over us by the Father.”
https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/seasons-and-feast-days/guardian-angels-14634
—“How can I communicate with my guardian angel?” EWTN
When we ask our guardian angel about his name, we are seeking God’s blessings through his intercession before God’s throne.
Gonzalinho
I don’t believe it’s advisable to ask your guardian angel his name for at least two reasons. First, the witness of Scripture is that the angels do not reveal their names upon being asked. Second, asking an angel to reveal his name opens us up to the influence of the devil, who wants to deceive us and to use our curiosity to lead us astray.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I would point out that the devil does not know what we say to God or to the angels in our thoughts. If we silently asked a question of God or the angels, the devil would not know directly. On the other hand, it’s possible that the devil could infer it indirectly.
I’d say that God can choose to reveal the names of angels as a blessing, which is exactly what happens in Scripture. God reveals the names of three archangels, which I’d venture allows us to relate in a more connected and personal way to them.
Knowing the names of any angels, who exist at a higher spiritual plane than us, inaccessible to us in our present life, doesn’t give us any power over them. To believe it to be so, in my view, would be ridiculous.
Gonzalinho