IT IS FORBIDDEN to name your guardian angel

[Bruised_Reed]

Yeah, St. Josemaria Escriva had a personal relationship with his guardian angel and knew of his name. He encourages us to meditate on this and ask our guardian angels to give us their name.

Do you have a source for this? St. Pio and St. Gemma Galgani are known for the roles their respective guardian angels played in tbeir spiritual lives neither knew the names of their guardian angels. Perhaps St. Josemaria knew his angels name but I do not believe someone with his spiritual wisdom would encourage his spiritual children to ask for something so unorthodox.

 

[SoltauDeEscriva]

Do you have a source for this? St. Pio and St. Gemma Galgani are known for the roles their respective guardian angels played in tbeir spiritual lives neither knew the names of their guardian angels. Perhaps St. Josemaria knew his angels name but I do not believe someone with his spiritual wisdom would encourage his spiritual children to ask for something so unorthodox.

Hm, I attempted to return where I had thought I had seen it, but it is not there. I suppose it was a mix of his words on guardian angels and the words of a spiritual director in relation to the saint. However, St. Josemaria did in fact have a close relationship with his guardian angel, to the point where he used to hold the door open for a moment before passing through. When asked, he stated that he was letting his angel pass first.

Some of his quotes on ones relationships with guardian angels are:

“Have confidence in your guardian Angel. Treat him as a lifelong friend — that is what he is — and he will render you a thousand services in the ordinary affairs of each day.”
The Way, 562

“Drink at the clear fountain of the Acts of the Apostles. in the twelfth chapter, Peter is reed from prison by the ministry of angels and comes to the house of Mark’s mother. Those inside don’t want to believe the servant girl when she tells them Peter is at the door. ‘Angelus eius est!’–‘It’s his angel!’ they say.
See on what intimate terms the early Christians were with their guardian angels.
And what about you?”
The way, 570

But yes, this is different from seeking out the name of one’s guardian angel. I can hear the words of the spiritual director, “St. Josemaria once said, 'If you wish to know you guardian angels name, just ask him or her in prayer.” I can also recall the details of him sharing the quotes from The Way and explaining that St. Josemaria knew his angels name, but unfortunately I do not have proof of this, outside of a priest who knew St. Josemaria personally.

I definitely understand the idea of assigning a name to your guardian angel as unorthodox, I agree they are not pets, but how so is the revelation of one’s guardian angel’s name? If you have a strong devotion to your angel and build a relationship, is this sort of thing impossible? From what I understand this is the type of message the spiritual director was trying to give. Not by any means to name your angel.

For me personally, I have asked and prayed, but do not believe I have received a clear response. So I do not assign a name of course. To be honest I believe that is because I don’t have much of a devotion or relationship with my guardian angel.

But I appreciate your challenge, I will have to return to my spiritual director and confirm with him before I suggest this to other people.

 

[Hilarion1021]

This thread seems to resurrect every 3 years. I’ll book mark it to review in 2020.

 

[Bruised_Reed]

This thread seems to resurrect every 3 years. I’ll book mark it to review in 2020.

It probably won’t make the move.

 

[John_Paul_Jones]

It is not forbidden by the Church but it is discouraged

[CONGREGATION FOR DIVINE WORSHIP
AND THE DISCIPLINE OF THE SACRAMENTS

DIRECTORY
ON POPULAR PIETY AND THE LITURGY

PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES](http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/c...on_ccdds_doc_20020513_vers-direttorio_en.html)
Vatican City
December 2001

217 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. 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.

Well from my understanding that is for veneration of angels found in the Book of Enoch (other than Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael) namely Ariel/Uriel, Jophiel, Chamuel and Zadkiel. One can safely assume the angel names coming from New Age sources should be discouraged too. They should not be invoked in prayer. And parents shouldn’t be using them for baby names. I guess this perhaps applies to space alien too, e.g. Raël.

When a person names their guardian angel they are aware the name is only a proxy for the angel’s real name. In the back of their mind they are still thinking of their guardian angel, and asking their guardian angel for intercession. However this is not the case for angel names not found in sacred scripture. When they invoke a non-canonical angel’s name e.g. Ariel they believe that is the angels name, not a proxy. They’re also relying on the intercession of an angel the Church does not recognize to exist.

What the Church frowns on is thinking of your guardian angel as the source of good luck, like “my guardian angel helps me pick out winning lottery numbers.”

“Deviation [in the veneration of angels] also takes place if the everyday events of life come to be seen in a schematic and simplistic mode,” states the directory, "whereby the smallest setbacks are attributed to malign forces and successes and achievements which have nothing to do with man’s path towards the maturity of Christ are attributed to one’s guardian angel."

telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/1390845/Vatican-bans-rogue-angels.html

 

[Monica4316]

I think if a Saint called their Angel by a name or suggested for others to do that, that is based on their solid and correct experience of the Angels… In the case of their spiritual children, they’d be able to make sure everything is right. The Vatican discourages it now as a general practice… These cases with the Saints are maybe exceptions.

As for me I just call my Angel “Guardian Angel”…