Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
My Minecraft Persona
Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Lent
Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent
Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent
Homily for the First Sunday of Lent
Homily for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Homily for the Solemnity of Christ the King
Homily for the Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Should we seek the name of our Guardian Angels?
Just a thought that came from this morning’s Office of Readings for the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael:
Some angels are given proper names to denote the service they are empowered to perform. In that holy city, where perfect knowledge flows from the vision of almighty God, those who have no names may easily be known. But personal names are assigned to some, not because they could not be known without them, but rather to denote their ministry when they came among us. Thus, Michael means “Who is like God”; Gabriel is “The Strength of God”; and Raphael is “God’s Remedy.” (St. Gregory the Great)
There is a movement that has become popular among Catholics to seek the name of their Guardian Angels. This is a movement that I think is misguided, and could even be dangerous, as it comes more from the New Age mysticism than from Catholic Tradition. New Age mysticism is contrary to the Catholic Faith, and could lead followers to demonic spirits rather than the Holy Spirit. (See Catholics and the New Age
My opinion, as a Catholic priest, is that asking a Guardian Angel for its name is dangerous because it is contrary to the nature of an angel. The nature of an angel is to serve God as messenger of God (what the name “angel” translates into). The few names we know of particular angels describe not the angel itself, but how it serves God. As Pope St. Gregory the Great points out, “personal names are assigned to some, not because they could not be known without them, but rather to denote their ministry when they came among us.”
Those who ask their Guardian Angels for names do so not to better understand how the angels serve God, but in an attempt to know the angel as an individual. Our Guardian Angels serve God by guarding us, that is why their name is Guardian Angel. They do not need another name, especially one pronounceable by human speech. When we are in Heaven, God willing, we will know our Guardian Angel perfectly without need for a name to identify it (and I will be very grateful for mine who has had its work cut out for it!). Here on Earth, however, the identifier “My Guardian Angel” is more than sufficient to identify exactly each individual Guardian Angel. It is the ultimate in humility to be known not by individual identifier (a name), but rather with how we serve God. (As an aside, this is why titles in the Church are so important, and why we should call priests and religious by titles of Bishop, Father, Brother, and Sister – even our friends and family in those positions.)
A deeper concern with seeking the name of our Guardian Angels is discerning which spirits are actually responding. Demonic forces can use seemingly innocuous ideas, like names of Guardian Angels, to throw us off track from following God. While seeking the name of a Guardian Angel won’t immediately drag us down with the Devil, it can and does open us to further suggestions that eventually lead away from salvation. There is no way on earth to ensure that the name received is actually the name of a Guardian Angel versus something used by demonic spirits.
So, to answer the question in the title, “Should we seek the name of our Guardian Angels?” I would say no. Instead, just regularly say the great old rhyming prayer:
Angel of God, my Guardian Dear, to whom God’s love commits me here. Ever this (day/night) be at my side to light and guard; to rule and guide. Amen.
Homily for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I’m out of the parish this weekend, so I’m republishing my homily from 3 years ago:
When you look at the popular media, such as the TV or newspapers, who do they hold up as the most important in the United States today? Is it President Obama or members of Congress? How about the elected officials in the states’ governments? Perhaps it’s actors, musicians, and other celebrities? In our country today, those who have worldly wealth, power, fame or any combination of the three are held up as the most important and influential people.
Now, let’s look at the Gospel passage for today. Who does Jesus say are the most important people? He tells us, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Our Lord takes worldly wisdom, so common in His time as it is today, and turns it on its head. Instead of tying importance to fame, power, or wealth, He challenges us to be servants of all.
Unfortunately, this desire to link power with importance also exists within the Church. If you asked random people who they thought were the most important people in the Church, they would probably go down the hierarchy: the Pope, the bishops, the priests. They might not mention Mother Teresa and the religious order she founded, the Missionaries of Charity. The sisters who belong to this order spend their lives serving and caring for the poorest of the poor. Mother Teresa herself spent much of her life in service to the poorest in India. The great majority of her days were spent feeding, clothing, and bathing the poor who were dying.
As Christians, Our Lord calls and challenges us to not seek power and prestige, but to be “the servant of all”. We see this in the hierarchy of the Church, which is built on service of the Church. One of the Pope’s titles is “Servant of the Servants of God”. Bishops, when celebrating Mass, will refer to themselves as “me, your unworthy servant”. Priests are called to serve the bishop throughout the diocese, and to serve the people to whom they have been assigned. Lay people who participate in the administrative and ministerial structures of the Church are called to engage their positions in an attitude of service, and not for personal gain. The power that we do have within the Church comes not because we are important, but because we serve.
This is misunderstood throughout the Church, especially within developed countries like the United States. There are those who seek to gain higher positions within the Church for the sake of gaining more power and importance, not to better serve Jesus’ people. They become ambitious for personal gain and jealous of those who have the power they seek. St. James warns us against this ruthless desire for power, saying, “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice.”
We can see this disorder at play in the Church. There are great divisions within the Church today, and many of these divisions come about due to self-centered power grabs. Sometimes we see this in local parishes as a group of people try to make themselves the most important in the parish, often with the consent and support of the pastor. On a larger level, there are groups who want to remake the Church in their own image, with members who have worked their way through the Church organizational structure to positions that they feel hold power and importance. Even the Papacy is not immune to this desire for power, as the history of the Church is riddled with attempts by bishops and cardinals seeking to become the Pope for power, and not for the call to service that comes with the office.
As Christians, we are called by Our Lord to seek out ways that we can become a “servant of all”. We’re called to serve Catholics and non-Catholics, Christians and non-Christians. We’re called to serve those we like and those we can’t stand. As difficult as it can be, we are called to step out of where we’re comfortable and reach out to those who make us uncomfortable. We’re even called to serve those who might reject us or take advantage of our service. Our Lord tells us, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.” May we be willing to serve Our Lord by serving those the world sees as unimportant.