Posted on 05/20/2015 3:57:47 AM PDT by NYer
We all have guardian angels. Jesus told His disciples, “See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 18:10, emphasis added). However, very few of us realize this or would even dare to converse with them on a daily basis. For most of us guardian angels are “cute” stories we tell children so that they are not afraid of the dark.
What we don’t realize is that our guardians angels are there right beside us, ready to help us and are continually knocking at the door, waiting for us to respond to their invitation.
So who are these heavenly beings? Well, here are 5 simple facts to get you started:
Saint Thomas Aquinas holds that, “from the very moment of his birth man has an angel guardian appointed to him” (Summa Theologica, I, 113, 5). Even more so, Saint Anselm states that at the very moment of the union of soul and body God appoints an angel to watch over him/her. This would mean that during pregnancy a woman would be surrounded by two guardian angels. They watch over us from the very beginning and it is up to us to allow them to fulfill their duties for the rest of our lives.
All of the angels in the world were created at one instance at the very beginning of creation. One theory that we are allowed to believe is that on the first day when God made “light,” the “light He made was the angels (Gen. 1:3). This is further confirmed when God “divided the light from the darkness,” referring to the rebellion of the angels led by Lucifer (Gen. 1:4). This is brought forth by Saint Augustine in City of God:
For when God said, “Let there be light, and there was light,” if we are justified in understanding in this light the creation of the angels, then certainly they were created partakers of the eternal light which is the unchangeable Wisdom of God, by which all things were made, and whom we call the only-begotten Son of God; so that they, being illumined by the Light that created them, might themselves become light and be called “Day,” in participation of that unchangeable Light and Day which is the Word of God, by whom both themselves and all else were made. (Book 11, Chapter 9, emphasis added)
This makes sense as the “Sun” and “Moon” were not created until the fourth day! As a result, angels are a separate part of God’s creation and we do not become an entirely new being when we die. We remain human and if we are granted the Beatific Vision, we will be transfigured and receive our resurrected bodies at the end of time.
Angels are spiritual beings and do not have bodies. They can sometimes take the appearance of a body and can even influence the material world, but by their nature are pure spirits. It then makes sense that the primary way they communicate to us is by offering to our intellect thoughts, images or feelings that we can either accept or reject. It may not be clearly evident that it is our Guardian Angel communicating to us, but we may realize that the idea or thought did not come from our own minds. On rare occasions (like those in the Bible), angels can take physical appearance and speak with words. This is not the rule, but the exception to the rule, so don’t expect your Guardian Angel to show up in your room! It may happen, but it only occurs based on the circumstance.
Holy Mother Church has instructed us that,
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. (Congregation of Divine Worship and the Sacraments, The Directory of Popular Piety, n. 217, 2001)
The reasoning behind this is that a name contains a certain amount of authority over another person. If I know your name I can call you whenever I want and can feel a certain amount of authority over you. We do not have authority over our Guardian Angels. They only report to one Commander: God Himself. We can ask for their assistance or help, but we should not feel like they are at our beck and call.
The Church then discourages us from naming our Guardian Angels as we may receive a name, 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 confirmed in Scripture and so any other name we receive is invalid as it is hard to confirm if it is from God or from some other source.
According to Saint Thomas Aquinas:
[T]he swiftness of the angel’s movement is not measured by the quantity of his power, but according to the determination of his will (Summa Theologica, I, 53, 3, ad 1)
Angels are not bound by a material body like we are and so they can move super fast, the speed of “thought”…much faster than Superman. So if you ask your Guardian Angel to help someone else out, they will be back at your side before you realize.
There is much more to write about concerning Angelic beings. Stay tuned!
I suspect his comment may relate to all of the deleted posts. :-)
Glad to be there! 😆
The Church takes this more seriously than we may realize. The Feast of the Guardian Angels is celebrated on October 2nd. There's a great book out, "Send me your Guardian Angel, Padre Pio" which talks a lot about his relationship with his Angel.
Sometimes I ask God if He would send mine to visit Jesus in the Sacrament, or be with someone who is ill, or traveling, if I can't. I confess, mine has a name, at least to me. Mother Angelica said to pray to know your Guardian Angel's name. Took over two years! One night, I was saying my prayers, and with closed eyes, I saw the name, "Thomas", and he has been so ever since. We're buddies, you might say, and someone whom I look forward to meeting, and thanking, him, as he truly is!
That was a beautiful story! I think God assigns extra angels in inclement weather! God bless you!
I think I keep my Guardian Angel busy sometimes frustrated too :)
Please pray for me...I’d be grateful to be added to your list
God Bless
I have had a couple of instances where my first instinct was that the hand of God was on my shoulder but later I thought it was likely my guardian angel.
I actually had a strange incident in the parking lot of the hospital last week while I was involved in 10 days of intravenous anitibiotic treatments for my Mom. I went home and told Mr. GG2 about it and he thinks I ran into a guardian angel. Life is strange.
I could have died in an auto accident at the age of 2 1/2 months, later (about six or seven) at warm springs, and once in the Atlantic Ocean where I was found by the Coast Guard floating two miles down the coast from where I entered the water.
Thank you, dear Guardian Angel.
The True Role of Guardian Angels
Touched by Padre Pio's guardian angels [Catholic Caucus]
Celebrating Guardian Angels - October 2 - Feast of the Guardian Angels [Ecumenical]
Guardian Angels
OF GUARDIAN ANGELS AND THE ROLE THEY PLAY NOT JUST ON EARTH BUT IN PURGATORY [Catholic Caucus]
Our Guardian Angels [Ecumenical]
Her unborn 'guardian angels' inspire pro-life work
Question: “Are there really such things as guardian angels?”
Guardian angels caught on film?
Early Christians Representations of Angels[Feast day Guardian Angels]
Wow, Salvation. Were you six or seven [as well] when you were found in the Atlantic Ocean floating? Did your mother know about this as it was happening?
No, much older. My parents were visiting an aunt in Philadelphia and she had taken us over to the New Jersey coast.
PS on this.....can you imagine seven kids and two adults in a regular Studebaker sedan going all the way to Philly? That was us!
My folks and my aunt had called the Coast Guard.
I tried to learn to swim and was OK in the shallow end, but panicked when she tried to teach me to tread water and had to be plucked out of the water by the instructor.
Never really mastered swimming.
Angel of God my guardian dear. To whom God's love commits me here. Ever this day, be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide.
Please remove my post...
Yep. You’ve helped me a time or two with Prayer Circles. I’m a Believer! :)
Angles — are you talking geometry here?
The 9 Choirs of Angels
In ascending order:
Angels
Archangels
Principalities
Powers
Virtues
Dominations
Thrones
Cherubim
Seraphim
Note:
The Choir of Angels is divided into three triads with specific concerns:
The 1st triad:
Angels, Archangels, and Principalities: concern themselves with the minute ordering of the universe and specific causes, including the welfare of people. Each human being, each church, and each country has a Guardian Angel. The Feast of the Guardian Angels is October 2.
The 2nd triad:
Powers, Virtues and Dominations: known as the “angels of creation” because they concern themselves with the ordering of the universe and a plurality of causes.
The 3rd triad:
Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim: concern themselves with contemplating the glory of God. It is the 6-winged Seraphim who sing the Sanctus, “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of Hosts” (Isaias 6:3).
No just not talking Catholic doctrine. I know it’s hard to believe but the Catholic Church has a lot of funny ideals and doctrine.
Know,
Angels
Archangels (Malachim)
Cherubim
Seraphim
Have no ideal who the rest of those folks are.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.