by Susan
Fox
“See, I am sending an
angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have
prepared. Be attentive to him and obey him. Do not rebel against him, for he
will not forgive your sin. My authority is within him. If you obey him and
carry out all I tell you, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your
foes. My angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, Hittites,
Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites; and I will wipe them out.” (Exodus 23:20-23)
This is dedicated to my
godsons, Ben and Chris, who were baptized on this feast of the angels, Oct. 2nd. (Susan
Fox)
Carmelite
Mystic and Doctor of the Church St. Teresa of Avila understood her relationship
to God as Friend of the Lord.
 |
St. Teresa of Avila by Francois Gerard.
She is Friend of the Lord. |
Therefore she struggled with numerous temptations
with respect to friendship during her life.
She was
plagued with caring what others thought of her; she enjoyed gossip; she was
tempted by false loyalties, and entertained many frivolous friendships about
which Jesus warned her sternly.
"I had
a very serious fault which led me into great trouble. If I realized that a
person liked me, and I liked them, I would grow so fond of them that I would
think of them constantly without any intention of offending God. This was such
a harmful thing, it was ruining my soul," she said in her autobiography.
Teresa was
shocked when a spiritual director told her to abandon certain friendships that
were not harming her soul. She feared to do so would be an act of base
ingratitude. So her director told her to ask God why she should abandon these
friendships while praying the hymn, "Veni Creator." She did so, and was
put into ecstasy. She heard these words: "I
will have you converse now, not with men, but with
angels."
Many people
do not realize the value of having a close relationship with their guardian
angels. Our Guardian Angels remain
constantly in prayer, seeing the Face of God. To touch their spirits with your
heart brings similar peace and prayerfulness. It brings you into the Presence
of God. In fact, when you are struggling with distractions in prayer, it is an
excellent plan to remember your angels’ presence!
“He has
given his angels charge over you to guard you in all your ways. These words
should fill you with respect, inspire devotion and instill confidence; respect
for the presence of angels, devotion because of their loving service, and
confidence because of their protection. And so the angels are here; they are at
your side, they are with you, present on your behalf.” Abbot St. Bernard of
Clairvaux, (1090-1153 A.D.)
Their job
is to protect you and bring you to heaven. That’s what they did for St. Teresa
because after she heard God say, "I
will have you converse now, not with men, but with angels," she was
unable to be friends with anyone -- except those who loved God and were trying
to serve Him. By ending all frivolous friendships, she said she received
incredible freedom; something she was unable to achieve on her own despite
severe penances that almost ruined her health.
Believe me,
your guardian angels are worth their weight in gold. Whoops. Humorous spirits, they
reminded me they don’t weigh anything. Well, they are more precious to you than
gold, silver or any of the world’s riches. Make God your treasure. Blessed be
God in his angels and his saints.
Angels have
an incredible sense of humor. I was in the Post Office one day and I was
looking at a giant picture of the latest U.S. stamp. It was an old painting,
portraying angels as
plump voluptuous women. As I became aware of their presence,
I realized my angels were laughing their brains out. Sorry, they don’t have
brains. But they thought that depiction was silly.
Today is
the Feast of the Guardian Angels, Oct. 2, 2015. During the homily today, Father
said he was very surprised that a friend of his actually knew the name of his
guardian angel.
Anyone can
know the name of his or her guardian angel. I learned this from a holy priest.
He talked about the name of his guardian angel during his retreats. He called
him “Alfredo.” But actually his name meant the Alpha and the Omega.
This
works according to Pope St. Gregory the Great, who explained about the names of
angels: “These Archangels are also given special
names to describe their particular virtue. For Michael means "Who is like unto
God?" Gabriel means "Strength
of God," and Raphael
"Medicine of God." Whenever something is to be done needing great
power, Michael is sent forth so that from his action and from his name we can
understand that no one can do what God can do. Hence that old enemy who through
pride desired to be like God, saying, "I will scale the heavens, I will
set up my throne, I will be like the Most High," is shown at the end of
the world left to his own strength, and about to undergo the final punishment,
as destined to fight with Michael the Archangel. Similarly, Gabriel was sent to
Mary; he who is called "strength of God" came to announce Him who
deigned to appear in humility to conquer the powers of the air. And Raphael is
interpreted, as we said, "Medicine of God," for when he touched the
eyes of Tobias to do the work of healing, he dispelled the night of his
blindness.”
So my
priest friend had an angel named after Our Lord, the Alpha and the Omega. From
this priest, I learned that satan cannot hear your thoughts. Neither can your
guardian angel. Only God can hear your thoughts.
But – if
you wish -- in silent prayer you can tell God He has permission to let your
guardian angel hear your thoughts. Do this quietly, not out loud. You don’t
want any evil spirits to hear you talking. I had a spiritual director who was
bothered so much by the evil one, she used to pray while washing dishes. He
apparently wasn’t aware of her practice and so he left her alone.
Satan
cannot hear your confessions, but if you tell everyone your sins – confessed or
un-confessed, then he will know them. Best not to tell anyone. I accidentally
found out why.
My son
was seven years old and about to make his first confession. As a younger boy,
he had frequently been in the confessional with me. But now he was seven, and
he said, “Mom, let me go in again so I’ll be prepared to make my first
confession.” And I let him.
Well,
satan didn’t hear that confession either, but when we got out of the
confessional, James had understood one thing I confessed, and he was really
excited so he spoke only to me about it. However, satan heard us speak of my
sin outside the confessional. That night I endured the most horrific temptation
to commit that sin again. If he didn’t know what I said in the sanctuary of
confession, I never would have been bothered with it.
So I know
that angels, fallen or otherwise, cannot hear your thoughts. They cannot hear
your confessions. But tell God to give
your guardian angel(s) permission to hear your thoughts, and then ask your
angel for his name. Silently.
Now I
have suggested this to many people, and children have inevitably found out
incredible names for their angels. But I haven’t found an adult who was
successful except for my husband, who accidentally blurted the name out in
Greek without thinking. LOL.
So I
would say you need to be very childlike in your approach in this exercise.
Angels
usually respond with images, not words to that question, “What is your name?” It
actually turns into a guessing game. The priest who told me about this said,
“Angels like to play little games.” He
noted that when he first asked his guardian angel his name he didn’t answer
right away. So he demanded to know if he thought he was greater than God because
God gave us His name!
That’s
when the priest’s angel confessed his mission had to do with the Alpha and the
Omega. And Father started calling him “Alfredo.” Much easier, yes?
After I
heard this story, I tried this out that night. Lying in bed pretending I was
trying to fall asleep, I told God He could allow my guardian angel to hear my thoughts.
Then I said silently in my head, "What is your name?" It’s important
now not to discard the first image that comes into your heard. I think that’s
where the adults go wrong. They think, “Ahh, it couldn’t be.”
The image
of a flower came into my head. I thought of a Lilac or a Lily or a rose, and
none of those things fit. Then I said, "It has to do with a daisy,
right?" And my angel agreed. Suddenly, I said, "Your name is
David!"
Think
“Jesus, Son of David. Have mercy on me a sinner.” As a matter of fact, someone
later pointed out to me that the Daisy opens up during the day when the Sun (Son)
comes out. And Son of David is a title for Jesus Christ, descendant of King
David. David also wrestled with bears and defeated the giant Goliath.
So my
guardian angel is a bear-wrestling, giant-killing, devil-defeating angel
imitating Christ, Divine Son and Son of Man, descended from King David. (Your
throne will stand forever.)
Now I made
sure this was correct. I asked God for three signs, one every day for the next three
days. The next morning one of my fellow retreatants started talking about her
deceased husband David over
breakfast. In shock, I said, “What did you say your husband’s name was?” She
responded, “David.” The next day I
was praying and I inadvertently said, "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me." It’s one of my favorite prayers.
And on the
third day I sat down to read my Bible. I was in the habit of reading the Bible beginning
to end, little by little. The chapter I was scheduled to read that night was
the first introducing King David
as a young lad. I didn’t know that in advance.
I got my
three signs. I was blown away. Twenty years before, my best friend, Phoebe, and
I had sat on the brick fence around the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in
Santa Fe, New Mexico, longing for communication from our guardian angels, but
all we saw were some pigeons.
Phoebe and
I used to celebrate Michaelmas (St. Michaels’ Day, Sept. 29) when we were
roommates at the University of Kentucky.
She’d rent out Medieval Art books about angels and prop them up around
the room. We’d light candles, pray and eat Angel Food Cake. I credit her solely
for my devotion to the angels. And she is a convert to Catholicism, converted by
the writings of the Medieval Catholics that she studied at Harvard University.
For my Protestant friends, I want to remind you that all true devotion is Christ centered. So the only purpose of devotion to our guardian angels is to draw closer to Christ. And that is our angels' purpose -- to draw us to Christ. An angel can be a friend, helper, beloved, but your devotion does not end with the good spirit. He is to be used as a ladder to Jesus Christ.
Now if you
are able to open communication with your angel, it is not recommended you share
their name. However, I have shared David’s name (as I have in the past many
times) as a teaching tool, the same as Father did with Alfredo.
So I was
sitting at breakfast again on a different retreat, and
 |
Note the angel in the background
directing Isidore's plow while he
prayed! |
another retreatant told
me her guardian angel had made her bed that morning so she wouldn’t miss Mass.
I started to tell her that was impossible, but I remembered that the guardian
angels of 11th century farmer St. Isidore plowed the ground for him when he was
delayed from his labor by deep prayer. "Hmm," I thought at my guardian angels,
“Why didn’t you make my bed?” They said it was necessary for my salvation to do
it myself. They are all Glory of God and Salvation of Souls around me. Yeah, I
get it. No short cuts.
One of my
guardian angels works with weather, and recently a friend asked me to send him
to make the weather beautiful in a certain week in Devon, England, for his
children’s’ vacation. Well they only had one sunny day, and the rest was rain.
Therefore I concluded the rain must have been necessary for the family’s
salvation.
This
particular angel is the one I constantly prayed to when we moved to Colorado.
His name is the Greek word for spirit, Numa or Wind. His mission has to do with
the Breath of the Holy Spirit. I asked him to keep the tornadoes and hail from
my house because we couldn’t afford to fix it. On September 29, 2014, (the
Feast of St. Michael), an “insane hail storm” hit the Denver area. I was in my
bedroom, during the storm and it sounded like an army of angels were beating my
house. I asked Numa, “What are you doing? You know we can’t afford
to fix hail damage.”
So this is
when I learned the value of having a weather angel and homeowner’s insurance.
We got a new roof, new paint and a new garage door. The deductible was $1,000,
which we paid, but when the claim was completed we were reimbursed for our
out-of-pocket expenses completely. We paid nothing.
That little
angel just thought we needed to fix the house up so he blew in the storm. There isn’t a single house in my neighborhood
that didn’t get a new roof thanks to the Michaelmas Hail Storm!
But mostly the job of guardian angels is to bring us to heaven. A lot of my angels have
names related to my sanctification. So there’s one who is a specialist in
self-knowledge. His image is lightening from the Throne of God, illuminating
the world. It’s a great gift to know and recognize your sins so you can bring
them to confession. It’s actually a punishment to be ignorant of your faults.
Another
angel is the Refiner’s Fire. Like with gold, he heats me up so the impurities
rise to the top leaving only the pure metal behind. I resist, of course, and
try to keep the temperature low, as this is not a pleasant process. But with
God’s help I will do better.
Now why do
we want to know the names of our guardian angels? Just as St. Teresa
discovered, it’s a means of coming into friendship with them. Being aware of
their presence, and with your permission to do what’s necessary for your
salvation, they can give you occasional discernment. Just this week the
lightening angel showed me something I did that was not pleasing to God. I
immediately made an act of contrition and prepared to confess it. God gave me the opportunity to apologize to the person I offended. That didn't happen by accident. It was a real experience arising out of a relationship with a
spirit I know and love – someone God has given me for my salvation.
It’s okay
to show affection for your guardian angels. Here is what Abbot St. Bernard had
to say about the angels in today’s Office of Readings:
“We should
then, my brothers, 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... Even though we are children and have a long, a
very long and dangerous sway to go, with such protectors what have we to fear?
They who keep us in all our ways cannot be overpowered or led astray, much less
lead us astray. They are loyal, prudent, powerful. Why then are we afraid? We
have only to follow them, stay close to them, and we shall dwell under the
protection of God’s heaven."
 |
Angel with cross
Statue at Lourdes, France |
We can also send our angels out on missions. Pure spirits -- angels -- can be in
multiple places at one time. So without leaving your side, your guardian angels can be sent to help whoever you are praying for. I have sent them to many people, especially
children, to stay with them for the rest of their lives.
I pray to my angels
before I lector at Sunday Mass, and ask them to speak to the congregation and
open their ears for the Word of God. They love that job. Every so often I’ll be
reading, look up and see an expression of amazed “I heard that” on someone’s
face.
I know a
Catholic doctor who prays with his patients. God has given him an angel of
healing. Whatever your apostolate, whatever your purpose in life, God has given
you ministering spirits who are uniquely suited to assist you in your vocation.
Happy
Feast of the Guardian Angels!
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| Mary, Queen of Angels, pray for us. |
Did you enjoy this piece? Maybe you would like to read
which is about the fallen angels
Another angel poem?
