Friday, October 02, 2009
Leonard the Guardian Angel
I was wanting to tell a few guardian angel stories today, but here's one that is pretty good from Acts of the Apostasy-- a blog that has just been recommended to me, which I plan to re-visit. What caught my eye was the whimsical detail that this guy's mother named all her kids' guardian angels, and she told him that his guardian angel was called Leonard. This rather tickled me. No really angelic sounding name like Lord Elidil...just Leonard. What next the Lord of Darkness being called Sidney?
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3 comments:
Thank you, Father, for the link and addition to your blogroll!
May God continue to bless you!
That reminds me of this, from the Vatican's 2001 Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy:
217. Popular devotion to the Holy Angels, which is legitimate and good, can, however, also give rise to possible deviations.... 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.
That aside, I think that was a great story. :)
Well, pace Rachel’s quote from the Directory, I don’t think it is a bad thing to put a name on one’s Guardian Angel. Obviously, we can’t put a face on them - unless we’re especially blessed… But, rather than a maternal ‘angelic baptism’, I think each one should choose his/her own name for their particular protector.
As children we were taught to invoke the help and protection of our Guardian Angels and it does help foster the relationship if we think of him/her (yes, I know…) in personal terms - rather than “hey, you…”
I know of people who have named their heavenly protectors and frequently it is the name of some saint to whom they have a particular attachment.
I, too, gave a name to mine some years back, seeking to foster a more personal relationship. In my case it had nothing to do with saints. His name is Marcus. I’m not sure how the name occurred to me. Perhaps it was due to the fact that I was reading Colleen McCullough’s The First Man in Rome at the time and Roman names were on my mind.
But Marcus he is and I do call upon him daily – even sympathizing with him on the job he has protecting me… Speaking of which I often wonder what happens when one dies. Does one’s Guardian Angel get re-assigned? Is there an Angelic Pool – like the typing pools of yore – from whence angels get new assignments? If so, I pray that Marcus gets an easier assignment next time around!
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