![]() John currently splits his time between Michigan (where he continues his writing apostolate and serves as a confessor and spiritual director at the Queen of the Family Retreat Center) and Rome, where he teaches theology at Regina Apostolorum. His most recent books are "Spring Meditations", "Seeking First the Kingdom: 30 Meditations on How to Love God with All Your Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength", and "Answers: Catholic Advice for Your Spiritual Questions". His most widely known book is called: "The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer". He also served as the English-language press liaison for the Vatican’s 2005 Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist. John has contributed news commentary regarding religious issues on NBC, CNN, Fox, and the BBC. He provided spiritual support on the set of Mel Gibson’s "The Passion of the Christ" while researching the 2005 Catholic best seller, "Inside the Passion"-the only authorized, behind-the-scene explanation of the film. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 2003 and earned his doctorate in moral theology in 2010. He then spent a year as a professional actor in Chicago before entering the religious Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ in 1993. After college, he worked as a high school history teacher, drama director, and baseball coach. ![]() He comes from an evangelical Christian background and became a member of the Catholic Church in 1991. John Bartunek, LC, S.Th.D, received his BA in History from Stanford University in 1990. JohnĪrt: Guardian angel, Domenichino, 1615, PD-US, Wikimedia Commons.įr. But otherwise, we should simply accept them and be grateful for their protection. If they want to reveal their names to us, fine. But our guardian angels already have names, so it’s really not our job to give them names. They want a more inter-personal relationship with their guardian angel. ![]() I think I understand why some people feel a need to give their guardian angel a name – they want to be able to relate to their guardian angel more directly. 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. In fact, the Vatican’s Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy actually discourages the practice of naming our guardian angels, in #217: (For more on this, you may want to read Taylor Marshall’s post, here. So we don’t have authority over them, and it is not up to us to name them. ![]() And their office of being our guardians is given to them by God, not by us. As pure spirits, their nature is superior to our human nature – which is material and spiritual. Jesus also gave Peter a new name, following that pattern.īut the angels are, to put it bluntly, superior beings. God changed the names of some of his chosen leaders in the Bible, like Abraham and Isaac, because he has authority over all of us and can change the direction of our lives. The only people we can give names to are people that we have authority over – parents name their children, because their children have been entrusted to them by God parents have a real authority over their children. But it is not our job to give names to our guardian angels.Īngels are pure spirits – this means that each angel is a person, a spiritual person. It also can foster healthy docility to God’s will and the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. ![]() It encourages us to be prayerful and to have a faith-filled view of the events of every day. Is that something that is good to do? How do we go about doing this? Is there some particular prayer involved? And, if we don¹t give them the right name, is there a danger of invoking evil spirits instead? Thanks Father John.ĭevotion to our guardian angels is a good thing. Dear Father John, I know of a few people who recommend that we name our guardian angels. ![]()
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