Dear Catholic Exchange:
I was involved in a conversation last Sunday at Church that has totally piqued my interest. It was about posting an angel for help. I am looking for further information on what procedure or prayers are needed to do this. I was also informed that one needs to release the angel from the obligation so that they can go to their next assignment. Any information you may have would be appreciated. I work with the elderly who are in rest homes, and elderly members of my community that families have abandoned.
This is such a fascinating concept for me. My next question is, do the people you help by posting an angel have to be Catholic, or can it work on all denominations? And does the person posting an angel need to be Catholic?
Thank you so much for your reply.
Yours in faith,
Donna F. Castillo
Dear Donna:
We've never heard of this. Like most pious fads and trends, it sounds like it has a certain amount to commend it (there are such things as angels, tradition teaches we all have guardian angels, you can pray to your angel and ask his help and assistance) and certain things that are the concoction of human beings or the result of miscommunication (or both).
Pope John XXIII, I am told, had a lovely habit of asking his guardian angel to chat with the guardian angel of people he was going to see(particularly when the meeting was expected to be difficult) so that unnecessary hindrances and obstacles to love and good fellowship would not be thrown up. There's nothing in the Tradition of the Apostles to forbid that.
There's also nothing in the Tradition of the Apostles to command that.
It's a good, pious practice which Catholic may pursue, or not, as they choose.
This notion of “posting” angels sounds somewhat similar. There's no particular reason you can't ask your angel to help you or to work with somebody else's guardian angel for their good. That's what they are there for, after all. But we would caution against getting overly hung up on technique. The way to talk to your guardian angel is to just talk to him. Ask him to pray for you, to help you out, etc. Feel free to do the same with somebody else's guardian. As ever, ask what you ask in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As long as you are seeking God's will and staying within the teaching of the Church, you'll be okay.
One last caution: These days “angels” have become trendy and are very often the subject of a great deal of New Age nonsense. Devils are angels who have fallen and they can, says Paul, appear to us as “angels of light”. All prayer to angels is to be done, therefore, within the bounds of what Christ has revealed in His Church. If somebody starts trying to sell you a bill of goods about “angels” who tell you that Christ is not God, or that God wants you to do something immoral, or that the goal of life is money, pleasure, and selfish power, head in the opposite direction. But within the boundaries of the Church's teaching, it is perfectly fine to ask our guardian angels to help you and your neighbors.
Mark Shea
Senior Content Editor
Catholic Exchange
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