© Copyright 2002 Grace D. MacKinnon
Grace MacKinnon is a syndicated columnist and public speaker on Catholic doctrine. Readers are welcome to submit questions about the Catholic faith to: Grace MacKinnon, 1234 Russell Drive #103, Brownsville, Texas 78520. Questions also may be sent by e-mail to: grace@deargrace.com. You may visit Grace online at www.DearGrace.com.
The material made use of the the names of seven archangels including the familiar biblical ones, but there were others like Uriel, Zadquiel, Jofiel, and Chamuel that I had never heard of before. This is all new to me. Does the Church approve of this devotion?
No, the Catholic Church does not approve of this devotion. What you are describing is very likely one of many attempts by the so-called “New Age” movement to take elements of Catholicism and mix them with their own beliefs in an effort to trick innocent people into their religion. Talk of angels would of course attract any Catholic who might assume that when someone speaks of angels, they are speaking of the angels we know of. One brief search on the Internet reveals how this is most definitely not true! Angels have been assimilated into the New Age religious system and given new definitions. That is how formerly good, unsuspecting Catholics have been misled into accepting another religion, before they even realize what has happened to them. How did all this begin?
The New Age is a loosely structured movement that has its roots in the counterculture of the 1960s. It envisioned and furthered the overturning of many traditional cultural values and is filled with occult and other forbidden practices taken from “ancient wisdom.” These can include spirit communication with the dead, reincarnation, channeling, astrology, tarot cards, crystals, palm reading, ouija boards, psychic powers, Yoga, and transcendental meditation. It is amazing, though, to see how some of these groups have taken our belief in angels and changed it, while still giving it the outward appearance of being Catholic.
The Catholic Church has always taught the existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls “angels” as a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition (CCC #328). They are God’s angels and their work is always to serve God and lead men to Him. This was made quite clear when, in 1992, in a decree issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Josef Ratzinger wrote that, “the use of the private revelations on the holy Angels, to the extent that they do not correspond to the universal tradition of the Church, was prohibited.”
Now, how can we apply this to the devotion that you are asking about? You say that seven archangels were mentioned by name by this group in their material. The only names given in the Bible of individual angels are Raphael, Michael, and Gabriel. The other archangels names you mention are probably taken from ancient apocryphal Jewish books, such as the Book of Enoch, where we find names such as those of Uriel and Jeremiel, and many more are found in other apocryphal sources. But these, however, are not part of our accepted canon of Scripture, and therefore, are to be rejected. They are not found in our Bible nor in the Tradition of the Church.
Any group promoting a devotion to the holy angels, like any association of lay faithful, must be carefully reviewed by competent ecclesiastical authority if it is to call itself “Catholic” (canon 300). It must be centered on Christ, and this was reaffirmed by the Holy Father John Paul II in a Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation (October 15, 1989). “There exists a strict relationship between revelation and prayer,” he writes. “The Christian, even when he is alone and prays in secret, is conscious that he always prays for the good of the Church in union with Christ, in the Holy Spirit and together with all the saints” (n. 7).
“Los Siete Arcangeles Poderosos del Año Feliz” certainly cannot be called a Catholic devotion. It is not Christian and is a disguise for something else. The best thing to do is to stay clear of it. The problem is that today many Christians are not well versed in Scripture or the truths of the faith, and they may sometimes fall as easy prey to these sorts of practices. We need to change this.
Learn the faith well, so that you will be able to recognize false teachings such as this one. And if you confront it and are not able to handle it, bring it to the attention of your pastor or bishop. Catholics and other Christians need to become more aware of the lures and traps of the New Age movement in order to avoid them.
