"I Know the Name of Your Guardian Angel," He Said

Update (7/31/23): Since writing this post about how I asked my guardian angel for his name (and got an answer), I spoke to a confessor about it who very strongly believed that the "sign" I received was NOT from my guardian angel. He did not explain where he believed the sign could have come from, since I had only invoked my guardian angel in my mind. However, if I had to guess, I think he probably believed that I was demonically influenced to even ask the question in the first place (I'm inferring this since he told me I had committed a sin by doing so). As soon as I had this opinion from the confessor, I wrote an update on this post to let you all know. Since then, I have learned the opinion of another priest and exorcist, Fr Jim Blount, which is quite different.

Fr Blount does not think that asking for a name from your guardian angel is a sin. Rather, he points out that it has been an old tradition among Catholics to call your angel by a familiar name in order to foster greater devotion. To be clear, he never said that you should give your guardian angel a name. Rather, he seems to be making a distinction between calling your angel by a familiar name (a "nickname," if you will) and naming your angel (not recommended, since we do not have any authority over the angel assigned to us). A suitable name for this purpose would need to be chosen, such as a name from the Holy Scriptures. Or else, one would need to ask their angel to give them a name to use.

Fr. Blount acknowledges that there are differences in opinion among the theologians on this matter. Some theologians are of the opinion that it is wrong to call your guardian angel by name, since we have no authority over our guardian angels and therefore no authority to name them. Fr Blount's explanation acknowledges this truth that we have no authority over our guardian angels, and acknowledges that we will probably never know the REAL name of our guardian angel until we reach heaven. At the same time, his explanation allows for conversing with your guardian angel in a more familiar way by using a familiar name. Mother Angelica was of a similar opinion, and she recommended choosing a name to call your angel.

So, weighing all of these opinions, do I think my angel's name is really "Azariah"? Probably not. But it is a holy name from the scriptures, and perhaps he just wanted to let me know that it's ok if I want to call him that. However, I submit all of this to your own discernment until the Church gives us a more definitive answer!

What follows is the original post.

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For a long time, I've wanted to know the name of my guardian angel. Maybe seeing the angel in my living room as a child sparked my curiosity. But really, I hadn't thought much about my guardian angel's name until I became an adult.

I guess I felt like "guardian angel" was just a bit impersonal. I wanted something more endearing to call him. Knowing that you aren't supposed to give your guardian angel a name (we don't have the authority to do so because they aren't our children), I had been praying for a long time for his name to be revealed to me.

Well, I was having a really hard day one day. Driving home after daily Mass, something snapped inside. I parked the car and broke down in tears, asking (silently, in my head) for my angel to please, pretty please reveal his name to me so that I could feel his presence and be assured that he was really there.

"I know you're there, but I want to feel you there," I pleaded.

All of this was spoken inside of my head because I didn't want any demons to catch wind of what I was asking.

(I learned from Father Ripperger that demons can't read your mind–although they can try to figure out what you're thinking–and it's impossible for them to know what you're thinking when you are speaking to God. So I figured I'm probably safe from eavesdroppers when I'm praying to my guardian angel too.)

About an hour later, I was at the house of a very dear friend. Almost immediately, the subject of angels came up. No surprise there, we talk about supernatural stuff a lot.

I didn't let it loose that I was wanting to know my angel's name, however... I didn't want to interfere with his way of sending me a sign, in case he would.

Well, it was right then that my friend's husband interjected, in an excited tone of voice:

"Hey, I know the name of your guardian angel!"

My jaw dropped and I whipped around to look at him.

"What?? You know my guardian angel's name??" I exclaimed.

"Yes! Maria Valtorta's guardian angel told her that his name is 'Azariah.' He also told her that all guardian angels are Azariahs. So your guardian angel's name is Azariah."

"Yes, and Azariah is in the Bible too!" my friend added.

I was completely stunned. Sure, I was kind of expecting some sort of sign but never expected it to come so quickly and so clearly as that!

Maria Valtorta was a mystic who lived from 1897-1961. Her most well-known work is The Poem of the Man-God, a series of visions about the life of Jesus published from about ten thousand hand-written pages. Pope Pius XII said on February 26, 1948:

"Publish this work just as it is. There is no need to give an opinion as to whether it is of supernatural origin. Those who read it will understand."

Well, I haven't read it, so I don't understand what Pope Pius XII was talking about. I probably will read it someday– with caution and an open mind. I did, however, read an excerpt from her notebooks in which Azariah teaches Valtorta about the mission of our guardian angels...

The Meaning of the Name "Azariah"

Here is the part of the notebook where Azariah tells Valtorta his name, and explains the meaning:

If I do not write of my nocturnal joy I am going to be sick!

So: We laid down at 12:15 a.m., and Martha slept at once. And when she sleeps...she really sleeps! I took up the Holy Relic and prepared to make a solitary prayer against Satan for myself and for her, since I felt Satan was more intent on roving around my house. After I said the act of contrition, I made a spiritual Communion, then the prayer: "Here I am, beloved and good Jesus... I am going to consider Your five Wounds, etc. etc." And then that of the Cross, and also the Act of Offering, as I do every evening. I end with a "Gloria" for the Holy Archangels and Angels, and finally my Guardian Angel. While I am saying these last prayers to him, I interrupt myself to say to him: "But what are you called? You too will have a name! I call you my "interior adviser". But I want to call you by a name."

He appears to me at the right side of the bed, toward the foot and, all smiles, promptly says: "Azariah".

"Azariah? Really?".

He smiles once again and says: "You are unsure of me? Let's say together the 'Veni Sancte Spiritus'  ['Come Holy Spirit'] and seven 'Gloria's'  ['Glory be's...'], as I taught you for years in order to find an answer and guidance from the Holy Spirit in every need. And then open the Bible at random. The first name that you see is mine."

I say the prayer with him and then open the Bible. It opens for me at page 596 – II Chronicles, Chapter 15: "Azariah, son of Obed...", etc. etc.

The angel, always smiling, says: "And you will find the meaning of the name in the Book of Tobias, in the notes at the bottom of the page."

I run to the Book of Tobias. I find at the foot of Chapter 5: "Azariah" means "help of the Lord," therefore Azariah, son of Anania means: "Help of the Lord, son of the goodness of the Lord."

The angel says: "So it is" and smiles, looking sweetly at me.

I observe him: tall, handsome, with dark chestnut hair, a slightly round face, perfect in its lines and color, dark chestnut eyes: large, gentle, very beautiful. I observe him in his loose garment: a straight tunic, very white, very beautiful, without belt or cloak, with large sleeves and square neck hole. The garment is white and silver. The bottom is silver-colored, slightly bluish; the precious brocade embossment of this garment is a luminous white, whiter than any snow or petal that was ever formed. And the embossment is all in running [rows] of lily stems with open cups. They go in a direction thus: [diagonally from top to bottom]–in such a way that the angel seems to be wrapped with a bundle of lilies in bloom. At the neck, on the sleeves and on the bottom, are lines of silver.

I say: "The same garment of January 4, 1932, and the same appearance!"

"Yes," [he says], "it is I. And if at other times I appeared to you with three holy colors, it is to remind you that the Guardian [Angel] watches above all over the life of the three theological virtues in the spirit that he guards."

I contemplate him again and again by myself, saying and relishing his name the whole night of bitter suffering and without a shadow of sleep...

From now on the "interior adviser" will therefore be indicated with the name of Azariah, because, as he said to me in greeting me before annihilating himself to my spiritual gaze: "Every guardian angel is an Azariah: a help of the Lord who, in special cases, manifests himself by God's order and for His glory."

There is more from Valtorta's Azariah that I would like to share with you, but I'll have to save that for another post, because I'd like to share another story about guardian angel names...

"Don't You DARE Name Your Guardian Angel!" He Said

My friend Richard (name changed for privacy) told me this story at church the other day.

When Mother Angelica was still alive, he used to watch her on EWTN. One day, she was talking about guardian angels, and she suggested that you name your guardian angel. Well, Richard has the utmost respect for Mother Angelica and believes she is a saint (as do I), so he took her advise and named his guardian angel "Thomas."

After that, something unusual started to happen...

His friends starting calling him, not Richard, but "Steve!"

The first time a friend called him Steve he thought it was a bit weird. The second time a different friend called him Steve he thought it was really strange. But the third time yet another person called him Steve, he really started wondering what was going on.

Well, he was talking to a priest friend and the subject of Mother Angelica and guardian angels came up. He told this priest that he had taken Mother's advise and named his guardian angel.

On hearing this, the priest became visibly upset, shook his finger in Richard's face and said,

"Don't you dare name your guardian angel!!"

Richard was stunned by the strong reaction.

"Uuuuuh, ok! Why not?" He asked.

"Because he already has a name! How would you like it if people called you by the wrong name?"

Ha! He understood that feeling quite well.

So, Richard went home and told his guardian angel that he was very sorry for calling him Thomas, and promised to never do that again.

He has never been called "Steve" ever since.

How Do You Know Your Angel's Name?

So, how do you know your guardian angel by name?

Well, I'm still not sure I know the true name of my guardian angel. It's quite possible that one day, when I hopefully get to Heaven, I'll find out that my guardian angel has a name of his own, since each angel is completely unique.

However, I feel certain that my angel gave me a sign that day. I think he meant to say,

"Yes, I'm here, and you may call me Azariah."

Since the Bible says that Azariah means "Help of the Lord," and ALL guardian angels are indeed helpers of the Lord, I'd venture to say that every single one of us may call our guardian angel's by the name Azariah if we wish to do so.

BUT–if you want to make sure–you could check with your guardian angel first... he just might give you a sign too!

Well, I have a lot more guardian angel stories to tell, but this is already getting long so I'll need to save them for the next post. If you have a story of your own to share, send me a message and I might feature it in a future article!