A guardian angel is given to each person at baptism. It is believed that he is on the right shoulder, and on the left, respectively, it is clear who. An angel is our protector. He intercedes before God for his ward.
But how often do people call for their invisible helper for help? On the fingers you can count. And thanks for the help, if called, even less often. Therefore, I would like to talk about the guardian angel. So that people know what help he provides in spiritual warfare.
Who is an angel?
This is a disembodied creature that people do not see. An angel is given to every person in the sacrament of baptism. And accompanies him to the end of his life.
The depiction of a guardian angel on a person’s right shoulder is not literal. The protector is invisible, this must not be forgotten. And he invisibly accompanies his ward throughout his life's journey.
Why is it given?
Are there guardian angels? Undoubtedly. And they are given to us in order to help in good deeds and to protect us from the path that is fatal to the Christian soul. An angel lifts the prayers of his ward to God, protecting him from all evil in every way.
Is it possible to stay without an angel?
No, the protection of the guardian angel is forever. But you can drive away your heavenly guardian from your own sins. The more a person sins, the farther away an angel is from him.
How to return it?
Repent of sins and commit them once and for all. When a person sins, an angel mourns for him, cries and departs. When he repents and does good deeds, his defender, given at baptism, rejoices and helps the ward in every way.
Is the patron saint an angel?
No. There is a widespread belief that the angel given at baptism and the patron saint in whose honor the person received his name is one and the same ethereal spirit. This is not true. The saint in whose honor we were baptized undoubtedly patronizes the one who bears the name in his honor. When he is addressed sincerely, with intensified prayer, he prays for a person before the Lord. Both the angel and the patron saint accompany the Christian throughout his life.
The image of the guardian angel - what is it? And does it exist at all? More about this below.
When does a person have angel day?
The guardian angels of man accompany him all his life. More precisely, accompanies. Because it is given in the singular at baptism.
When is this holiday celebrated? November 21, the Orthodox Church celebrates the day of the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael and other ethereal forces. This day can be safely called the day of the angel of every baptized person.
How is it celebrated?
What to do on the day of the guardian angel? Be sure to visit the temple, confess and take communion. Spending an angel's day is in awe. Thank him for the protection and help. Put a candle in front of the festive icon, pray in your own words. If possible, do good deeds, help someone, comfort someone.
When a person does good, it is a joy for his angel. Of course, you should not spend this day in shameless entertainment.
How to prepare for a confession?
It was written above that on the day of the angel you need to confess and partake. And how to do it? There is nothing complicated.
The preparation for confession involves the recognition of one's sins. It will not be superfluous to stir up memory, recall all the most secret and deeply hidden sins. Be sure to confess that presses on the soul. There is such a state: he committed a sin, and he then oppresses. Conscience torments, convicts. Sincere repentance and purification of our conscience from this sin, a promise to ourselves not to commit it anymore, will help us to clear ourselves of the harmful effects.
As for the more “firmly ingrained” sins in the soul, difficulties can arise here. Firstly, a person is able to begin to justify himself: "Everyone lives this way and sins with this, I'm not alone." Roughly speaking, everyone was going to jump from the roof, and we will go after everyone, knowing that we are going to certain death? Hardly. People’s self-preservation instincts work very well. Only when it comes to maintaining the purity of the soul, they disappear somewhere.
It doesn’t matter how everyone lives. Man is responsible specifically for himself and for his sins. Blessed Matrona of Moscow said that "each sheep will be hung by its tail." And that which will be forgiven and permitted here will be forgiven and permitted by the Lord in Heaven.
Secondly, shame. This is a false feeling, a kind of inner voice that inspires the confessor: “It’s embarrassing to talk about it. No, don’t tell me what a shame. It’s scary to say it, you can’t say that.” It is possible and necessary. Must be ashamed before committing a sin. However, shame disappears at that moment. But then it arises, not allowing a person to clear themselves of dirt.
Sins must not be withheld. It is necessary to honestly tell the priest accepting the confession of what he sinned. Yes, shame will haunt. But it needs to be done. Otherwise, God will not accept a confession in which the vile and dirty deeds are deliberately concealed. And the guardian angel should not be kept at a distance from itself. Sin, like a stinking smell, drives away our protector from us. The guardian angels of man cry when we commit a sin, and cannot come to us until cleansing takes place.
In order not to forget anything, it is permissible to write down sins. And with these notes go to confession.
How to prepare for the sacrament?
In practice, it is customary to confer Communion after confession. But before embarking on it, it is necessary to prepare. How to do it?
- Compliance with the post for 3 days. This means the rejection of meat, dairy products, as well as eggs. In general, from all products of animal origin.
- Retention of the flesh from entertainment. In other words, during the days of physical fasting, before embracing the sacrament of Communion, one must abstain spiritually. Do not watch TV, do not play computer games, do not listen to music. Limit the fun and enjoyment of everyday life.
- Spouses need to refrain from physical intimacy.
- In the evening, on the eve of the Sacrament, read the three canons - to the Lord, the Virgin, and the guardian angel, as well as prayers for the Holy Communion.
After the sacrament, short prayers of thanks are read. A man thanks the Lord for the mercy shown, for He made the repentant sinner accept the Body and Blood of Christ.
How to pray to a guardian angel?
Is there a prayer to the guardian angel for every day? Yes there is. And it sounds like this: “To the angel of God, my holy keeper, I have been given to abide by God from heaven! I diligently pray that you enlighten me now, and save from all evil, guide me to a good deed, and direct them to the path of salvation. Amen. "
In general, you need to resort to the help of your patron, given at baptism, regularly. And it’s not at all necessary to pray according to the rules. It is enough to turn to the angel in your own words, ask him for help and intercession wholeheartedly.
What does he look like?
What is the image of a guardian angel in Orthodoxy? A photo of the icons is presented in the article.
As for the image as such, our heavenly protectors are invisible to their wards. In the view of man, an angel is a spirit similar in appearance to man. Has wings behind him. On the icons, the angels are depicted roughly as we are used to representing them.
Date of birth and guardian angel
Is there a guardian angel icon by date of birth? No. There is an icon of the patron saint, in whose honor a man is named and baptized. But it does not apply to the date of birth. This will be discussed in the subsection dedicated to the patron saint.
Nor does an angel apply to a date of birth. But the date of baptism is another matter. Baptism is the spiritual birth of man.
How then to get the image of a guardian angel? Just buy an icon with an angelic image, not trying to find a "personalized" protector given at baptism.
Is this my protector?
How to recognize your guardian angel in Orthodoxy? He is given to us from above, at baptism. If you are baptized, then you have an intercessor accompanying you throughout your life.
Man cannot recognize his angel. For it is an incorporeal spirit. The names of angels are hidden from people. They have no gender, no human body. Therefore, you can see and recognize your accompanying spirit only on the icon.
Angels and children
Who protects the child? Is there a guardian angel in children? He appears if the baby was christened in the Orthodox faith. Until the sacrament is completed, the child does not have a personal intercessor.
It is believed that up to seven years old children are sinless. Such little angels, only earthly ones. However, despite this fact, it is undesirable to delay the baptism of the baby.
How does he keep me?
A baptized person is protected by his angel. And often you can hear such an expression: "He has a strong angel" or "The angel saved you." Indeed, a person sometimes remains unharmed under such circumstances in which it is virtually impossible to remain in good health.
Can a Christian receive clues from a guardian angel? Rather, an invisible defense. An angel is able to help his ward, protect him from invisibility from danger, and ward off misfortune. But it is unlikely to come to him personally to suggest something verbal communication.
A bit about the patron saint
Who is the guardian angel and how it differs from the patron saint, we figured out above. Now let's talk about the latter.
The patron saint is the one by whose name a person is baptized. And if the guardian angel icon by date of birth does not exist, then in the case of the patron saint, the situation is different. There are many saints, each of them has a name. And in the Orthodox Church there is a host of glorified saints. Each of these saints has an icon. More precisely, there is an icon depicting one or another saint.
How to find out who is the patron saint of a person, especially if there are many saints with that name? If a person is baptized before 2000, then he can consider his patron the saint who was glorified first. If after 2000, then it is worth knowing the nearest date of the glorification of the holy saint of God from the date of his own birth.
We give an example. A woman is baptized with the name Catherine. If the sacrament over her was performed before 2000, then the great martyr Catherine is considered her patroness. Whose memory falls on December 7th. If baptism is accepted after 2000, then she needs to pay attention to the date of her birth. Was a woman born before February 5? Then its patroness can be considered the Martyr Catherine (New Martyr), whose memory is committed on February 5.
How to pray to your saint?
There is a prayer to the guardian angel for every day, but to the saint? Of course. And it can be found in any Orthodox prayer book, at the end of the morning rule.
Like the angel, the patron saint, in whose honor the name is given, can and should be called in his own words. To ask him for help with a "fiery heart", in any situation when there is a need for this very help.
It should be remembered that the "nominal" patron has the boldness before God and intercedes for a person who sincerely resorts to his intercession and help.
Image of a saint
The image of the guardian angel is one, and the patron saint, in whose honor the name is given to man, is different. For example, the patron of Sergei is Sergius of Radonezh. And there is his icon. Or a man with a rare name in our time, Seraphim, can safely acquire the image of the holy righteous Seraphim of Sarov.
An icon depicting a guardian angel and a patron saint, with whose name a person is baptized, can be worn around the neck. Now on sale there are special "wearable" icons.
Name day
It is worth recalling that the day of the Angel and the day of the name day are completely different days. If the day of the angel, as mentioned above, is celebrated on November 21, then the day of the name day is different for everyone. Depends on which saint patronizes the person.
For example, Larisa, who was baptized before 2000, has a name day on April 8th. Catherine - on December 7th. At Terenty - on April 23.
How to spend this day?
Just like angel's day. Attend church, confess, and receive communion. To honor the memory of the patron saint, praying in front of the icon with his image, putting a candle in front of her. Read an akathist to your holy house if you cannot get to the temple.
What is the patron saint asking for?
You can "approach" him with any request. No, not like that. With any request that carries pure intentions. With a kind request. One cannot ask for something bad from his guardian, as well as from the guardian angel. This is blasphemous.
What can I give a birthday?
On angel day and name day it is customary to congratulate a person. And what to give him? For example, a hand-embroidered image of a guardian angel or a saint whose name this person bears.
Before embarking on the embroidery of the icon, you need to get a blessing from the priest on this matter.
General rules
It is important to know how to keep the “red corner” in the apartment. This name means home iconostasis.
- The iconostasis is ideally in the east. In a room, this is usually the right side.
- A special shelf is hung in the corner, on which the icons are placed.
- The red corner must be kept clean. The icon shelf must be wiped.
- Icons several times a year are completely removed from the shelf and thoroughly wiped from dust and dirt.
- It is desirable that before the faces of the saints a lamp burned.
- Pets should not have access to icons. This is especially true for dogs. Unfortunately, these beloved friends of many people are considered unclean animals in the Orthodox world. Now they are treated fairly loyally in their apartment; earlier, it was forbidden to keep a dog in the same house with icons.
- Smoking in the room where the home iconostasis is located is unacceptable. Anyway, it is advisable to refuse this addiction.
- It happens that the icons fall. And people are starting to panic that this is a terrible disaster. No need to breed a panic. Raise the image, cross yourself, attach to it and put it back on the shelf. The icon may fall due to being bad, for example.
Conclusion
The main aspect of this article is as follows: the guardian angel and the patron saint are not the same thing. An angel is given to a person at baptism, and the saint is the patron saint with whose name the newly made servant of God is baptized.
The second aspect: the day of the angel and the day of the name day, judging by the main aspect, different days. Angel Day is celebrated on November 21, name day - on the nearest date of memory of the saint from the date of birth of a person.
Third point: there is no “personal” icon depicting a guardian angel. There are icons depicting God's saints, in whose honor names are given at baptism.
Both the angel and the patron saint accompany a person to the end of his life. Do not once again do bad deeds, touch something sinful. After all, an angel suffers because of this and departs from the sinner. And pushing aside a defender and a defender, voluntarily entrusting himself to the net of the evil one, is not the best option for living an earthly life.