12 Ways to Deepen Our Friendship with the Angels

I decided to invite my guardian angel to pray with me after watching a video by Fr. Matthew Hincks of the Opus Angelorum. In the video, Father shares 12 ways that we can deepen our friendship with the angels. 

The first suggestion is especially important so I'll have more to say about that below! 

The 12 Ways We Can Deepen Our Friendship with the Angels (per Fr. Hincks' video)

1. Be in a state of grace. As Father says in his video, we can either be in a state of grace with Jesus and His angels or in mortal sin with Satan and his demons. There is no middle ground.
2. Learn the truth about the holy angels. We can't love those we don't know. This is why it's so important to learn about the angels from reliable Catholic sources.
3. Strive to do the will of God at all times. Our guardian angel is here to help us do God's will. This should we our goal too.
4. Practice silence. Silence is the language of God and His angels who customarily speak to us through thoughts, imaginations and feelings. 
5. Practice listening. When we are silent, we can sift our thoughts and discern (separate or divide) the voice of our guardian angel from from other voices (as taught by St. Ignatius).
6. Spend time in solitude. When we turn to Scripture, we see that angels almost always come to people when they are alone.
7. Pray to our guardian angel. The more we pray, the more he can help. 
8. Pray with our guardian angel. Friends become closer when they share things and prayer is a wonderful thing to share. As Jesus said, when two or three gather in My Name, there I am in the midst of them.
9. Send our guardian angel to help others. This increases our bond with our guardian angel and may help us realize what he can do.
10. Practice fasting.  This is the life of the angel. According to Fr. Hinck's demons hate it when we fast.
11. Have a devotion to Mary, Queen of Angels. Mary can do many things for us but one thing we may not know is that she has the authority to dispatch angelic reinforcements when they are needed.
12. Thank our guardian angel. We should thank our guardian angel for what he has done and what he will do. This will help us realize how much he loves us.

Why Suggestion #1 is Critical

Being in a state of grace when attempting to deepen our friendship with our guardian angel is the first suggestion given for a reason. It is very important!

When we are in a state of sin we are especially vulnerable to evil spirits and their deceptions. During my time in the New Age and occult, I practiced divination (a first commandment sin). This opened a door to the demonic. As a result, I believed I was connecting with God's angels when I was not.

But divination is not the only sin that can affect us. All sin muddies the water of our intellect (as stated by Fr. Chad Ripperger and others) and makes spiritual discernment difficult if not impossible. 

Fortunately, there is a solution.

The sacraments of the Catholic church can return us to a state of grace. 

The sacraments are baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, penance and reconciliation, the annointing of the sick, matrimony and holy orders. For me, confession and receiving the Eucharist are particularly powerful!

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• To get Fr. Hincks' two part conference "The Guardian Angel and Our Spiritual Life" (which includes the full teaching on 12 ways to deepen our friendship with the Angels), please click here.
• To read about my experience praying with the angels, please see Praying with the Angels!
• For more on the Opus Angelorum, please see their website here.