Can Catholics Pray to the Archangel Uriel? Why This EWTN Priest Warns Against It

[Michie]

The New Age and the esoteric currents accompanying it brought a renewed interest in angels.

However, there is a dangerous tendency to request the intercession of angelic spirits not in the Bible, as in the case of Uriel.

On the EWTN show Scripture and Tradition, host Father Mitch Pacwa answers a question about requesting the intercession of the supposed archangel Uriel .

Priest explains what every Catholic should know about Archangel Uriel

“We know of Uriel from an apocryphal book. We do not accept this book – the fourth book of Esdras -this is not a book that is in the Bible,” Father Pacwa.

“As such,” he continues, “nothing from Revelation is known for sure. And so, we do not accept [the fourth book of Esdras].”

The priest adds that Catholics “do not name angels and do not take angels who are not mentioned in Scripture.”

Continued below.

Can Catholics Pray to the Archangel Uriel? Why an EWTN Priest Warns Against It

"It is good for us to stay with what God has given us..."

www.churchpop.com

 

[SashaMaria]

However, I think the Eastern Orthodox Church recognize and name 4 Archangels and commemorate and pray to the Archangel St. Uriel.

Archangel Uriel - OrthodoxWiki

orthodoxwiki.org

 

[Wolseley]

I don't see what Fr. Pacwa's heartache is with Uriel, but okay.

Uriel - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Michie]

I don't see what Fr. Pacwa's heartache is with Uriel, but okay.

Uriel - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I think because he is not found in the canon of accepted Scripture. You can’t go wrong with St. Michael.

 

[Wolseley]

I think because he is not found in the canon of accepted Scripture. You can’t go wrong with St. Michael.

True. But there's a lot of things that we Catholics---not to mention the Orthodox and the Coptics---accept that isn't found in canonical Scripture; the writings of the Patristic Fathers, for example, or the decrees of various ecumenical councils.

And there are also some things we believe that are part of apocryphal writings; for instance, in Jude 1:9, the author mentions a dispute between the archangel Michael and Satan over the body of Moses. This is found nowhere in any canonical writing; rather, it comes from Jewish apocrypha, a work called The Assumption of Moses. Another example is the Catholic belief that St. Joseph was an older, widowed man, who agreed to wed the Blessed Virgin in a kind of caretaker role; this description is found in a Christian apocrypha from about 150 A.D., The Protoevangelium of James. The name of the Penitent Thief, whom Christ forgave on the Cross, is Dismas, of course; but he is unnamed in the Gospels. The actual name Dismas comes from another early Christian apocrypha, The Acts of Pilate, dating from around 155 A.D. There are numerous other examples, of course, but you get the idea.

 

[BillMcEnaney]

However, I think the Eastern Orthodox Church recognize and name 4 Archangels and commemorate and pray to the Archangel St. Uriel.

Archangel Uriel - OrthodoxWiki

orthodoxwiki.org

In the Douay Rheims Bible, Psalm 95:5 says that the gods of the gentiles are devils, i.e., demons. So Uriel may be a demon. Since that Bible numbers the Psalms differently, the Catholic RSV includes both numbers for each Psalm.

Since you might be curious, the Douay Rhiems Bible came out in 1609, which makes it two years older than the King James Version. The DRB is the English translation of St. Jerome's Latin Vulgate.

 

[SashaMaria]

In the Douay Rheims Bible, Psalm 95:5 says that the gods of the gentiles are devils, i.e., demons. So Uriel may be a demon. Since that Bible numbers the Psalms differently, the Catholic RSV includes both numbers for each Psalm.

Since you might be curious, the Douay Rhiems Bible came out in 1609, which makes it two years older than the King James Version. The DRB is the English translation of St. Jerome's Latin Vulgate.

Thank you! I actually own a copy of the Douay-Rheims Bible but don’t read it much.

I don’t think Uriel was ever believed to be a pagan god although some may believe he’s a fallen angel.

However, the Eastern Orthodox are Christians and they‘d never pray to a devil/demon . . .

Do Eastern Rite Catholics honor and pray to Uriel? This can get so confusing!

Personally, I limit prayers to angels to St. Michael the Archangel, my guardian angel and sometimes St. Raphael and St. Gabriel.

 

[Lost Witness]

Please for the love of the LORD quit praying to angels.
It's idolatry.

 

[SashaMaria]

Please for the love of the LORD quit praying to angels.
It's idolatry.

Whatever are you talking about?!

Asking (also called praying - intercession) to saints and angels who are alive in heaven with God to intercede and pray for us here on earth is NOT idolatry!

If you ask me to pray for you, is that idolatry?

 

[Wolseley]

Please for the love of the LORD quit praying to angels.
It's idolatry.

Just a friendly reminder: you're in the Catholic forum, and ergo have no permission to challenge or contradict Catholic teachings. You may think praying to saints and angels is idolatry, and that's fine, but you can't come onto this specific forum and start telling us that what we hold as revealed truth is "idolatry". Save your fundamentalist Protestantism for your own forums.

 

[BillMcEnaney]

Thank you! I actually own a copy of the Douay-Rheims Bible but don’t read it much.

I don’t think Uriel was ever believed to be a pagan god although some may believe he’s a fallen angel.

However, the Eastern Orthodox are Christians and they‘d never pray to a devil/demon . . .

Do Eastern Rite Catholics honor and pray to Uriel? This can get so confusing!

Personally, I limit prayers to angels to St. Michael the Archangel, my guardian angel and sometimes St. Raphael and St. Gabriel.

You're welcome.

I doubt that they pray to Uriel since they are Catholics, too. I talked with some Christians who thought Latin Rite Catholics, Ukrainians ones, and so forth practiced different religions because their liturgies differ from each other.

I love the Douay Rheims Bible, my favorite Bible translation.

Thank you! I actually own a copy of the Douay-Rheims Bible but don’t read it much.

I don’t think Uriel was ever believed to be a pagan god although some may believe he’s a fallen angel.

However, the Eastern Orthodox are Christians and they‘d never pray to a devil/demon . . .

Do Eastern Rite Catholics honor and pray to Uriel? This can get so confusing!

Personally, I limit prayers to angels to St. Michael the Archangel, my guardian angel and sometimes St. Raphael and St. Gabriel.

I'm a Latin Rite Catholic who always attends the Traditional Latin Mass instead of the English one. So I don't know much about Eastern Catholics. But I doubt that they pray to Uriel. Some Christians believe Latin Rite Catholics and Eastern Rite Catholics belong to different denominations because their liturgies differ from one another. But Eastern Catholics and Western ones practice Catholicism.

The Douay Rheims Bible is my favorite one. But the translators use some English words in strange senses. So I read Fr. Leo Haydock's Bible Commentary, too. Amazon.com sells a Kindle edition of it, and Loreto Publications includes it in the Haydock Bible. If you buy it, expect the commentary to be in small print, too small for my taste. Other commentaries may help you more than that one because they're more detailed than Haydock's Commentary.

 

[WarriorAngel]

The New Age and the esoteric currents accompanying it brought a renewed interest in angels.

However, there is a dangerous tendency to request the intercession of angelic spirits not in the Bible, as in the case of Uriel.

On the EWTN show Scripture and Tradition, host Father Mitch Pacwa answers a question about requesting the intercession of the supposed archangel Uriel .

Priest explains what every Catholic should know about Archangel Uriel

“We know of Uriel from an apocryphal book. We do not accept this book – the fourth book of Esdras -this is not a book that is in the Bible,” Father Pacwa.

“As such,” he continues, “nothing from Revelation is known for sure. And so, we do not accept [the fourth book of Esdras].”

The priest adds that Catholics “do not name angels and do not take angels who are not mentioned in Scripture.”

Continued below.

Can Catholics Pray to the Archangel Uriel? Why an EWTN Priest Warns Against It

"It is good for us to stay with what God has given us..."

www.churchpop.com

How we pray to Arch Angels:

THE CHAPLET OF ST. MICHAEL

V. O God, come to my assistance.
R. O Lord, make to help me. [Glory Be on the medal].

I. Salutation ----- 1 Our Father, 3 Hail Marys: in honor of the SERAPHIM.

[Said on the first large bead and three small beads.]

By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Seraphim, may the Lord make us worthy to burn with the fire of perfect charity. Amen.

II. Salutation ----- 1 Our Father, 3 Hail Marys: in honor of the CHERUBIM.

By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Cherubim, may the Lord grant us grace to leave the ways of wickedness and run in the paths of Christian perfection. Amen.

III. Salutation ----- 1 Our Father, 3 Hail Marys: in honor of the THRONES.

By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Thrones, may the Lord infuse into our hearts a true and sincere spirit of humility. Amen.

IV. Salutation ----- 1 Our Father, 3 Hail Marys: in honor of the DOMINIONS.

By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir Dominions, may the Lord give us grace to govern our senses and subdue our unruly passions. Amen.

V. Salutation ----- 1 Our Father, 3 Hail Marys: in honor of the POWERS.

By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir Powers, may the Lord protect our souls against the snares and temptations of the devil. Amen.

VI. Salutation ----- 1 Our Father, 3 Hail Marys: in honor of the VIRTUES.

By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Virtues, may the Lord preserve us from evil, and not allow us to fall into temptation. Amen.

VII. Salutation ----- 1 Our Father, 3 Hail Marys: in honor of the PRINCIPALITIES.

By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Principalities, may God fill our souls with a true spirit of obedience. Amen.

VIII. Salutation ----- 1 Our Father, 3 Hail Marys: in honor of the ARCHANGELS.

By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Archangels, may the Lord give us perseverance and Faith in all good works in order that we may gain the glory of Heaven. Amen.

IX. Salutation ----- 1 Our Father, 3 Hail Marys: in honor of the ANGELS.

By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Angels, may the Lord grant us to be protected by them in this mortal life and conducted hereafter to the eternal glory. Amen.

On the four large beads nearest the medal:

1 Our Father in honor of St. Michael.
1 Our Father in honor of St. Gabriel.
1 Our Father in honor of St. Raphael.
1 Our Father in honor of your Guardian Angel.

Only the three are mentioned and of course for all arch angels in Heaven are not separately mentioned.

 

[SashaMaria]

You're welcome.

I doubt that they pray to Uriel since they are Catholics, too. I talked with some Christians who thought Latin Rite Catholics, Ukrainians ones, and so forth practiced different religions because their liturgies differ from each other.

I love the Douay Rheims Bible, my favorite Bible translation.

I'm a Latin Rite Catholic who always attends the Traditional Latin Mass instead of the English one. So I don't know much about Eastern Catholics. But I doubt that they pray to Uriel. Some Christians believe Latin Rite Catholics and Eastern Rite Catholics belong to different denominations because their liturgies differ from one another. But Eastern Catholics and Western ones practice Catholicism.

The Douay Rheims Bible is my favorite one. But the translators use some English words in strange senses. So I read Fr. Leo Haydock's Bible Commentary, too. Amazon.com sells a Kindle edition of it, and Loreto Publications includes it in the Haydock Bible. If you buy it, expect the commentary to be in small print, too small for my taste. Other commentaries may help you more than that one because they're more detailed than Haydock's Commentary.

You’re most likely right. I was curious about Uriel based on some things I’d read about him and the Eastern churches venerating him. I know that I’d be very uncomfortable asking his intercession.

I’m an old lady and when I was a little girl, the Bible our family had was a black leather bound copy of an illustrated Douay-Rheims Bible. The pictures fascinated me. The copy I now have is a dark blue hard covered copy of the Douay-Rheims with the pictures — black and white— all together in the back on glossy paper and it has 2 ribbon markers. It was published by Loreto Publications in 2004 (second printing) and that‘s about when I bought it. Anything with small print is too hard for me to read nowadays! LOL!

Nowadays I read the RSV-CE2. The Didache Bible version has great notes. The other RSV version I have is the Divine Mercy Bible, which is devotional and has wonderful mercy notes and articles. The ESV is good too and I confess that I also like and read the NABRE.

The only Mass we had when I was young was the Latin Mass and when it was changed to the 1962 version, that was the ‘new‘ Mass. That's when we started saying responses in Latin. Then we used the English translation of the TLM after Vatican 2 ended and no one was upset about it. But afterwards, everything seemed to change overnight without explanation . . .

You’re lucky you have a TLM to attend. We do have a TLM parish in my Diocese and I’ve attended a few times and it was beautiful but it’s too far away from where I live. (It‘s also celebrated in a much more reverent manner than the rushed, crowded Masses I remember from my childhood. We also never had any music or singing except at a rare solemn high holy Mass). Anyway, the NO Masses in all the parishes in my area are celebrated in a reverent way and I love going.

 

[BillMcEnaney]

No one thought I'd collect Bible translations. But I want one that'll help me understand the poetry in the Book of Job. For me, the New American Standard Bible is the most readable one. Since it's Protestant, I hesitated to buy it at first. Mine is wonderful because it includes a concordance, easily-to-read type, and some space between verse numbers and their verses. Dr. Peter Kawasniewski, a traditional Catholic liturgist, recommends it, too, so I'm glad I ordered a copy of it.

If there's a design flaw in it, it's that the leather is less soft than I hoped it would be. Naturally, it omits the deuterocanon, though some Protestant Bibles include it. That's the seven Old Testament books you'll always find in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles.

I love collector's editions and leather-bound books. So I buy classic books from Easton Press when I can. You know, I'm sure, that Protestants publish elegant Bibles that catch my eye when I'm eager to get something beautiful. Maybe that means they revere and treasure Sacred Scripture much more than many Catholics seem to do that.

I feel honored to be only 15 minutes away from a Society of St. Pius X Chapel because the SSPX is my favorite priestly fraternity. Thank God I seem to have a vocation to the Third Order of St. Pius X. So my one-year trial period will begin when my pastor signs the postulancy form for me to mail to the order's chaplain in Dickinson, Texas.

I'm devoted enough to the Traditional Latin Mass that I'd move to be near one. Since my conscience prevents me from attending English Masses, I can go to Eastern Rite Divine Liturgies when there's no TLM available. Please understand. I'll attend the English funeral Mass when I should. But I won't pray the prayers, stand when everyone else does, and so forth since I doubt that it's okay for me to take part in that Mass rite.

No, I'm not telling other Catholics what to do when I know Our Lord may have other plans for them.

 

[mourningdove~]

I'm devoted enough to the Traditional Latin Mass that I'd move to be near one. Since my conscience prevents me from attending English Masses, I can go to Eastern Rite Divine Liturgies when there's no TLM available.

I am regular 'visitor' here and still learning many things ...
So ...

There is no TLM near to where I live.
When you refer to the 'Eastern Rite' Divine Liturgies, what church(es) are you referring to?
Like, Byzantine Catholic? Or?

... and in what language are their liturgies said?

(And ... is Holy Communion received in the hand, or on the tongue?)

Thank you in advance ... and may God bless you and guide you during your one-year trial period.

 

[BillMcEnaney]

I am regular 'visitor' here and still learning many things ...
So ...

There is no TLM near to where I live.
When you refer to the 'Eastern Rite' Divine Liturgies, what church(es) are you referring to?
Like, Byzantine Catholic? Or?

... and in what language are their liturgies said?

(And ... is Holy Communion received in the hand, or on the tongue?)

Thank you in advance ... and may God bless you and guide you during your one-year trial period.

Thank you, my friend. The Ukrainian Divine Liturgy is the only Eastern one I've attended, Priests usually celebrate it in Ukrainian, But I went to an English one. Despite the English translation, that liturgy is still traditional because St. John Chrysostom wrote that liturgy in the fourth century.

Pope Paul VI's vernacular version of the Mass alienates me because a committee invented it in the 1960s to please non-Catholics that Catholic doctrine might offend. That new vernacular liturgy waters down Catholic doctrine and can at least seem heterodox. I won't bore you with theological and liturgical detail since I'm not here to "market" the TLM.

But I will say that Pope Francis and other Popes, John Paul II, say, have shocked and offended me with some ecumenical events. For example, there's nothing Catholic, at least for me, about an interreligious prayer meeting where pagans pray to false gods. We need Christ the Savior to get us to Heaven, and pagan religions can't take anyone to it. Sadly,however, those interreligious prayer meetings still tell pagans that it's okay to practice them.

Many priests seem to believe religious indifferentism, the heresy that we have a God-given right to practice any religion human reason recommends to us, any religion we prefer. That's like saying that God gives Satanists a right to practice Satanism. Human dignity doesn't justify practicing Satanism. Satanism contradicts that dignity.

There are two kinds of human dignity. The first one is the dignity that God gave us by creating us in his image. We get the second kind of human dignity by living virtuously, and there's nothing morally virtuous about rejecting God to worship Satan instead. If I practice a religion that offends God, he may not blame me for it in some cases. But he still rejects that religion. I'm here on earth to please God, not to use my religious liberty(?) to insult him.

I'm a patriotic American who believes Americans need to know the difference between religious liberty and religious tolerance. If there's a religion God wants everyone to practice, it's the only one we have a God-given right to practice. I believe there's only one such religion. But the U.S. needs to tolerate the others because it's immoral to force anyone to practice even the correct one. If American religious liberty implies that everyone has a God-given right to practice any religion he prefers, I reject that liberty. If I practice a religion God doesn't want me to practice, that may be a sin. If I practice the right religion and convert to another one instead, that may be sinful. too.

 

[SashaMaria]

No one thought I'd collect Bible translations. But I want one that'll help me understand the poetry in the Book of Job. For me, the New American Standard Bible is the most readable one. Since it's Protestant, I hesitated to buy it at first. Mine is wonderful because it includes a concordance, easily-to-read type, and some space between verse numbers and their verses. Dr. Peter Kawasniewski, a traditional Catholic liturgist, recommends it, too, so I'm glad I ordered a copy of it.

If there's a design flaw in it, it's that the leather is less soft than I hoped it would be. Naturally, it omits the deuterocanon, though some Protestant Bibles include it. That's the seven Old Testament books you'll always find in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles.

I love collector's editions and leather-bound books. So I buy classic books from Easton Press when I can. You know, I'm sure, that Protestants publish elegant Bibles that catch my eye when I'm eager to get something beautiful. Maybe that means they revere and treasure Sacred Scripture much more than many Catholics seem to do that.

I feel honored to be only 15 minutes away from a Society of St. Pius X Chapel because the SSPX is my favorite priestly fraternity. Thank God I seem to have a vocation to the Third Order of St. Pius X. So my one-year trial period will begin when my pastor signs the postulancy form for me to mail to the order's chaplain in Dickinson, Texas.

I'm devoted enough to the Traditional Latin Mass that I'd move to be near one. Since my conscience prevents me from attending English Masses, I can go to Eastern Rite Divine Liturgies when there's no TLM available. Please understand. I'll attend the English funeral Mass when I should. But I won't pray the prayers, stand when everyone else does, and so forth since I doubt that it's okay for me to take part in that Mass rite.

No, I'm not telling other Catholics what to do when I know Our Lord may have other plans for them.

Is the SSPX an order for priests only? Is a Third Order in the SSPX preliminary to becoming a priest? I believe the SSPX is not in communion with the Catholic Church?

The Eastern Rite is Catholic and perhaps you can continue going there? Otherwise, I’‘m saddened to learn you are leaving the Catholic Church. Many of us have been seekers and looked elsewhere for a time and finally returned home to the Church. Hoping you have time to search and hopefully find your way home and return.

Prayers!