Tobit 9:1-2 "Then Tobias called Raphael and said to him, "Brother Azarias, take a servant and two camels with you and go to Gabael at Rages in Media and get the money for me; and bring him to the wedding feast."

I've written before about how I love the fact that our guardian angels will run errands for us, as Tobias asks Raphael to do here. I am thinking today about how Tobias asks Raphael to run this errand. He is loving, calling him brother, but does not beat around the bush in false humility. Tobias' relationship with Raphael (who he knows as Azarias) is such that he feels completely comfortable with him, as we would with a sibling. He does not have to approach Raphael with a deferential attitude, he just tells him to go get Gabael (and the money) and bring him to the feast. It is out of joy that he asks, joy in the situation (his marriage!) to which Raphael has led him.

I would love to have this close of a relationship with my guardian angel, and am trying to foster that. A while ago, I asked my guardian angel what I should call him/her, and the name "Clair" came into my mind. I was using this name until someone told me that we are not supposed to name out guardian angels, since they are their own beings and we have no right to assign them names. But here, Tobias was calling Raphael by the name Raphael had revealed to him, even though it wasn't Raphael's real name. The close relationship shared by Tobias and Raphael was only possible because Tobias had a name to call the angel.

So I am going to go back to calling my guardian angel Clair. It is the name that was revealed to me for her when I asked, and it helps me speak to her more conversationally and feel closer to her. That, I think, is what she wants, rather than have me standing back from her a bit because I do not want to offend, and missing the close relationship we could be having.