I went to see a woman who says she sees angels all the time. She is not of my religion, but I have read her book, and I believe angel viewing is not restricted to one religion. She began seeing angels when she was just a little girl, in Dublin, Ireland. She was born in 1955.

This wasn’t a one-on-one meeting. Lorna Byrne was a guest at the Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, talking with the Reverend Matthew Fox, who is the father of cosmic masses — encouraging all people to become more in touch with their spiritual side.

Grace Cathedral is a magnificent building — the stained glass windows and height of the ceilings create a space that demands attention.

Grace Cathedral

I took a train and bus to get there — and met my daughter. She had read the book because one of her friends that she has kept in contact with over the years, gave it to her. I believe we can find truth in many places. So there we met, my daughter, her friend, and me.

First of all, I enjoyed the  2 hr train ride — it was basically empty. The bus ride across the bridge to San Francisco — not so much, and the hike up Nob hill — it was great and I was glad I wore my Nikes.

Nob hill

We sat in the front row of the cathedral. The Episcopalian bishop of Grace Cathedral introduced the program. And then,  Owen O Suilleabhain sang — from the back of the cathedral I heard his voice, no musical instruments to accompany him, but his voice was calming to the my soul. I didn’t recognize the language — Gaelic I think. He walked up the center aisle as he sang, turned and faced us, and continued singing returning to the back of the cathedral. The sound of his voice entranced me as it echoed off the walls of the huge cathedral. (and yes, I bought his CD) You must hear it:

 

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/101485700″ params=”color=ff5500″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

 

Lorna is a shy woman, sharing her story in a calm unpretentious way, her manner of dress, simple. She was lovely.

Lorna said that everyone has a guardian angel — that God does not leave us alone. All we have to do is ask for help. This accords with my understanding that we have choice, or agency, and that God will not take that away from us. He wants us to pray to Him and these angels work under His direction.

Several other people who have conversed with angels say the same thing — that we must ask or give our consent for help and blessings. Denise Mendenhall has said the same in her book, “In His Arms.”

Lorna believes that we have one guardian angel with us — the same one until we die. I am not sure about that — our guardian angels may be different people at different times — perhaps a grand parent, or even a future child of ours. I don’t know. But I believe that angels can be resurrected beings, spirit beings that have had a mortal body, and spirit beings that have not had a body, translated beings —

When Lorna was a young child, she played with her little brother — but he was dead, and she learned that this was him in spirit-form, or angel-form.  The veil from then on was always open to her, to see these angels.

But she was told not to say anything, at first, not until later did she get the ‘ok’ to share, and in 2008 wrote the book, “Angels in my Hair.” Lorna is dyslexic, and has not been able to read or write very well. She dictates her books which are then transcribed by someone else.

Lorna Byrne

Lorna Byrne with Matthew Fox

While she sees wings on many of these angels, and I have read from Joseph Smith that angels do not have wings, I pondered if maybe she sees the light as wings, or that’s how they appear to her, as a sign that they are angelic.

Somehow, the idea of wings has been generated from somewhere — they are consistently seen in paintings of old. Yet, I still believe her story.

She sees Gathering Angels — that lead people to America. And she says that America has some great part in our future. She doesn’t really know, and did not talk of Zion. She was raised Catholic, and has adhered to that religion; when praying she crosses herself.

Lorna’s message is one of hope — and love. And the power of prayer to God. She does not pray to angels.

At the end of the one hour discussion, she said a prayer to God. And then she offered to individually bless all who wanted a blessing to share this love. She does not consider herself a healer, more as a way of sharing this love from the angels. I was in the front, so I stood up with the rest, and decided to join my daughter and her friend and the others for Lorna’s blessing-hug.

Lorna came up to me, face to face, and placed her hand on my forehead, and silently moved her lips in a blessing, and then we hugged, and as I had my hand around her back, I felt to bless her. I had decided this while waiting for my “turn” — knowing that all these people were seeking blessings from her, that I would be the only one giving back to her.

My daughter said, she lingered longer with me than the others. That was a nice sign. But I did not see the angels. Unless, of course, I entertained angels unawares — which I believe is often the case. After all, my whole religion is based on a boy who saw an angel. I appreciated Lorna’s message and spirit. So many people are reaching out for hope.

Abraham entertains three angels

Abraham entertains three angels

train station sacramento

Train Station, Sacramento, CA

train ride window

View from the train

 

Grace Cathedral ribbon

Ribbons hanging from ceiling in Grace Cathedral

 

Grace Cathedral, SF

Grace Cathedral, San Francisco

Grace Cathedral inside column

Grace Cathedral door stained glass, Grace Cathedral

angel

Angel, by Dore

  Guardian-Angel