Swami Mommy Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 (edited) I'm just curious. Does anyone here have their own private prayer room in their home or apartment that is set aside specifically for personal meditation and prayer? What items do you have on display on your altars? Do you have special pictures you use in the space? Any photo examples that anyone would be willing to share? I have a special corner set off by screens to meditate in and I can feel the intensification of the energy in that space. Edited August 24, 2015 by Swami Mommy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatitude Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 In my old house I had a windowsill that was very low and deep. I used that as a prayer corner and used to sit on the edge of my bed to pray, facing it. This is how it looked. I don't know how I will arrange things in my new place yet. I am only renting one room and there isn't much space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NadaTeTurbe Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 Your icons are lovely, beatitude. A Little Sister told me that the little sisters of Jesus have the custom to have a statue of the baby Jesus in their prayer room, because of some vision of little sister Madeleine. Do you have the same tradition in the secular institute ? I wish I had a prayer place in my room, but my parents would not like it. In fact, it's my dad and mom who offered me all my icons, because they feared I would chose something kitch ! I have at different place of my room a cross, an icon of Mary, a little place with my Bible and other religious book. When I pray on the night, I put on my nightsand my Bible, an icon, and a candle, and I create my little "mental prayer room" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selah Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 I don't have much room, but I have a small little shrine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
He is Risen! Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 I bought a house about 3 months ago and have a spare bedroom that I use. I I have a small kitchen cart like for holding potatoes and onions that I put a cloth over and have a statue of our lady and a candle. Above that on the wall are several icons, my favorite is the traditional one with the Holy Trinity represented as angels sitting around a table and I have a crucifix and some smaller icons. I have a dining room chair that I sit on and next to that a low stool that I use like a little table for my breviary, bible, rosary, etc. I'd like to get a nicer table/ alter or maybe even make one. Mine is really ugly with pull out wire baskets that the cloth doesn't quite cover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DominicanHeart Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 I'm lucky enough to be able to walk to my Church and have Perpetual Adoration so I can just use that as my prayer room Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vee Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I live in an apartment and consider the whole space my prayer room Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marigold Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 My friend and I just moved into a new house and we've put a few icons in each room. The main icon corner is in the big bedroom - icons on the wall and a chest of drawers beneath it with candles and... more icons I'll see if she'll let me take a picture of it later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatitude Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Your icons are lovely, beatitude. A Little Sister told me that the little sisters of Jesus have the custom to have a statue of the baby Jesus in their prayer room, because of some vision of little sister Madeleine. Do you have the same tradition in the secular institute ? Unlike the Little Sisters we aren't expected to have chapels in our houses, so there are no rules on what to put in them. But that image of Mary handing over the Christ-child to the viewer is special to me too - I have a Coptic-style icon of it (made by the same Egyptian Little Sister who painted those other icons you see on my windowsill). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriela Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Man, wish I had the space! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NadaTeTurbe Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Unlike the Little Sisters we aren't expected to have chapels in our houses, so there are no rules on what to put in them. But that image of Mary handing over the Christ-child to the viewer is special to me too - I have a Coptic-style icon of it (made by the same Egyptian Little Sister who painted those other icons you see on my windowsill). I think I saw the same icon of Brother Charles in the LIttle Sisters of Jesus in Toulouse I have the project to buy a little nativity to keep all year in my bedroom, so I can pray to the child Jesus, the Incarnation, and the Holy Family. A member of our vocation group is entering religious life in september. She have the right to one icon in her cell. We offered her this one : http://www.boutiques-theophile.com/selections/selections-religieuses/la-vierge-marie/details_marie-mere-du-redempteur,2382.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheresaThoma Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I have a little corner that I use. I have a old side table thing that I have covered with a cloth and on it I have some candles (blessed) and some images and statues. It isn't exactly pretty or organized but I like it. When I pray I either sit on the ground or I have a camp chair that I use. My favorite place to pray though is the Schoenstatt shrine which is right around the corner from my house. If I am looking for a more active place to pray I go to the Catholic cemetery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swami Mommy Posted August 25, 2015 Author Share Posted August 25, 2015 In my little meditation/prayer corner that I've created with a double bookcase wall and a freestanding screen in a mirrored corner of my finished basement, I use a wall shelf lined with a white cloth for my fresh flowers and candle just below a large picture I have of my meditation teacher. I have a burgundy Queen Anne-styled upholstered arm chair and a small burgundy oriental rug in front of the shelf, and a side table with a small lamp on a dimmer switch, my iPod speakers, a tiny clock and a timer. The side table has a small drawer to store tea candles, matches, mala (rosary), and prayer book, as well as a little bookshelf space on the bottom which holds a statue of the Buddha. The double bookcases which form one of the 'walls' of the space are covered in long, white shirred curtains to hide the books on the shelves. What I would really like to find on eBay or craigslist to add to my space is a prie dieu (prayer kneeler), but they're usually pretty expensive. Like Vee, I like to think of my whole home as a sacred environment, and so I keep it very clean and organized. Everything has its own specific place to avoid the visible cluttered accumulation of stuff. Keeping a clean space allows me to focus my attention on the energy of the area rather than on the items of furniture and decor. I also prefer symmetry in furniture and decor placement to enhance a feeling of serenity, order and quietude. I want my home to feel like a sanctuary reflecting a quiet mind and a heart filled with beauty, love and appreciation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feankie Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 (edited) As I recounted in an old thread a year or so ago, my husband and I have been rescuing and collecting old, Colonial Mexican religious oil paintings and old retablos (paintings of saints, Mary, Jesus, the Trinity, etc, on sheets of tin) for about 40 years. They date from the mid 1700's to the early 1900's. Also we have various and sundry holy water fonts we've rescued as well that I keep filled. My entire house, upstairs and downstairs, but not the basement) is my prayer room as you can't turn around and not see a painting or retablo. They help me stay focused and maintain some serenity in my hectic universe. Edited August 25, 2015 by Francis Clare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swami Mommy Posted August 26, 2015 Author Share Posted August 26, 2015 This is a picture of my prayer corner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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