Personal Prayer Rooms

[marigold]

‌@Egeria I like your prayer space. Simple and serene.

I've thought about putting a wick and float in a normal glass, but chickened out because I wasn't sure if it would break once the oil heated up. I should probably just invest in a real oil lamp - maybe on my travels - but I'm sure we've been keeping IKEA in business with all the tealights we buy!

[beatitude]

Seeing this reminded me of something I once wrote on how to make an oil lamp, or more precisely the little metal thing that holds the wick of an oil lamp. I had always been frustrated at not being able to find them around here, and then worked out how to make one very simply myself. It may not be the best thing do yourself, Beatitude, as one has to be careful not to cut one's fingers, but I post in case anyone is interested... to show that one can make an oil lamp with next to nothing. 

That's a really clever idea, but a bit tricky for me.  My mum loves candlelight, but even now I've left home, she is still in the habit of putting small candles (often tealights) in deep containers so that if I knock into one and the holder falls over the candle will probably just extinguish instead of falling out. The containers can't be glass either - her favourite one is made of something like onyx or marble (the light glows through its walls) and so far even I haven't managed to smash it. Going to Jewish friends on Shabbat is the worst. "Where is Beatitude? Where are the candles??" is a not an uncommon cry,

What I would really like is a Moroccan-style lantern like this one or this. They are heavy and come with lids so I couldn't get into too much danger with one of those.

Your prayer space is beautiful. I like the icon of Our Lady of the Spring. They have a beautiful one in the Orthodox chapel at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham and I could look at it for hours (I have ). I can't see your other icons clearly - is it the Risen Christ or the Transfiguration in the centre?

Edited August 28, 2015 by beatitude

[BarbTherese]

I use roughly 3inch diameter candles on a black base with a small spike - I bought the base at a shop here in Australia called "The Reject Shop".  The trick for me is after extinguishing, to gently work the wick into an upright position with an emery board and hold it until it becomes more stable and will hold that position.  Also, sometimes I will tip out the liquid wax prior to working with the wick.  This way, I have found that the candle lights up well every time and I can burn the candle until it gets very low.  If and when finances improve I would like to get some type of oil lamp or very small permanent electric type lamp and this has been on my "To get" for quite some time but keeps dropping further down as more immediate necessities crop up.

My Prayer Space has shifted into my kitchen, dining room and TV area.  We are at the end of winter here and I shifted the oratory into the latter room at the beginning of winter in attempt to save costs on heating.  It worked!  It is also profitable (indirect evangelization) to have the oratory in a space where visitors will sit.   From my front door, if the hall door is open, one can see right down to the far wall of the unit in the kitchen dining room area.  On that wall, where it can be seen from the front door, I have a quite small shelf with flowers and over it a huge silver crucifix (probably about 3ft!) given to me by my son and his fiancé.   Under the shelf is an icon of The Blessed Trinity.

  Once my son calls again, I will ask him how to go about posting pics onto the computer, although my mobile or cell phone is very ancient and though it will take pics they are often not clear - but that just might be operator error - will get my son to address this too.  My little oratory now is on two shelves, the bottom shelf with an 18inch statue of the traditional image of The Sacred Heart and on the top shelf a 12inch really artistically beautiful (cross and corpus) crucifix - both shelves with flowers.  Both images have been a source of devotion since childhood. I use artificial flowers in the main as they last much longer. I have a few pics and statues of Our Lady and St Joseph dotted just here and there strategically throughout main public areas (not many!) of the unit along with artist's images of Jesus.  At the entrance to the unit interior I have a holy water font with holy water, fashioned out of waist high statue of Our Lady.  There is a statue of Our Lady in my pergola bbq area with a small cross which lights up at night (gifts again).

On my front verandah on a small glass table is a probably 18inch wooden grotto type construction (hand made gift) with an all white bust of Our Lady praying (another gift).  Near my front door is a very plain black cross.  I guess no one has to ponder long if I am probably Catholic  ................ nor scratch their head overly for gift ideas!

Edited August 28, 2015 by BarbaraTherese

[Swami Mommy]

Barbara Therese, in order to upload photos, click on the bottom left paper clip below the box in which you enter your typing.  It will take you to your photos on the laptop, computer, iPhone or iPad you are using.  Find the photo you want, click on it to checkmark it, click 'done' at the top of the screen and voila, the photo will be attached to your post when you hit 'Submit reply'.

[Egeria]

‌@Egeria I like your prayer space. Simple and serene.

I've thought about putting a wick and float in a normal glass, but chickened out because I wasn't sure if it would break once the oil heated up. I should probably just invest in a real oil lamp - maybe on my travels - but I'm sure we've been keeping IKEA in business with all the tealights we buy!

Thanks, Marigold. I've been using ordinary glasses for years. I first learnt to do so from a Catholic priest who used to ask aircraft attendants for the wine glasses used on flights - in the days that flying by air was still accompanied by wine served in actual glass glasses!

Your comment does remind me though that I have also been taught (but had actually forgotten) that one should put about a centimetre of water in the lamp as a way of keeping it cooler.

In this house it's the cats that are the greatest threat, so if I burn a lamp anywhere else, I make sure that I keep an eye on it. I extinguish the hanging one if I go out and at night, but otherwise it burns all day... 

[Egeria]

Your prayer space is beautiful. I like the icon of Our Lady of the Spring. They have a beautiful one in the Orthodox chapel at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham and I could look at it for hours (I have ). I can't see your other icons clearly - is it the Risen Christ or the Transfiguration in the centre?

Thanks, Beatitude. It's an icon of Christ enthroned from the Deesis, in which Christ is usually flanked by the Mother of God and St John the Forerunner, and often also the Archangels and Apostles and/or other saints. I was going to upload a closer photo, but it doesn't seem that I'm able to...

[Gabriela]

Seeing this reminded me of something I once wrote on how to make an oil lamp, or more precisely the little metal thing that holds the wick of an oil lamp. I had always been frustrated at not being able to find them around here, and then worked out how to make one very simply myself. It may not be the best thing do yourself, Beatitude, as one has to be careful not to cut one's fingers, but I post in case anyone is interested... to show that one can make an oil lamp with next to nothing. 

"Simply take a normal tea lamp and burn it until it's up. With an ordinary scissors cut the side of the tea lamp (which I think is made from aluminium) off so that you have a strip of pliable metal. Watch out that you don't cut your fingers on it. Fold it double so that you have a strip of metal just over half a centimeter wide. Make a hole in the centre of the strip with a nail or something. Take the little round metal thing that had held the wick of tea lamp. Open it up a bit more with aforementioned nail, pushing it into the hole made in the metal strip. Take a thinnish piece of cotton wool, roll it into something approaching a cord and pull it through the holes in the metal. Shape the metal strip so that it hangs over a glass. Fill the glass with oil. Light the lamp and pray..."

You can't see it that clearly, but here is an example of one that I made...

Eco-Pope is VERY proud of you.  

I use roughly 3inch diameter candles on a black base with a small spike - I bought the base at a shop here in Australia called "The Reject Shop".  The trick for me is after extinguishing, to gently work the wick into an upright position with an emery board and hold it until it becomes more stable and will hold that position.  Also, sometimes I will tip out the liquid wax prior to working with the wick.  This way, I have found that the candle lights up well every time and I can burn the candle until it gets very low.  If and when finances improve I would like to get some type of oil lamp or very small permanent electric type lamp and this has been on my "To get" for quite some time but keeps dropping further down as more immediate necessities crop up.

You should really look into the "Rekindle" candlestick (not yet on sale, still in the design phase), which collects the melted wax in the candlestick and—VOILA—makes another candle.

See here: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/02/12/want-an-almost-infinite-candle-this-clever-design-captures-sneaky-wax/ 

What I would really like is a Moroccan-style lantern like this one or this. They are heavy and come with lids so I couldn't get into too much danger with one of those.

There's a shop in the שוק הפשפשים in Jaffa that is FULL of those lanterns. You could probably get one WAY cheaper there. You could get lots of them, in fact!

Edited August 28, 2015 by Gabriela

[BarbTherese]

 

 

 

Barbara Therese, in order to upload photos, click on the bottom left paper clip below the box in which you enter your typing.  It will take you to your photos on the laptop, computer, iPhone or iPad you are using.  Find the photo you want, click on it to checkmark it, click 'done' at the top of the screen and voila, the photo will be attached to your post when you hit 'Submit reply'.

Thank you

I know how to post pics that are already on my computer, it is transferring pics taken with my mobile (cell phone) to the computer that I don't know how to effect - apparently it is not difficult, but when one doesn't know how to do something, it becomes a difficulty    My son will sort my out since he has sent me pics taken with his mobile - although the fact that I do not have internet on my phone might be a problem.  I don't know.

[Gabriela]

 

Thank you

I know how to post pics that are already on my computer, it is transferring pics taken with my mobile (cell phone) to the computer that I don't know how to effect - apparently it is not difficult, but when one doesn't know how to do something, it becomes a difficulty    My son will sort my out since he has sent me pics taken with his mobile - although the fact that I do not have internet on my phone might be a problem.  I don't know.

You'll probably need to plug your phone into your computer with a cable, transfer the photos, and upload them from your computer. Unless your phone is bluetooth-enabled, which I doubt if it doesn't have internet.

[MarysLittleFlower]

I share an apartment with a friend and we converted our "living room" into a prayer room. We have an "altar" with a crucifix and an image of the Sacred Heart above it, and large (church sized) statues of Our Lady of Lourdes and St Catherine of Siena. We also have flowers we place before the images. Then there's a couple lamps, a little shelf unit at the back and a bookshelf that also serves as a bench (we figured out we could put it sideways on the floor... ;)).

In my room, I just sit on the floor to pray in front of a little table with some devotional things. There's a crucifix (it's big enough to be put on the wall, but I keep it on the little table), a picture of a copy of the Limpias Crucifix (it looks like this), and a picture/relic of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta. I also have a house scapular- like sacramental called the "brief or letter of St Anthony" that was touched to a fragment of the True Cross, relic of St Anthony and the glove of St Padre Pio.. It also has an exorcism sort of prayer written on it. It's great :D

On my desk, I have an image of the Holy Face before which I burn tea lights (I'd love to get an oil lamp..), and little pictures of my other favourite Saints: St Therese, Blessed Dina Belanger, St Gemma Galgani. They are arranged on some lacy fabric. On the walls I have pictures of the Divine Mercy, Our Lady, and St Philomena. There's also a little statue of Our Lady (it's tiny but really nicely made), and a little icon of Our Lady of Perpetual help near a lamp on my desk.

So it seems like religious pictures have sort of taken over my room I carry some of the more portable things with me when I travel to visit my family and use those things to construct my prayer space there.

My dream is to get one of those kneeler things and an oil lamp to use instead of tea lights :D

[Egeria]

Eco-Pope is VERY proud of you.  

As is the Green Patriarch! Actually, you don't know the half of it, I am dreaming of straw bale monasteries with compost toilets...  

[MarysLittleFlower]

I couldn't find a picture of the prayer area in my room... but I did find one of my crucifix

Edited August 29, 2015 by MarysLittleFlower

[BarbTherese]

 

Thank you

I know how to post pics that are already on my computer, it is transferring pics taken with my mobile (cell phone) to the computer that I don't know how to effect - apparently it is not difficult, but when one doesn't know how to do something, it becomes a difficulty    My son will sort my out since he has sent me pics taken with his mobile - although the fact that I do not have internet on my phone might be a problem.  I don't know.

Had lunch with my son (foster son) and his wife today.  He helped me sign up for a new phone (Apple iPhone) with Optus which should arrive in three days (my very old Nokia can then be gifted to where good old-phones go to pass away).  My son will take me to the Optus Shop so I can learn how to operate it including taking pics (far far better quality than my old Nokia) and also how to transfer pics on to my computer.  So it should not be all that far away and I can post some pics of Bethany including my oratory..........I hope!  I am certainly not technology savvy - but am hoping to pick things up ok with a bit of instruction.  Optus gave me an excellent deal indeed and the dear operator was very patient, outstandingly patient and helpful, with my lack of knowledge of tech related language - with my son at my elbow saying "Just say ok, Mum".

Edited August 31, 2015 by BarbaraTherese

[Swami Mommy]

Check out this incredible estate sale in my area of a local church's unconsecrated items.  I would love the icon painting of the Sacred Heart and one of the prie dieu's.  Talk about finding beautiful, sacred things with which to furnish one's personal prayer room!

http://www.sweetandharding.com/thisweek.html

Edited September 9, 2015 by Swami Mommy

[Spem in alium]

Wow - what a sale! I love my prie-dieu in our convent chapel. I would also love one for my room, in theory, but I think it would in truth just be too big for my small and cosy space.