This is the Lent to make a little oratory
Without having the bustle of family-life-with-littles to spur me on, I am sluggishly making my way through my (already restrained, by my standards) Christmas decorations, trying to clean up and put them away, but getting distracted/being led into sloth by knitting, bread-baking, and reading — but mostly by it being February…
Yes, the tree is gone (had to be done! I’m not totally irresponsible!), but the long trek to the attic for bins has not yet happened.
I have vacuumed half this room, the side where the tree was (trying to deep-clean as I go, in my defense).
It’s been on my mind, as Lent approaches, to return here to the idea of the little oratory, the special prayer place in the home. Truly, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is that we create a place, however small and humble, however incomplete for now, to draw our eyes to God, to prayer, to our heavenly home.
The icon corner or home altar connects us in the liturgical year to the Church. When we see an image of our crucified Lord, when we see an icon of the Madonna, we are already praying. The oratory changes as we go through the year, reflecting the seasons and what each brings to our spiritual life.
Imagine! Not having to stress so much about “needing to pray,” but already to be there, in conversation with God! Wouldn’t that be easier than what we are doing (or not doing) now?
This is the traditional way, to accept our human nature in its spiritual and material aspects, and in the latter, to offer ourselves the mercy of beautiful images, gathered in one spot, arranged with a loving hand.
In last week’s Post-Communion prayer in the Traditional Latin Mass for Septuagesima Sunday, we were given out of the Church’s treasury this petition:
May Thy faithful people, O God, be strengthened by Thy gifts; that in receiving them, they may seek after them the more, and in seeking them, may receive them for ever.
It struck me how this prayer applies to the gift of beautiful sacred images in the home.
When we see a sacred image, especially one placed in a prayer corner, we receive its meaning as a gift — we simply look at it, and what it signifies enters us, drawing us to what is beyond it, just as when we look out of a window onto a beautiful view, the image enters us and we are drawn to go through and dwell in that landscape. That glance in turn inspires us to seek after it, this gift of God that draws us to Him, and in seeking it, we receive it.
This process is prayer — not a strained act of will against ourselves, but a natural consequence of desire, that is in itself desire’s fulfillment, as we find ourselves already in His grace. To desire to pray is to pray!
All of which is to say, in my own convoluted way, that in this last ten days or so before Lent, you might think of making your own little oratory as a new beginning.
If you need a little more help to do it, David Clayton and I did write a book for just this purpose: to help you. It’s called The Little Oratory: A Beginner’s Guide to Praying in the Home. There are even icons by David in the back, beautifully printed, that you can carefully tear out along the perforations and frame for your prayer place.
Truly, I urge you to do it! Make this a priority. Even with all the things I’m always saying about making menus, cleaning up, doing laundry, teaching your children, and on and on, this — the little oratory — is the most important one, the first step to a simple prayer life.
(If you search the hashtag littleoratory or thelittleoratory on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, you will see many inspiring prayer places that people have made, big and little! And many of the ideas in the book are already here on the blog — just search “little oratory” in the archives.)
bits & piecesDesperately Needing Thomas More — A book review of a biography of a great saint
Our friend Jim sent this one around to our homeschooling group, and it’s delightful! Danny MacAskill’s Wee Day Out – “Want to see what Danny MacAskill does on his day off? Wee Day Out explores the rural landscape around Edinburgh in a film that sets out to capture the simple fun of a ride in the country… “
Danny knows how to fall off his bike as well as ride it! Six minutes of fun music and incredible bike antics in the beautiful Scottish countryside! (Don’t miss the outtakes at the end!) Let’s go!
AI (Artificial Intelligence) is upon us, and it’s important to understand the principles and causes of intelligence in order to assess it correctly. It’s also important to understand computers. ChatGPT Only Says What It Was Told To SayLongtime readers will know that I just love John Saward (whom my mom, Habou, introduced me to). Here is an older talk he gave on the importance of beauty to worship and it makes a wonderful meditation on the transcendent and how we as human beings can draw close to it, to God: Fr. John Saward: The Poverty of the Church and the Beauty of the Liturgy
On that note, an article by David Clayton on whether poverty and beauty are compatible — on whether beauty costs too much, or really serves the poor
Have you read the classic Italian novel The Betrothed? I haven’t been able to get through it, but now there is a new translation. This review makes it sound very appealing indeed, making a case for the richness of the world Manzoni creates and the impact of the language he constructs to serve it. Have you read this new translation?
It’s important to mourn our dead immediately. In our over-scheduled world, we want births and deaths to be controlled in our timelines, but that’s not good for anyone.
Last week I linked to a video that includes an interview with Shetland knitters. I forgot to mention that if you hang in there on that episode (beyond the one hour mark — that channel is like a magazine for knitters, which is pretty cool, but takes some time), it is revealed that one of the sisters is that incredible woman who knit herself a garden fence! That same lady whom I had linked to a few years ago! The interview reveals that the pattern she chose is a lace from the traditional shawls she makes. It’s just a fabulous concept — talk about making do, and creativity!
PSA: As you know, most things in my house are thrifted, given to me, found on the side of the road, or gotten on clearance. As you also know, I’m not great at window treatments. So this is exciting…
Do you love my new living-room curtains (see above as well)?
They are 100% linen, lined with cotton (lined!) and an incredible price. And they are made in India, not China! The quality is outstanding. They do only come in very long lengths; if you don’t have high ceilings, they would not be hard to shorten, and you’d still come out ahead. (You can do an internet search to shorten without sewing. Put your rod up as high as you can, let them hang for a while so that gravity does its thing, and then shorten away.)
You can find them at Homegoods, here — there were some at the store but not four pairs, which is what I need. I was able to get free shipping, and you can return at the store.
The colors and lengths keep changing a bit, so do a search on that site for “Pure Luxury Linen 2pk Extra Wide Room Darkening Curtains” and see what turns up. The unlined ones are nice too, if you just want something sheer. Note that what I got, in that link, is two lined, wide panels — you simply won’t find a better price, and I know because it’s taken me 23 years to get these! I got 4 pairs for my bedroom too! (Note to self, why buy a house where every room has four giant windows, when you are window-treatment-impaired, why!)
This is not a promoted link at all — I just love them and want to share my find!
from the archivesThis Lent, begin again, but in your own wayPractical thoughts for Lent, and Eat More Soup!liturgical living
help us recover from our cyber attack — remind your friends about us and —follow us everywhere!
My book, The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life is available now from Sophia Press! All the thoughts from this blog collected into three volumes, beautifully presented with illustrations from Deirdre, an index in each volume, and ribbons!
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