The Little Oratory Quotes

“Our Lord was born into a family. The family is God's plan for the world–His divine plan, conceived in the very beginning, to be a way of beauty and spreading His word. The special place of prayer at home, the family oratory (oratory means “house of prayer”) is a powerhouse of grace by which our family may be nourished spiritually and thus be able to transform the world through prayer, proclamation of the gospel, and charity. That sounds grand, but it is really very simple and humble, like the Holy Family itself.”
― Leila Marie Lawler, The Little Oratory: A Beginner's Guide to Praying in the Home

“The Christian life is not simply a waiting game in which we patiently bear misery until we die and hope that when we get there, we will qualify to move across the great divide and experience something better in the next life. Although we cannot fully experience this heavenly joy until the next life, we can experience it by degrees in this life, through the earthly Liturgy.”
― Leila Marie Lawler, The Little Oratory: A Beginner's Guide to Praying in the Home

“To the degree that each part of our life will support and complement every other and all are ordered to our ultimate goal, our lives will be beautiful. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the essential attributes of beauty is due proportion, which means that all parts are in harmony with each other. Another attribute of beauty is integrity, which means that the overall purpose of the thing is in harmony with what it is meant to be, which for the Christian is the love of God. The final attribute is clarity — it must be radiant and perceptible by others. When people see a life well lived, they are drawn by its beauty and then beyond to the source to which it points, and to which that life is ordered: God.”
― David Clayton, The Little Oratory: A Beginner's Guide to Praying in the Home