Category: Domestic Church
The first Icon the I wrote In the tradition that I was raised, that means Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael (sorry Uriel and the rest of the gang). I have always felt it was an exciting feast day, because when else can we celibate a warrior, a herald/preacher, and a healer all at one time? These are the core elements of most of my childhood fantasies, and I don’t think I am alone.
In two previous posts I talked about our home altar. So here is a snap shot of what we keep on it. On top we keep our small collection of relics, some prayer cards, statues of saints, and rosaries/chaplets. The things that we probably use the most. Some of these items, such as the second degree relic of Ven. Solanus Casey, have as much sentimental value as religious since my mother gave it to me as a young child.
Today is the feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows, commemorating the suffering of Mary, the mother of Jesus. While this is a long-standing devotion in the Roman Catholic Church, it only popped up on my radar while I was preparing for my marriage four years ago. Since our wedding was to take place at a beautiful church by the same name, I decided that I would look into the devotion.
In a previous post I started to show our home altar. This is the place that we go when we want some alone time to pray, and where we take the family if we want to make the moment more holy. Is this a necessity? No, but as we make a conscious effort to more fully live our faith it is nice to have a special place to go to when you have the urge to pray.
When we first bought our house a few years ago, one of the things I wanted to set up is a home altar. In my mind I was imagining something along the lines of the Gothic Revival piece below.
When we first got married, my wife and I decided that we would like to do more to celebrate Holy Days of Obligation than just go to mass. Some feasts like Christmas or Epiphany have established traditions, so it makes…
The Advent season is upon us once again! This is the beginning of liturgical year of the Catholic Church, the time to prepare for the coming of the Christ Child. A journey that will bring us great joy, but also…
Tomorrow, November 30th, is the feast of St. Andrew; fisherman, fisher of men, Apostle, and martyr. While in many places as various as Scotland, Russia, and Barbados honor the great saint himself, in our home the feast day stands out…
Yesterday, in the course of my day, I had multiple conversations about relationships with near strangers. Having deep conversations with random strangers is actually not a significant event in my life, it has actually happened constantly since my early childhood….
Today is the Feast of St. Martin of Tours, a traditional day of transition. In the Middle Ages this was the time for women to move their work indoors, and men from the field to the forest. I feel that I am moving into a proverbial wood as I start this blog. What a great day to start something new!
