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.
The second shelve holds a Christ the Teacher & Virgin of Kazan Diptych, a wooden Chotki (a chaplet for the Jesus Prayer), and St Joseph and Our Lady of Częstochowa figures from Shining Light Dolls. The dolls have probably already tipped you off that this is the level that we let our daughter play with. The icon is nice, but not as nice as the five that I have written myself. If little hands touch it, and get mystery finger prints all over it, it will not break my heart. We often find the dolls moved to other parts of the house (i.e. the cat bed and book shelf), but they always end back up on the altar.
On the bottom shelf we mainly store books. Right now we have a bible that we read, and a book I got with the San Damiano Cross that I have always meant to read… but still haven’t. We also keep a cheat sheet for all of the relics that we own. There are some of the feast days and patronages I forget, so it is nice to have something to refer back to.
