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 & pieces
- 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 Say
- Longtime 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
- 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!
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Emily says
I LOVE that wee day out! I’m going to Edinburgh in the fall and this has whet my appetite in a huge way!
Glad to know I’m not the only one with Christmas decoration boxes that need put away!
Leila says
Oh now I’m jealous!!!
Emily says
I’ve NEVER left the US so I am massively excited! And we’re from Dumerferline which is near Edinburgh, so we’ll visit there too!
Nicole says
I always have loved the aesthetic of your home– everything looks handsome and classic, “goes” together though definitely isn’t matching sets, and looks real and lived-in (I really dislike this current decoration trend of white, white, “midcentury modern” (50s? :P), shapeless furniture, etc). I am jealous of your finds 😉 but my husband is convinced that it is because you live in New England, where people had high quality furniture/decor, took good care of them, and then the antique stores or thrift stores or FB marketplace have these treasures! I can’t tell you how much Ikea and Target throw-away junk fills our second-hand stuff around here (and the “real” antique stores are so expensive and too antique-y, anyway).
The biking video was incredible– but glad I watched to the end to see how many falls went in to the final product. So fun! 🙂
Leila says
Thank you for the compliments! Yes, it’s true — even the junk shops here have something that maybe was the down-market thing of the last century, but was nevertheless well made and enduring, and appealing even in its shabbiness. Whereas the new things are just irredeemable. I think it even has to do with the wood itself — wood for products is managed, and has been made to grow quickly without any stresses. Its actual fiber is looser and lacking in substantiality.
What I find is that people here want brand-new things and just get rid of the old, solid ones. Well, good for me!
Sarah says
Agreed! People in our New England neighborhood also toss things that I think are far better quality than one can buy now. I hate how new furniture gets dents in the soft wood so quickly, and I love a few scratches on old hard wood. Now we have five boys, so even old wood will get a few scratches from our crew. There’s a way that real furniture just goes together nicely.
We just spiffed our tray for evening prayer, our little oratory. New to us brass candlesticks – no more glass ones with all these toddlers! Auntie Leila – I admire your pretty match boxes. What a good craft!
I also love looking at the pictures in this post and others. What a lovely home! A home that welcomes you to sit down and be cozy rather than a standoffish one that lets you admire white carpet and sharp corners from a distance! I always get ideas. Thank you!
Nicole says
Oh! Also, my husband and I both loved The Betrothed, though I will say that one thing about the translation that bothered me was the Anglicization of the Italian names!!! As an Italian, it drove me crazy to read “Lucy” and “Roderick” and “Christopher”, etc, haha! I am really looking forward to the new translation as well.
Teri Pittman says
I haven’t posted here in awhile but wanted you to know I will be taking the RCIA classes at the local parish after Easter. It feels like the right thing to do. (i’m the one with the troublesome stepson. He has a young son and will be marrying the mom this year, so making some progress!)
Leila says
Oh wonderful! I’m so glad… although why not take them now and be baptized at Easter? 😉
Leila says
Or confirmed if you are baptized?
Dixie says
So happy to see the article about mourning. Grief and death are taboo and inconvenient in our culture, so people end up grieving in isolation. A great problem. So much pain managed (often poorly) entirely alone.
TeriPittman says
I’ve been baptisted. Fr. Leo said He would give me instruction and I could complete this Easter or I could wait for the new class after Easter. I decided to wait. This is a new community for me and I felt I might make some connections with others in a class. Plus I have so much to learn,
Mary Helen says
Preparing for Lent, I’m remembering a link you’ve had before to a beautiful “Lenten path” for the kids to color, filling in a square each day. I can’t seem to find it for 2023 – maybe the artist is no longer making them? So much of what I’ve found is cartoon-y, and hers was so beautiful… wondering if you know if she’s done one again this year?
Leila says
Oh yes, I meant to include that link! I will update the post when I find it.
Mary Helen says
Thank you!