Home altars

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By the way, it’s “altar”, not “alter”. “Altar” means a consecrated table or monument where a sacrifice is offered, while “alter” means to change.
 
I’ve recently started making travel shrines out of Altoids tins, too. If I open the tin, paste images inside the bottom and top, and stand it up on its side, it’s like a folding diptych. A small rosary, tealight, and/or small sticks of incense will also fit inside.

Here’s one made by someone else!
 
Everyone has really beautiful and unique home altars I like them all. 🙂
I wish I could create one for myself but unfortunately I don’t think my mother would allow it…I’ll have to wait until I move out on my own.

But just out of curiousty, where is it that everyone finds their lovely Catholic artwork?
 
mariahloves said:
Everyone has really beautiful and unique home altars I like them all. 🙂
I wish I could create one for myself but unfortunately I don’t think my mother would allow it…I’ll have to wait until I move out on my own.

But just out of curiousty, where is it that everyone finds their lovely Catholic artwork?
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Try your parish store, or if there’s a Saint Paul’s around where you are. There might also be a speciality shop where you are.

But one suggestion I cane make for you is to try checking on eBay. You might not have a credit card, but you don’t need one for some of the sellers.

And for icons and images, you could just search online, there are a lot of them that you can just print out and it’ll look great if you have a good enough printer.
 
JesuXPIPassio said:
May I ask, what is the cup in the fourth image?
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If you mean the “cup” in the “dish”, both were originally candle holders. I cleaned them and now use the “dish” for prosphora. The "cup, I use for drinking holy water.
 
Zabdi_Premjit said:
If you mean the “cup” in the “dish”, both were originally candle holders. I cleaned them and now use the “dish” for prosphora. The "cup, I use for drinking holy water.
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Oh, I forgot about the Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox practice of drinking holy water. Latin-Rite Catholics generally bless themselves with holy water with the sign of the cross, but drinking it is a more Eastern custom.

Beautiful ikons, by the way.
 
Zabdi_Premjit said:
If you mean the “cup” in the “dish”, both were originally candle holders. I cleaned them and now use the “dish” for prosphora. The "cup, I use for drinking holy water.
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I’m curious, how long do people usually hold onto the prosphora? I took some home after I visited a Coptic Orthodox Divine Liturgy and I kept it on my home altar (I thought I was the only one who did that, good to see I’m not). I kept it there permanently though. Do you and others take them and eat them throughout the week and replenish them on Sundays, or do you sort of hang onto it the way I did?

Also, how do Easterners collect the holy water? Do you bring a bottle and ask a priest to bless it, or do you collect it from the font? If you do the latter, isn’t it potentially unsanitary? Or is there a special, more sanitary dispenser? As Matariel noted, we’re not accustomed to doing that in the West; forgive the constant questions. I find the Easterners to be absolutely fascinating.
 
mariahloves said:
But just out of curiousty, where is it that everyone finds their lovely Catholic artwork?
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Everywhere! You can buy some at Catholic & Orthodox bookstores and print some from online, as people have mentioned. But look for things other places too. I’ve found some great items over the years in thrift stores, for example.
 
It’s great to see this thread is still going! 🙂

I posted pics of my home altar a little over a year ago, but it has since been through a few rennovations so as soon as I get around to taking pictures I will post them.

Pax,
Ryan
 
JesuXPIPassio said:
I’m curious, how long do people usually hold onto the prosphora? I took some home after I visited a Coptic Orthodox Divine Liturgy and I kept it on my home altar (I thought I was the only one who did that, good to see I’m not). I kept it there permanently though. Do you and others take them and eat them throughout the week and replenish them on Sundays, or do you sort of hang onto it the way I did?
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I usually eat a piece of prosphora every day (Mon - Sat), then get more on Sun. Personally, I find that if I have any longer than this, they mold. I take this is a sign from God reminding me to go to Divine Liturgy! 😃

Some people also eat it all on Sunday. I haven’t personally heard of anyone keeping it for an extending time. Prosphora is meant to be consumed as a blessing. Keeping it permanently and not eating it seems to defeat the purpose of prosphora and deprive one of the privilege of that blessing. Just my opinion, which is hardly infallible. 😛
JesuXPIPassio said:
Also, how do Easterners collect the holy water? Do you bring a bottle and ask a priest to bless it, or do you collect it from the font? If you do the latter, isn’t it potentially unsanitary? Or is there a special, more sanitary dispenser? As Matariel noted, we’re not accustomed to doing that in the West; forgive the constant questions. I find the Easterners to be absolutely fascinating.
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Each church should have some holy water stored. Water is blessed on Theophany (Epiphany), and then more is blessed throughout the year as need arises. I don’t know about sanitation in regards to holy water. It is holy, and a means of partaking of Grace, I think health is of secondary concern. If Easterners cared about health that much, we wouldn’t take communion from a spoon. I haven’t heard any complaints about sickness. If it works, why change it, I suppose. 👍
 
Matariel said:
Oh, I forgot about the Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox practice of drinking holy water. Latin-Rite Catholics generally bless themselves with holy water with the sign of the cross, but drinking it is a more Eastern custom.

Beautiful ikons, by the way.
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Thank you, Matariel!

Could you describe in more detail how Latins use holy water? Is this the same as when they dip their fingers in the holy water at the entrances of churches before crossing themselves?
 
Zabdi_Premjit said:
Thank you, Matariel!

Could you describe in more detail how Latins use holy water? Is this the same as when they dip their fingers in the holy water at the entrances of churches before crossing themselves?
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It is the same, although sometimes we sprinkle holy water on our doors and beds as an added blessing, and many Latin-Rite Catholics have a holy water stoup by their door they bless themselves with before they leave the house to go to work. It’s a great custom, I have a celtic cross holy water stoup by my front door, and a bottle of holy water by my Mary shrine in my room. Do Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics have such a practice (of holy water stoups in the home)?
 
japscarousel said:
what a wonderful shrine! I love the Lady of Guadalupe and San Juan Diego! Very mexican! whos the saint at the left, the one with white and black habit?
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The statue of the Saint to the left is Blessed Margaret of Castello, who was born hunchback, a dwarf, blind, and lame. The Holy Card next to her has a third class relic of her from her shrine in Ohio.
 
I still don’t think that the term “home altar” is appropriate unless one has the Blessed Sacrament present. I prefer ‘shrine’ because it would still be consecrated and contain religious relics, reliqueries, sacramentals, etc. I think the ‘altar’ should be at Mass, unless one has a chapel in his or her own home.
 
Hi. I was recently invited (due to other interests) & saw this altar/shrine writing. Just last year I dedicated a room in the home for just this purpose. My advice is start slow, maybe focus on Christ, and Our Lady, then maybe a few saints. I chose a main altar/shrine top shelve for Our Lord, the bottom houses the reliquaries. To it’s right is Our lady of Fatima Shrine. Then I erected a shrine to my favorite saints, and a personal shrine to my patron saint.Only in rare cases does one have the permission to keep the blessed Sacrament at home. ( allowed by Bishop ) ex: canonical hermit,etc. Either way. your possibilities are endless… no rules!

I enclosed a few pics to give ya some inspiration or whatevah!
Passion of Christ to your heart!

(I have never added a picture on this forum, but if you tell me how to get one out of “my pictures” I will send a few!) Peace to you!
 
peary said:
I still don’t think that the term “home altar” is appropriate unless one has the Blessed Sacrament present. I prefer ‘shrine’ because it would still be consecrated and contain religious relics, reliqueries, sacramentals, etc. I think the ‘altar’ should be at Mass, unless one has a chapel in his or her own home.
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I think “home altar” is a widespread colloquial term in Catholic culture, so I guess that’s why it sticks. But you’re right, technically they are shrines, not altars; an altar is where the Eucharistic sacrifice is offered.
 
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