Home Chapel

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decn2b

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Does anyone have a home chapel? We built our house two years ago. (it is quite economical to do so in small town iowa) Fortunately in my state the soil is good and the water tables are low enough to have full basements with 8 foot ceilings. Most people who build houses in my town have really nice basements with family rooms etc etc. Well when Our house was done…it was time for me to finish the basement myself. I specifically designed a 12x12 room with a window. I made my own stained glass window for it (a fake one but its pretty cool) and put down pergo laminate flooring and painted the walls dusted indego. (deep ocean blue) It is our chapel. I will post pics of it when I get the artwrork up and the sewing room table out of there. Anyone else have a home chapel? My neighbors (secularists and the likes) think it is super nice but very very very ODD.
 
I live in an apartment so I am not blessed with enough space for a seperate woom. I do have a little shrine I have been working on using icons and such (its looking rather byzantine). I have the Mandylion as the center icon currently, I have yet to find a crucifix or icon of the crucifixion that moves me the same way, though I may finally have found one. I have icons of the Blessed Virgin, St. Francis, St. Benedict, the Presentation etc etc.

I do hope you can get some pics of your little chapel up soon, what a great way to express your faith in the home.
 
What will you put in your private chapel? Will you get a priest to bless it? (maybe you could put an altar in there and he could celebrate Mass).
 
Caesar said:
What will you put in your private chapel? Will you get a priest to bless it? (maybe you could put an altar in there and he could celebrate Mass).
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That would be MARVELOUS 😃 As I recall, though, a family has to get permission from the Holy Father himself in order to have Masses offered at a home chapel, because having Mass there makes it an oratory. But even if you can’t have Mass there… wow, what a beautiful thing. Can’t wait to see the pics!
 
chotock said:
I have yet to find a crucifix or icon of the crucifixion that moves me the same way
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I have two crucifixes, but I really love Giotto’s frescoes of the Crucifixion (h did several of them) so I have a framed card of one from St Francis’ Basilica in Assisi 👍 Sometimes I pray my Divine Mercy Chaplet in front of it.
 
decn2b said:
Does anyone have a home chapel? We built our house two years ago. (it is quite economical to do so in small town iowa) Fortunately in my state the soil is good and the water tables are low enough to have full basements with 8 foot ceilings. Most people who build houses in my town have really nice basements with family rooms etc etc. Well when Our house was done…it was time for me to finish the basement myself. I specifically designed a 12x12 room with a window. I made my own stained glass window for it (a fake one but its pretty cool) and put down pergo laminate flooring and painted the walls dusted indego. (deep ocean blue) It is our chapel. I will post pics of it when I get the artwrork up and the sewing room table out of there. Anyone else have a home chapel? My neighbors (secularists and the likes) think it is super nice but very very very ODD.
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I suppose it would seem odd to secularists. But remember, the Fathers and even John Paul the Great remind us that the home is the domestic church. What an amazing display of your family’s love of Christ!
 
CatholicNerd said:
That would be MARVELOUS 😃 As I recall, though, a family has to get permission from the Holy Father himself in order to have Masses offered at a home chapel, because having Mass there makes it an oratory. But even if you can’t have Mass there… wow, what a beautiful thing. Can’t wait to see the pics!
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Well Guess what? I grew up in the horrible 70s (churchwise) and come from a parish that had 10 middle aged women Two of which attended detroits 1976 call to action conf. Multiply the liturgical revolution by a factor of 10. At the time of my first communion children didn’t have 1st Eucharist in the church (at my parish) we had it at home. I distinctly remember the card table in the living room with Fr. John and my first eucharist right there at the Mass chelebrated adjacent to the kitchen in my moms house. I also remember attending these first Communion Masses of a few of my friends in their living rooms too!!!:eek: :eek: :eek:
 
CatholicNerd said:
That would be MARVELOUS 😃 As I recall, though, a family has to get permission from the Holy Father himself in order to have Masses offered at a home chapel, because having Mass there makes it an oratory. But even if you can’t have Mass there… wow, what a beautiful thing. Can’t wait to see the pics!
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Now I am throurghly confused:confused:
I was under the wrong idea that Chapels were places where mass was offered and Oratories were places of prayer.
newadvent.org/cathen/c.htm
Chapel - When St. Martin divided his military cloak (cappa) and gave half to the beggar at the gate of Amiens, he wrapped the other half round his shoulders, thus making of it a cape (capella). This cape, or its representative, was afterwards preserved as a relic and accompanied the Frankish kings in their wars, and the tent which sheltered it became known also as cappella or capella. In this tent Mass was celebrated by the military chaplains (capellani). When at rest in the palace the relic likewise gave its name to the oratory where it was kept, and subsequently any oratory where Mass and Divine service were celebrated was called capella, chapelle, chapel
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We have a place for prayer, not sure what to call it now, built as a seperate building. We have stations of the cross that we bought from e-bay. We once had a room in our attic when we lived in KS. Stained glass windows? That would be nice. At the moment there are no windows, no heat, and only one lightbulb.
 
decn2b:

Congratulations on your project, a rarity these days.

My rural home was purchased from the Grey Nuns, who had used it to help the handicapped. There were many rooms at first, but now I coverted it back to 3 huge bedrooms.

The small garage was used as a chapel, and it was blessed and mass was said there every Sunday for them. I bought it with the tabernacle still in place. It had never been deconsecrated.

My plans are that one day when I retire, I’ll redo the inside into a real chapel and dedicate it to the Blessed Mother. I’m looking for a lifesize statue of her, and I did find one that was taken out of a 16th century Church. Trouble is they wanted 900$ and I couldn’t afford that. It was dated to 1716 on the casting.

I’ll do the whole inside in themes of wine red, or oriental lacquer red. The floor will be pink or red granite tiles, and I plan to have 5 or 6 pews. The size is 17 X 10 ft. Behind the statue dead centre, I’ll make a cobble stone wall in cave fashion. In front of the statue a white balistrade with decorative spindles. I plan to have the ceiling in oriental lacquer in gothic style, with carved roses as a theme. As I like to do Acrylic painting, I’ll do some frescoes on the ceiling (can’t wait to do especially this ;)).
I hope to also find a Sacred Heart candle rack(red candles), and one for the Blessed Mother (Blue), places in the front on each side of the statue. (free of course,:))

I plan to make my own faux stained glass using “Gallery Glass™” with themes of the wedding at Cana, Nativity,Crucifixion, and the Assumption, nothing abstract, I like traditional. Four windows.

I haven’t decided on wheather I’ll change the outside and go all the way, as the inside alone should take me years to finish with all the detailed work. Chapels draw people, and I don’t know if I’ll make it public, as that involves insurance parking, heating,coat racks, close monitoring for vandalism, and everything else it entails. Also it would be mandatory I sell to a Catholic family, as I want it to be used with respect, especially so since the tabernacle will be there.

Anyway, that’s the general plan, and perhaps, God willing I’ll be able to realize this work.

Good luck on your project.

AndyF
 
CatholicNerd said:
That would be MARVELOUS 😃 As I recall, though, a family has to get permission from the Holy Father himself in order to have Masses offered at a home chapel, because having Mass there makes it an oratory. But even if you can’t have Mass there… wow, what a beautiful thing. Can’t wait to see the pics!
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Actually you can have a priest come and say Holy Mass in your home and in any specific room you choose. A friend of my family, Fr. Anthony who was head of a religious order at that time at a monastery a few miles from our home came and said Mass in our home and my brother and I were serving the Mass.

I guess this is a modern innovation after Vatican II, I have not done research either way so maybe comeone else can enlighten us here, on Mass being celebrated in a home.

I do know however that if you do make a home chapel to pray in that you would be forbidden to reserve the Blessed Sacrament there no matter what.

Ken
 
AndyF said:
decn2b:

Also it would be mandatory I sell to a Catholic family, as I want it to be used with respect, especially so since the tabernacle will be there.

Anyway, that’s the general plan, and perhaps, God willing I’ll be able to realize this work.

Good luck on your project.

AndyF
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You are not allowed to reserve the Blessed Sacrament in that Tabernacle… I sure hope you are not thinking of doing that or are currently doing that.

Ken
 
kleary said:
You are not allowed to reserve the Blessed Sacrament in that Tabernacle… I sure hope you are not thinking of doing that or are currently doing that.

Ken
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No, whatever service is performed, even to the uses I can put the chapel to, are bound to approval and discretion of the Diocese. It may turn out that I can’t use it at all for most of the things I wish, and of course I’ll oblige. My intent is for family use.

In fact, I was wondering about the wisdom of leaving the tabernacle there after we sell. I understand many satan groups would love to have it, so that is a big concern to me.

AndyF
 
My beloved mentor is a bishop in one of the “continuing” Anglican Churches of a highly catholic flavor. When he retired to his New Hampshire farm he converted the stable/woodshed adjoining the 1848 house into a beautiful little chapel that comfortably accommodated about 15 people. It was exquisite – and we even installed a round stained glass window in the gable. He moved to Atlanta a couple of years ago, and the chapel has been de-consecrated. Here’s a photo of the north end (color, believe it or not).

http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos2368/2/12/97/18/82/1/182189712206_0_ALB.jpg
 
We erected a private chapel in our home. A crucifix is centered at the top of the wall. On either side, and slightly below are the old pictures of the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate heart. In the center and below the Crucifix is a statue of the Infant of Prague on a shelf. Just below that is another shelf with a statue of Mary. The shelves are supported by gold metal brackets. Below the shelves is a small two drawer chest painted white. We keep our prayer material in the drawers and extra Rosaries.

My youngest son (26) built two kneelers for our use. My wife keeps her Ignatius Bible on her Kneeler and I keep my Douay Rheims on mine along with my 1962 Missal.

Many people have commented how beautiful it is but I haven’t converted anyone as yet.
 
Setting up an informal type of chapel like the ones described is a praiseworthy thing to do. Just a clarification or two.
a family has to get permission from the Holy Father himself in order to have Masses offered at a home chapel, because having Mass there makes it an oratory.
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Actually a separate and special permission would be required to establish a place as an oratory. That permission is given by an ordinary — for example, the diocesan bishop or a competent religious superior (cc 1223-1225).

A private chapel is a place designated for divine worship for one or several physical persons with the permission of the local ordinary — i.e., a diocesan bishop or vicar general (c 1226). But a chapel could be an informal one at the initiative of and the use of the family without obtaining that designation.

However, the permission of the local ordinary is required for Mass and other sacred celebrations to take place there (c. 1228). A bishop can have the Eucharist reserved in his chapel (c. 1227).

It is fitting that oratories and private chapels be blessed according to the rite prescribed in the liturgical books (c. 1229).

A home chapel is not required to be blessed, but if so, becomes a sacred space. If so, it must, however, be reserved only for divine worship and be free from all domestic uses (c. 1229). (Though an occasional non religious use is possible.)
 
cameron_lansing said:
Setting up an informal type of chapel like the ones described is a praiseworthy thing to do. Just a clarification or two.

Actually a separate and special permission would be required to establish a place as an oratory. That permission is given by an ordinary — for example, the diocesan bishop or a competent religious superior (cc 1223-1225).

A private chapel is a place designated for divine worship for one or several physical persons with the permission of the local ordinary — i.e., a diocesan bishop or vicar general (c 1226). But a chapel could be an informal one at the initiative of and the use of the family without obtaining that designation.

However, the permission of the local ordinary is required for Mass and other sacred celebrations to take place there (c. 1228). A bishop can have the Eucharist reserved in his chapel (c. 1227).

It is fitting that oratories and private chapels be blessed according to the rite prescribed in the liturgical books (c. 1229).

A home chapel is not required to be blessed, but if so, becomes a sacred space. If so, it must, however, be reserved only for divine worship and be free from all domestic uses (c. 1229). (Though an occasional non religious use is possible.)
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Thank you for the clarification, Deacon Cameron 😃
 
Historcally, the Church celebrated the Mass where ever it could until we started hving separate structures set aside for worship.
What we call home Masses were probably quite common. When my new home is constructed, I intend to have a space set aside as a chapel, but since the home will be only about 100 yards from the church, there is no foreseeable need to have Mass there.
We had a home Mass in the backyard when one of our assistant pastors came to celebrate for a family member who was unable to get to the church. We had more friends and neighbors in attendance than most weekday Masses of the parish.
I was once present when a priest celebrated a Mass at the beach with all attendees joining him sitting on the sand. This included some obvious abuses, including the use of pita bread instead of hosts. But on the bright side, a long fallen-away Catholic observed, and afterward approached the priest, then under the guidance of the priest, returned to the practice of the faith.
 
decn2b said:
Does anyone have a home chapel? We built our house two years ago. (it is quite economical to do so in small town iowa) Fortunately in my state the soil is good and the water tables are low enough to have full basements with 8 foot ceilings. Most people who build houses in my town have really nice basements with family rooms etc etc. Well when Our house was done…it was time for me to finish the basement myself. I specifically designed a 12x12 room with a window. I made my own stained glass window for it (a fake one but its pretty cool) and put down pergo laminate flooring and painted the walls dusted indego. (deep ocean blue) It is our chapel. I will post pics of it when I get the artwrork up and the sewing room table out of there. Anyone else have a home chapel? My neighbors (secularists and the likes) think it is super nice but very very very ODD.
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We have a room that we reserve for our prayer room. We use the mantle over the fireplace and our priest bless it for us.

http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/9610/200611030001ig7.jpg
 
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