Personal chapels/oratories

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tuviskazinai

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Hello,
Does anyone here have a room set aside in their home for prayer, and nothing else but prayer? I know that in the old days many Catholic homes would have a “private chapel” where priest friends of the family would say Mass, etc…I am also thinking of many religious communities where a little “oratory” is set aside for Adoration…and I have heard that when JPII (Karol Wojtyla) was growing up in Poland, his family had a prayer room with a holy water font and everything, a room that was used for nothing but prayer.

My questions are: does anyone have any kind of room set aside devoted specifically to prayer? How have you decorated it? How frequently do you use it? And what are the rules about sacraments and sacramentals: can you set up a holy water font (for example) is you want to, or do you need for the space to be officially consecrated or something? Is it possible to get permission to expose the Eucharist in one’s private home? (I am assuming the answer is “no” on this one, but am curious to know for sure…)

Thanks in advance,
+AMDG+
 
I can’t help thinking of the extremely grand house in ‘Brideshead Revisited’ when I think of private chapels 🙂

However, my parents have a farm and also have a chapel on their property - several hundred metres away and entirely separate from the main house, not even visible from it. It IS consecrated, and they have either Mass or Liturgy of the Word with Communion one Sunday a month, usually anywhere around a dozen people attend. It is not used otherwise.

It’s decorated with an image of St Francis of Assisi, after whom it is named, and a picture of Pope Benedict as well as a crucifix. From memory (haven’t been there for a while) I don’t think there’s much decoration otherwise.

The altar is a simple wooden table. There is no tabernacle as the Eucharist is not reserved there. Sadly it has been broken into on more than one occasion so it would not be safe to do so.
 
I have no such room at present but would love to - or at least set aside a corner for such purpose.

I don’t know abotu any particular rules regarding “consecrating” though surely you could ask your pastor come and bless such a space.
I know of no reason why you could not have a holy water font at the entrance either if that is your wish.
As to the Eucharist - NO!! There is no way that you can get permission to keep the Holy Eucharist in your home. I don’t remember the specifics but I recall other threads that asked this and the answer was always the same…

Peace
James
 
Good question! I’m not sure what the rules are about having the Blessed Sacrament reserved in one’s private chapel, but I know it’s not unheard of. (There are some religious orders who live in houses with chapels and they have a tabernacle, but I’m pretty sure it is bc they are an order. IDK, but I think there might have to be a special reason why a person would have that.)
As for a prayer room, I have a studio apt., so there’s only one room, but I have decorated a set of shelves as a sort of “altar”. I have the Infant of Prague along with the Sacred Heart. Right now there’s a Nativity Scene, and a picture of the Madonna and Child. I hung a pic of St. Philomena above it. I got the idea from an older Italian woman: she had a prayer room with a decorated altar with pictures and statues. (She especially loved St. Joseph) There were also a lot of candles which she lit on feast days. I thought it was very beautiful, esp. as she used a lot of lace to cover the surfaces:)
 
I have an area in a room set up as a place to pray. I bought a small prayer kneeler and say my rosary and prayers in there. As far as decor I have the Divine Mercy picture of Jesus on display and the Jesus and Mary Sacred heart pictures. I also have a small table in the living room with a statue of the Blessed Mother and my Bibles on it. Its real nice to have an area like that and I highly recommended doing it. I also have Holy water on the table to bless myself with before leaving for work.
 
My bedroom is my ‘oratory’, and is set up as such with Crucifixes galore, Sacramentals, and sacred images, all of which have been blessed.
 
Thanks for your replies, everyone! They’ve been very informative. :o)
 
I know a lady who made the little room at the base of her staircase a chapel. She has the Stations of the Cross above each step, and against one of the walls she has a kneeler facing many Holy images and pictures of people who need prayers, and some lit candles. She also has a book case with her religious books, and she normally has Gregorian Chant playing.

-Jeanne
 
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