Should my home have an 'Icon Corner'?

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I read the following on a Byzantine Catholic website. Does the Roman Catholic Church teach that I should have this in my home?

One’s home should be a place of tangible prayer. Each Christian home should have an “Icon Corner.” This constitutes the Home Altar or Family Shrine. It serves as the focal point for prayer. The Icon Corner usually consists of a table, stand or shelf with a linen or other cloth covering. Over the table are the icons of Our Lord (on the right) and Our Lady (on the left), often with a crucifix in-between. Other icons of personal choice may and should flank the icon corner. A perpetual candle can be burned if it is not a safety hazard. Otherwise, candles are lit during times of prayer. Placed on the table are normally the following items: a festal icon depicting the season; the Bible; prayer books; holy water; blessed candles; the blessed palms and willows from Flowery Sunday; flowers from the Feast of the Dormition and rosaries. The Icon Corner is placed in a prominent room, such as the living room, the family room or the master bedroom. Traditionally, it faces east, if such an arrangement is possible.
 
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SeekerCV:
I read the following on a Byzantine Catholic website. Does the Roman Catholic Church teach that I should have this in my home?

One’s home should be a place of tangible prayer. Each Christian home should have an “Icon Corner.” This constitutes the Home Altar or Family Shrine. It serves as the focal point for prayer. The Icon Corner usually consists of a table, stand or shelf with a linen or other cloth covering. Over the table are the icons of Our Lord (on the right) and Our Lady (on the left), often with a crucifix in-between. Other icons of personal choice may and should flank the icon corner. A perpetual candle can be burned if it is not a safety hazard. Otherwise, candles are lit during times of prayer. Placed on the table are normally the following items: a festal icon depicting the season; the Bible; prayer books; holy water; blessed candles; the blessed palms and willows from Flowery Sunday; flowers from the Feast of the Dormition and rosaries. The Icon Corner is placed in a prominent room, such as the living room, the family room or the master bedroom. Traditionally, it faces east, if such an arrangement is possible.
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I’m not sure whether its an obligation, but it sure makes prayer easier! We have an “altar” in each of our rooms here. Basically a flat surface covered with icons and statues.I tend to do my office infront of mine:D. A nice trick: an old music stand and a pillow makes a good kneeler.
 
In the Latin rite that is not as big of a thing as in the Byzantine Church. It is allowed though. It seems like a great thing and possibly something I would like to do.
 
I’m actually thinking about putting a Sacred Heart shrine in my empty bedroom…

…sorry to hijack the thread…continue. 😃
 
Simple Answer: yes that will be a wonderful tool for you. Icons keep our minds focused and can lift our spirits to Heaven. 👍
 
you should certainly have a prayer corner of some kind, and a home shrine in a central place would be wonderful. If icons don’t appeal to you, a statue or crucifix would also be good. Down here many homes have a beautiful shrine for OL Guadalupe in a prominent place, and I am happy to see that for a lot of families a shrine is the most central thing you see in the home, and the TV is in a spare room. Decided contrast to many American homes where the TV occupies the most prominent position in the main part of the house.

a tiny distinction, an altar is the table of the Eucharistic sacrifice, and not properly applied to a shrine in a home.

You can also have visible reminders of your faith throughout the home: crucifix on the wall at each doorway and in the bedrooms, pictures of Jesus, Our Lady and the saints etc. DD has banners for each of the Church seasons and feasts which she hangs outside instead of the more secular banners that are now popular.
 
My daughter has a “prayer table” in her room. It was suggested in her First communion book that it helps children to have a tangible space for prayer. It has shelves below for her bible, books about the saints, catechims books, small statues, her rosary, etc.

At the entrance to our home I have a wall with a picture of the Holy family and a crucifix. Surrounding those, I have family photographs of our family’s participatin in the sacraments. Baptismal pictures, First communion and confirmation photos. Some are even of my grandparents. I have a shelf in the living room with all of our religious books. I want to buy a family Bible and put a table with shelves on the same wall as the photos I mentioned with the Bible opened to the readings of the day. I want to keep a rosary for every member of the family and put our holy water font there as well. I think it is a fantastic idea. I also plan to obtain a statue of “Infant of Praque” I also have a small photo of Our Lade of Guadelupe and Elizabeth Ann Seton, (We are a Seton Homeschool family.)
 
I vote “yes.” I would love to have a part of our house that would be devoted to prayer and would have the kinds of sacred items mentioned in the previous posts. Go for it.

👍 👍 👍

DaveBj
 
It is helpful to have reminders of the faith all over your home, including crosses, religious pictures (icons, paintings, etc.), statues, etc.

These reminders help us the pray more often and stay more faithful.
 
I’ve often kidded that our house has more religious pix and statues than a convent. But, we do have a corner in our living room for our main statues of Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the Infant of Prague. Nearly the whole of our curio is taken up with statues and religious pix, too. It’s everywhere! It’s everywhere! 😃
 
I have a crucifx on my wall (opposite from my bed so that I can lie and bed and look at it). In the future I would like to put a shelf beneath it to put other statues etc. on. I wish I could have something larger, but I am the only Catholic in my home and my bedroom isn’t very big.
 
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Peace-bwu:
My daughter has a “prayer table” in her room. It was suggested in her First communion book that it helps children to have a tangible space for prayer. It has shelves below for her bible, books about the saints, catechims books, small statues, her rosary, etc.

At the entrance to our home I have a wall with a picture of the Holy family and a crucifix. Surrounding those, I have family photographs of our family’s participatin in the sacraments. Baptismal pictures, First communion and confirmation photos. Some are even of my grandparents. I have a shelf in the living room with all of our religious books. I want to buy a family Bible and put a table with shelves on the same wall as the photos I mentioned with the Bible opened to the readings of the day. I want to keep a rosary for every member of the family and put our holy water font there as well. I think it is a fantastic idea. I also plan to obtain a statue of “Infant of Praque” I also have a small photo of Our Lade of Guadelupe and Elizabeth Ann Seton, (We are a Seton Homeschool family.)
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Your Prayer Area sounds like a little bit of Heaven 🙂 EWTN’s Religious Catalogue has a nice little section on the Infant of Prague. Just type in “Prague” under the keyword box.
 
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