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Raygan

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Hello,

So I am a convert to Catholicism and I’m struggling to discover Catholic traditions. There are so many things they do not cover in R.C.I.A.
I was wondering what a Catholic family home might include. I read a topic on here about kneelers at home and I was wondering if this is common?
The only other thing I can think of is crucifixes above bedroom doors.

Hopefully you are able to guide me,

Thanks!
 
You may have whatever you choose to have, but I think you definitely need at least one crucifix and some holy water. You can put a crucifix in each room. You might also like to have statues, prayers books, a Bible, rosaries, books about Catholicism, etc. Most Catholic homes have a statue of Mary and an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
God Bless You!
 
Grace before meals beginning and ending with the sign of the Cross.

It can be the standard one, or a spontaneous one.
 
Raygan said:
Hello,

So I am a convert to Catholicism and I’m struggling to discover Catholic traditions. There are so many things they do not cover in R.C.I.A.
I was wondering what a Catholic family home might include. I read a topic on here about kneelers at home and I was wondering if this is common?
The only other thing I can think of is crucifixes above bedroom doors.

Hopefully you are able to guide me,

Thanks!
Click to expand...
There is no “list”. Outside of a crucifix (a blessed one), you can bring into your home what suits you. I would encourage making your home visibly Catholic. It is not something we do on Sundays, but it is hopefully a way of life, our identity .

My home has many crucifixes, 5 different Mary statues, St. Michael the Arch Angel Statues, a few tapestries of Jesus and Mary, a few paintings (Nativity, Pita, etc.).

In other words, there should be no question to visitors that you are Catholic.
 
There is no standard…but we have crucifixes in all the bedrooms and above front door.

I have a painting of the Virgen de Guadalupe and some art work from an old church in Chicago hanging on my walls.

A pewter plaque hanging in my kitchen of “the last supper”.

I also have various images, statues etc tiny pieces of art of various saints scattered through out. A couple rosaries here and there and like 6 bibles one in every room.

I never really thought about it until you asked. It’s just things acquired naturally over the years. I certainly didn’t go out and buy things with the purpose of filling my home. A majority of my items are gifts from family members.

We also have a tiny family altar with our family bible, rosaries, holy water and devotions etc. I will attach a photo.

Oh and we have our homes blessed by a priest.

I hope this helps!

Make it your own. Have fun with it : )
 
The Catholic members of my family have a framed print of the Last Supper hanging in their dining room. I have followed that tradition. I found a reasonably priced one a few years ago at Hobby Lobby. We have crucifixes beside the entry doors. I also have a crucifix in my bedroom that I place on my pillow each morning when I make my bed. I give Jesus a kiss, say the St. Gertrude prayer, then place it on my pillow. At night when I pull the comforter back I pick up the crucifix, give Jesus a kiss and thank Him for the day I’ve lived. I then place the crucifix on top of my dresser until I make my bed the next morning. It is hidden once my bed is made, this is not for visitors to know about, just my own personal thing. I have a small oval framed sacred heart of Jesus picture on my kitchen windowsill. I like to look at it while doing dishes or washing my hands. I think about how Jesus came to serve and not be served and how happy I should be to serve my family, etc. We have a little prayer table at the end of our hallway with a standing crucifix, an electronic candle (it is battery operated b/c I have little ones who could burn themselves), and a little bowl of holy water (I put fresh water in on Mondays). I bought linen dinner napkins in the colors of the liturgical seasons and that is what the crucifix is on.
 
Crucifix above each bed, a statue of the holy virgin, maybe another one of a saint you’re drawn to. Make sure everyone has a personal rosary and bible. Missals for those who want them are nice. A dedicated prayer space or shrine perhaps.

Here’s a good article from fish eaters that might help you, fisheaters.com/domesticchurch.html

Try this thread for an idea what some people like to do with home shrines, forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=219439

Best wishes. :angel1:
 
EmeraldOak said:
The Catholic members of my family have a framed print of the Last Supper hanging in their dining room. I have followed that tradition. I found a reasonably priced one a few years ago at Hobby Lobby. We have crucifixes beside the entry doors. I also have a crucifix in my bedroom that I place on my pillow each morning when I make my bed. I give Jesus a kiss, say the St. Gertrude prayer, then place it on my pillow. At night when I pull the comforter back I pick up the crucifix, give Jesus a kiss and thank Him for the day I’ve lived. I then place the crucifix on top of my dresser until I make my bed the next morning. It is hidden once my bed is made, this is not for visitors to know about, just my own personal thing. I have a small oval framed sacred heart of Jesus picture on my kitchen windowsill. I like to look at it while doing dishes or washing my hands. I think about how Jesus came to serve and not be served and how happy I should be to serve my family, etc. We have a little prayer table at the end of our hallway with a standing crucifix, an electronic candle (it is battery operated b/c I have little ones who could burn themselves), and a little bowl of holy water (I put fresh water in on Mondays). I bought linen dinner napkins in the colors of the liturgical seasons and that is what the crucifix is on.
Click to expand...
I really like the crucifix idea on the pillow idea! Except I never make my bed lol

I might try to incorporate that idea though. I often find myself praying at the coffee pot because I forget to say good morning to God first thing when I wake up.
 
:)beautiful
HoneyBea said:
There is no standard…but we have crucifixes in all the bedrooms and above front door.

I have a painting of the Virgen de Guadalupe and some art work from an old church in Chicago hanging on my walls.

A pewter plaque hanging in my kitchen of “the last supper”.

I also have various images, statues etc tiny pieces of art of various saints scattered through out. A couple rosaries here and there and like 6 bibles one in every room.

I never really thought about it until you asked. It’s just things acquired naturally over the years. I certainly didn’t go out and buy things with the purpose of filling my home. A majority of my items are gifts from family members.

We also have a tiny family altar with our family bible, rosaries, holy water and devotions etc. I will attach a photo.

Oh and we have our homes blessed by a priest.

I hope this helps!

Make it your own. Have fun with it : )
Click to expand...
 
There’s nothing “obligatory”… Kneelers are not common 😉
In my humble opinion, what you should have is a crucifix and/or a statue of Christ (and one of Mary or a saint as well, if you like), a holy water font, (blessed) candles…
Of course you should also have Catholic books, i.e. a Bible, a Catechism, prayer books, missal etc., for spiritual reading.
Framed images and postcards showing the Pope or a quote are nice, too.
If you pray the rosary, make sure you always have one within reach.
I would strongly recommend to have all of these items blessed by a priest.
As one of my foreposters said, everyone coming to you should recognize at once that you’re a faithful Catholic. Last not least it is for yourself to strengthen your faith.
 
I have a San Damiano cross on my front door which I alternate with the Blessed Virgin and family.

On my desk I have a beautiful picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which was a gift.

In my bedroom there is a crystal cross on my dresser, a gift from my sponsor, and a mahogany crucifix on the wall.

As the only Catholic in the family, that is pretty much the extent of the Catholic stuff in my house.
 
Not a Catholic yet, but we have a number of icons about the place and I leave a few rosaries around, too. I have a prayer card of Our Lady of Lourdes by my bed, and a white china statue of Mary on my dresser. My husband thinks I’m mad, but I think he’s getting used to it.
 
A little statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary near some plants/flowers by your front door. Be warned though, don’t spend too much. My first one mysteriously ended up at the very end of my driveway in the gravel (too much distance and unlikely conditions for it to be the wind). That one was nondescript wood (only noticeable if you came right to the front door), so I promptly followed it up with a blue and white plastic painted one that is visible from the road! 😃
 
One custom is to set up a “May Altar” or “May Shrine”. The month of May is dedicated to the Queenship of Mary, so it’s customary to set up a small little shrine, usually a table with a couple crowned statues of Our Lady, during that month. Other than that, I think that telling children stories of a particular saint on that saint’s feast day, along with reading a short bit of Scripture before bed are both good ideas.
 
Check out your local Catholic gift shop or online catalog for inspiration! Every Catholic home should have a bible and maybe a statue or two of your favorite saint.
 
As part of my job I am in a lot of homes. I often know when I’m in a Catholic home. I’ll see a rosary, an icon, and a crucifix and I’ll ask what parish they are a part of. Another thing I see a lot of is palms. Often woven into a cross.

As has been said they isn’t a list of things you have to have, it is things you find that move you and lead you deeper into your faith.
M
 
Raygan, welcome to the Faith 🙂

You have been given some good answers. For my part, also as a convert of nearly a year, I have in my home:

a Holy Spirit cross and a small statue of the Virgin Mary in my living room,
and in my bedroom a big crucifix and a small altar-bookcase on which I store devotional books, bibles, rosaries, and missals. On the top of it I have a statue each of the Virgin Mary, Jesus on the cross and St Michael the Archangel (my patron saint), as well as a framed picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

I would recommend reading Mystryx’s Fisheaters link if you haven’t already. I also recommend that you read this from the same site. It is aimed at families with children, but I like how it stresses that we should live a Catholic life not just one day a week but in everything we do, and that reading and watching seemingly harmless secular material could affect our journey with God.
 
When I lived with my sister, we had the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart done as well as house blessing. I wish I could import my ICKSP priest here to do it in my new home!! I’m glad this thread was started—as I settle into a new home and job I was thinking of looking here for ideas 🙂 I like the idea of a crucifix in each room. I have a balcony at my apartment so perhaps a small Mary and St. Michael…
 
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