Many people who pray the Liturgy of the Hours find that having a specific place, or several specific places to pray, is conducive to being able to enter quickly into the spirit of prayer. In coming issues of the newsletter, we want to share information about personal places for prayer. First, we hope that seeing how others arrange space for prayer will reinforce our own commitment to pray. Second, as we view what others have done, and hear their stories about their spaces, we Look forward to finding our imaginations stimulated to enrich our own prayer spaces. Third, as we share stories about these spaces, we pray that our witness will lead us all into a deeper commitment to prayer and an enlarged vision of prayer’s importance in our own lives.
In our home we have a couple of places for prayer, depending on how many will be praying at one time and on how our homespace is being used. Our home is too small to have a room set aside exclusively for prayer. The photographed space is located in our bedroom as that room is relatively unused except for sleeping. By going in and closing the door, two things happen. First, simply closing the door provides privacy. Second, this room is away from the street and a relatively quiet space for prayer can be attained even if the TV, a radio, or music is being played elsewhere in the house.
On top of the dresser (L-R), a photo taken at the instant of sunrise at Oak Island Beach stands behind a statuette of our Lady and a bottle of holy water. The sunrise picture was taken at the end of December. With a stiff wind blowing in off the ocean, I was shivering from the cold since I’d already been outside for nearly an hour and a half. The warming rays of the sun and the dawning of full light reminded me of full light of grace and goodness which come to us through our Lady’s obedient consent and how she brings us to her Son so that others may experience such gracious goodness in us.
The book under the votive candle on the dresser top is a 1930’s edition of Egermeir’s Bible Story Book. Between the ages of five and nine, mom called my two brothers and me to one of our beds for bedtime stories nearly every night. This was the book she read, and we went completely through it four or five times. Hearing these stories and talking about them provided a formative catechesis for me. Seeing the book is stimulus for gratitude toward faithful parents and is a definition of what familial affection feels like.
On top of the storybook, I’ve placed a hickory nut, both as a reminder of Blessed Julian of Norwich and her meditation on a nut (“Who made this and why?”), and because nuts are reminders of the life held within a shell, like our Lord’s body in the tomb. Along with the nut there are a couple of significant medals.
An icon of St. Benedict of Norcia, my confirmation name saint and founder of our order stands to the right of the candle. Tucked away, partly behind this icon is a glass jar containing tea lights and the means for lighting them.
The icon on the wall below the crucifix illustrates a whole series of scenes from sacred history. This is what’s known as a calendar icon; it illustrates the principle feasts of the Orthodox church year, nearly all of which also occur in the Roman calendar. The large center panel of that icon shows the events of Holy Week and Paschaltide. The smaller images around the border tell the story of the incarnation from the Nativity of the Virgin to her Dormition and Assumption.
The matrimonial icons were a gift to us for our wedding thirty-five years ago and have been displayed prominently in our home throughout our lives. They remind us each day that Jesus and our Lady are powerfully present for us and that they desire that we share their presence with those whose lives we will touch during our daily round of activities.
The crucifix is perhaps the newest item here and was selected to go with the other objects. Behind the upper right side of the crucifix and above the icon of our Lord are palm fronds from the most recent Palm Sunday Mass. They serve as a reminder that we who acclaim Him King need to be watchful lest we soon betray Him again.
If you would like to share your prayer space with the rest of us, please send a description of no more than 500 words and a photo in .jpg (most smartphones support this format) by e-mail to dr.mikeboggs@gmail.com. Please include a phone number and note whether or not you can be reached by text message.
Dr. Michael Boggs, OblSB
