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crazymamapajama
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| Posted: July 21 2006 at 7:43am | IP Logged
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I don't have much time on the computer this morning so forgive me if this post is jumbled and poorly thought out. My husband and I converted to Catholicism over 12 years ago, but (for me especially) true conversion has come (and is still coming) gradually (with many, many, starts and stops) over the years since we entered the Church. It has recently occured to me that I have no idea of how to create or encourage an atmosphere of Catholicism, or Catholic culture, in our home. One of the first things about Catholicism that appealed to me was the way that all five of the human senses could be drawn upon to teach, and understand the faith. Feeling and understanding seem to go hand in hand, but I don't think I've ever really shown that to my children. I don't know how to. We've never prayed the Rosary as a family, never said a novena, wouldn't know how to go about celebrating the children's name days, or baptism anniversaries, don't have much in the way of Catholic art, or devotionals, etc... I need some serious remedial help here. So I guess my question to all of you is: How do I make my home more Catholic?
Jodye
Momma to Chelsea 18, Ethan 16, Lily 12, Tess 7, Henry 5, Gus 3, Mamie 19 mos, and a new bundle of joy arriving July 26.
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aussieannie
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| Posted: July 21 2006 at 8:45am | IP Logged
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Its close to midnight here so I will get back to this at a later point, but one thing I would like to mention is - EWTN! - have it on in the house - let the recited rosaries, sung chaplets, the sight of nuns in full habit, young priests with collars and all the sights and sounds that are distinctively Catholic 'waft' through your home!
We are cradle Catholics but our 'domestic church' became distinctly more authentic when EWTN came to our home permanently, we have it on quite a bit, even if the sound is turned down! The world's culture didn't seem so hard to push out the door once EWTN arrived and we did away with normal TV. You are exposed to Catholic culture in such a powerful way - you will journey with the Pope around the world, see canonizations of the saints, well I could go on and on about EWTN but dh is reminding me of the time over here! So that is a start. 
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Under Her Starry Mantle
Spiritual Motherhood for Priests
Blessed with 3 boys & 3 girls!
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ALmom
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| Posted: July 21 2006 at 9:13am | IP Logged
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Catholic art that is beautiful and inspires you to pray. You may even want to set up a family altar where the family can gather for prayer - but also where folks can steal a moment individually when things press in.
A crucifix in the home (and short prayers as you see it) and teach the littles to do the same. You'll be surprised at how quickly the littles teach you. (Jesus, I love is what my toddler prays a lot in front of the crucifix as he blows a kiss to Jesus) But there are all kinds of short prayers in booklet form.
A Bible that is accessible and read.
Holy Water in a font in the home. (We're still working on remembering to fill ours and bless ourselves coming and going)
You might want to look at blessings - everything can be blessed. But a home blessing is the place to start (imho) and might be a great way to prepare for your new school year. Invite the priest if he could bless your house - and then afterwards have him join you for dinner. There are blessings for a new car, for an espectant mother, for devotional objects, for .... While the priest is there you might ask him to tell you about the different kinds of blessings and he may even let you look at his book of blessings to get an idea of the variety!
Something like A Year With God or other series that have ideas for the liturgical year.
lives of saints to read
a few books or pamphlets with a description of various devotionals, their history and meaning. The Pieta handbook has quite a few in it, a small rosary booklet, etc. Tan sells a lot of these very small, inexpensive devotional books but there are probably a lot just available to borrow in an adoration chapel (and sometimes give aways), etc. Often things for dc are a good place to start for you as well. (or at least that was how it was for me - I was Catholic from infancy but we never had any of these kinds of things in the home, so I didn't know either - never even read a life of the Saint until getting ready to hs my oldest  so I was as lost as any convert)
Then pick one or two things to begin and slowly add.
The biggest temptation is to try to do everything at once. Problem is the variety of novenas are endless, there are all kinds of devotions - rosary, stations, brown scapular, green scapular, .... medals, and more Saints than you could ever foster devotion to in a lifetime. It can seem overwhelming! You want to learn about enough variety so that something grabs your heart. If you read a particular Saint that just seems like a natural friend - then look for novenas or devotions or traditions around that saint (and pic or statue).
The rosary and stations of the Cross are good prayers to start with - You can get beautiful pictures to follow and a small booklet with meditations for each. Watching how it is done in church - EWTN often has these broadcast- you can then see and imitate at home using dc as cross bearers, etc. When I was learning these, I found that it helped me to pray these alone or just in my own family group rather than in the church with the parish ( I was still learning and everyone else went way too fast for me), but as they became more familiar then we could join in and not just feel like we were racing through words.
I'm sure there are lots more ideas from other folks - but this is what helped me.
Janet
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Sarah
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| Posted: July 21 2006 at 10:32am | IP Logged
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Go through Alice's blog, archives too. She has lots of ideas on there.
Cottage Blessings
I'll be back later. . .
__________________
Six boys ages 16, 14, 11, 7, 5, 2 and one girl age 9
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JennGM
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| Posted: July 21 2006 at 11:04am | IP Logged
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Jodye,
Before putting things in your home, make sure nothing is there already that would detract from the "Catholicism" of your home. Take a look around -- pictures, decorations...are they neutral? I'm not suggesting that you have these in your house, but I remember reading many years ago and it stuck with me. If you have decorations from other cultures that bring to mind other gods (not GOD), like Buddha, Indian gods, Chinese spirits...these detract from your Christian spirit you wish to encourage. Also things like rock music posters and things like that aren't necessarily God-inspiring things.
I would be minimalistic, and add things a bit at a time. I'd start with a house blessing by the priest, to dedicate your home and family to Christ. And get a picture of the Sacred Heart and have your home enthroned to Him. Adding one little prayer to the Sacred Heart by your family, you will find that He will fill your hearts and your home with the peace and Faith you desire.
Enthronement of the Sacred Heart
Enthronement
Sacred Heart of Jesus
You don't need a lot of THINGS around to remind of Catholicism. My first goal is to have a crucifix in all the bedrooms of the house, and in the main parts of the house, to give a visual reminder. A few other well chosen pieces of religious art will give that spirit. Kelly had some great points from a while back...here and here. I think there were other threads...
LIVING your faith. Again, start simply. Find some time and open up a calendar with the Church calendar's feast days. Then have a list of your family's birth days, baptismal days and other sacraments and all their names. Figure out which saints or feast days correspond with your family's days. At the beginning, just at your child's birthday, place their baptismal candle at the table with their birthday cake. Maybe include a framed holycard or statue of their patron saint. You are remembering their birthday into the world and the birthday into the church. Have the child pick their favorite meal or dessert, or a special place to go. Combine it all together in one day, and just talk about the significance.
After feeling comfortable with this, you could add celebrating more days, but in our house, it's minimal. The baptismal day is on the calendar. We talk about it, bring out the candle, and go to daily Mass to pray for that person.
Another way is to go to your parish when they open up the "book" and have Masses dedicated to your family member on their birthday, feast day, baptismal day. That is the sweetest thing to see their name in the bulletin for that feast, and in some churches they announce the name at the beginning of the Mass.
We also go out to breakfast as a family (for us we have extended family all here in the parish), wishing the person a happy feast day. It's all simple. Labeling it "Catholic" might be intimidating you...but it's merely an extension of family life. You know how to celebrate birthdays, so you can do all this.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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Meredith
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| Posted: July 21 2006 at 11:40am | IP Logged
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Sarah wrote:
Go through Alice's blog, archives too. She has lots of ideas on there.
Cottage Blessings |
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Sarah, this is EXACTLY what I was going to recommend to her  Alice's blog is SO inspiring!! Also, Castle of the Immaculate Helen's blog is wonderful for Catholic content and daily prayer with family! HTH!
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Meredith
Mom of 4 Sweeties
Sweetness and Light
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MacBeth
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| Posted: July 21 2006 at 12:13pm | IP Logged
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I'd start with music . I like plain chant for "school" time, as anything more complex is distracting to my music-analyzing kids  . Lately, Libby has introduced us to the amazing music of Thomas Tallis (link is to Amazon where one may hear a clip of his motet for 40 separate voices--breath taking!!)
[Note: Once again, I ask myself, why does she have to go to a secular music school to hear/perform sacred music??? It was written to be used at Mass!!! See this interview. OK...back to topic  ]
I was thinking, too, that one of the most beautiful moments in (the film version of) Ben Hur is when he returns home and touches the mezzuzah. The reverence for faith and hearth is so stirring in that one scene. Similarly, we Catholics ought to have a holy water font inside the front door.
Illuminated Ink has a great Stations of the Cross kit for kids to make for their own homes. You won't recognize the Popsicle sticks by the time you are done.
I am fond of incense and candles. I know that they can be irritating for some, though.
Icons. I have friends who are atheists, and they have one room with icons, and even in their home there is something solemn, though they claim to keep them for the sake of the art.  [See above note on music--goodness, beauty and truth transcend the faith. Why do our churches so often strip the sanctuary of beauty when even atheists see something there?]
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God Bless!
MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
Nature Study
MacBeth's Blog 
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JennGM
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| Posted: July 21 2006 at 12:15pm | IP Logged
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MacBeth wrote:
| I'd start with music . I like plain chant for "school" time, as anything more complex is distracting to my music-analyzing kids . Lately, Libby has introduced us to the amazing music of Thomas Tallis (link is to Amazon where one may hear a clip of his motet for 40 separate voices--breath taking!!) |
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 Yes, glad you mentioned this, MacBeth!
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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Bridget
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| Posted: July 21 2006 at 1:32pm | IP Logged
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Dear Jodye,
Our Catholic faith is so rich, and the breadth and depth of traditions that help us in our faith is enormous! I hope I don't overwhelm you with yet another opinion.
I would start with the family rosary. After the Mass, it is the most powerful spiritual weapon we have. Our Lady told the children at Fatima that she wanted us to pray it daily.
Our family rosary is not always pretty ... silly behavior, diapers need changing, mumbling... but the graces we receive are almost tangible. It is so worth the effort.
Here is a good explanation of how to pray the rosary in case you aren't sure. There is nothing wrong with giving all the readers a print copy to pray with. It will help them learn and build confidence. EWTN Rosary
We'll remember your family tonight in out prayers!
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God Bless,
Bridget, happily married to Kevin, mom to 8 on earth and a small army in heaven
Our Magnum Opus
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saintanneshs
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| Posted: July 21 2006 at 2:33pm | IP Logged
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aussieannie wrote:
Its close to midnight here so I will get back to this at a later point, but one thing I would like to mention is - EWTN! - have it on in the house - let the recited rosaries, sung chaplets, the sight of nuns in full habit, young priests with collars and all the sights and sounds that are distinctively Catholic 'waft' through your home!
We are cradle Catholics but our 'domestic church' became distinctly more authentic when EWTN came to our home permanently, we have it on quite a bit, even if the sound is turned down! |
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Yes, Yes, Yes! (Thank you, Anne  )
This did it for us too! EWTN is like our "homepage" for the tv! It's amazing what GOOD things you can pick up from television when the right channel is turned on. And...the Religious Catalogue show will give you lots of good ideas (too many good ideas my dh says to me)
EWTN's website can get you started too.
How about browsing through your local Catholic gift shop? I'm hooked on mine!
Good luck and happy decorating!
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Kristine
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Marybeth
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Jodye,
I always think it is very special to receive religious items from your parents for your birthday and other holidays. This way I had quite a collection to have in my home when I got married.
You can also have your dh buy you religious items for your own birthday and anniversary. My dh is still looking for a Blessed Mother outdoor statue for our garden for my Mother's Day gift. We can't find one were her face looks decent.
We just slowly have added Catholic art and such to our home throughout our marriage.
You can look up various novena prayers on-line and copy them out for your family. You can say the novena at the end of your dinner time or before bed. Trust me if you forget one day....one of our dc will remind you...it has happened with us!
Also, Meredith has a truly excellent way to start anyone family's day with her morning devotions.
I have some blessed candles from my Mom's church. I light them for various intentions. I remember so many times being young and asking my Mom why our candle was lit. She would always tell us who needed prayers or if bad weather conditions were approaching. It was wonderful visual reminder of our prayer life.
Hope this isn't too rambling...God bless you and your family!
Marybeth
PS Saying the Angelus at noon is another easy and beautiful devotion to say with your family.
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hylabrook1
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In our schoolroom, directly across from the place where I usually sit, is a print of the painting "The Education of the Virgin" by Georges de la Tour. It is serene-looking, showing St. Anne gently showing a book to her daughter, Mary. The scene is candle-lit and Mary's hand is held up, as if blocking the candle. BUT, the light still shines through her hand. When I saw the original of this painting at an exhibition at the National Gallery, you could have knocked me over with a feather -- Mary is UNABLE to block the light!
This picture is such a meditation for me as I school my children. Perhaps maybe especially so, as St. Anne is my name saint.
It is a very simple "practice" to have something around that can lead you to a prayerful place at any time. To me, this kind of thing supports a Catholic culture in the home.
Peace,
Nancy
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Jen L.
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| Posted: July 21 2006 at 9:38pm | IP Logged
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Here is a link to a related thread.
One of the posts there recommends Splendor in the Ordinary - Your Home as a Holy Place. I just ordered it and it looks great!
BTW, my husband and I are cradle Catholics and are working on the same things! 
__________________
Jen
dh Klete,ds (8/95),dd (12/97), dd (11/00), and ^2^ in heaven
"...the best state in which to glorify God is our actual state; the best grace is that of the moment..." St. Peter Eymard
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graciefaith
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Her blog is inspirational!! I'm going to be printing out her ideas to use for the future. Im so uncreative, it's not funny.
We also are trying to live a more holy life. For the past week or so, we've been doing a family rosary. My girls are young, 3.5yo and 4 3/4yo but they love it and they will stay put til we do the whole thing. I thought they would dread it, since i did as a teenager, but i try and make it fun. We talk about what each mystery is. They have Catholic picture books so sometimes my older one will go hunting in some of them for a picture of the mystery we are on. They blow out a candle for every mystery(thank you ladies for that awesome idea
!) and they get to blow out the 2 big ones when we're finally done. They love that part. They do their nightly prayers there too. I'm trying hard to make Catholicism a lifestyle, but little by little. We go to daily mass as well. They dont really like that but it's important and i love mass. I'm going to get Catholic Mosaic and some other books to help give me more ideas on how to do this.
What a great thread! So many ideas! I wish we had a strong Catholic Community here.
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: How do I make my home more Catholic?
