The Pastor's Corner

by Fr. Bob Hoffman

I have mentioned before the importance of the home as the “domestic church.” It is the place where the faith is first learned from the examples shown to children by their parents. So, it is essential that parents practice their faith.

However, we should not overlook the importance of having symbols of the faith throughout the home. Catholics often have a priest come over to bless their home. Occasionally, they might even have a priest do a consecration of the home to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The symbols of faith in the home can include a prayer corner. It might be a hutch or an end table in a quiet corner of the home that has various symbols of the faith on it. Images of saints can be included. But so can photos of deceased loved ones. 

For Catholics, it is common to have a blessed crucifix in each bedroom above the doorway. There might also be statues, most often of Jesus, Mary, or even Saint Francis of Assisi. Similarly, images of Jesus, Mary, or other saints might be on the walls. Biblical scenes are also popular. There are so many great paintings of biblical scenes for which one can get a framed print from an online source. We used FineArtAmerica.com for the wood prints of various saints outside each classroom in the school. Perhaps a print of your child’s patron saint would be a great gift.

As Christmas approaches, we should make sure that our Christmas trees are really Christmas trees, and not merely holiday trees. Do we decorate them with reminders of the birth of Jesus? Or do we decorate them with secular holiday themes? Autom.com is an online source that offers relatively inexpensive Christmas ornaments. 

The physical reminders of our faith can help make our home be ever more the domestic church that it is intended to be.