Friend and fellow sacred artist David Clayton, in association with Leila Marie Lawler, has written a wonderful book entitled The Little Oratory: A Beginner’s Guide to Praying in the Home. Sophia Institute Press published this book in the spring of 2014.

In a beautiful writing style that is truly accessible to all readers, Clayton and Lawler explain the purpose of a home oratory, the role that prayer, chant, and sacred art can play in the life of an individual or family, and the significance of maintaining a faith filled prayer life with young and adolescent children.

The word oratory derives from the Latin oratorium, and orare, which means to pray. An oratory is a sacred space set aside for prayer and meditation. A little oratory refers to a space within a home that is recognized as the home’s sacred space, and which is used as a focal point for individual and family prayer. It may be small as a simple shelf containing a crucifix and sacred art, or it could be a larger corner table space. The authors perform a marvelous service in reviewing all the questions that a family, single parent, or individual will face in designing their home’s sacred space.

I was happy to read chapters and sections that describe how to keep children on track during prayer, the length of a daily prayer time, leadership of the family prayer group, praying with a breviary (The Divine Office) and Holy Scripture. There are also sections on how to introduce the rosary into family life, and many other valuable and pertinent issues such as the role that chant and sacred art plays in the life of today’s Roman Catholic.

The Little Oratory is divided into twelve chapters and eight appendices. It contains lovely in-text illustrations by Deirdre M. Folley, and eight sacred images drawn and painted by David Clayton. These sacred images by Mr. Clayton may be separated from the binding of the book so that they can be framed and prayed with during each liturgical season of the year. They also provide for you a publisher’s website through which you can download additional images and line drawings that may be used for children’s activities.

You may ask why does each Catholic home need a little oratory? Good question, for the answer reaches to the heart of who we are as 21^st century Catholics. It is obvious that we are surrounded by a secular society that bombards us with continuous messages that can easily distract and exhaust us. In response to this onslaught we need to make a space within our homes that is a quiet and reflective corner that focuses on God and will allow us to recharge our minds and rest our souls. This sacred space will be a visual reminder of the holy presence of God, the Blessed Mother, the angels and saints in our lives. So our little oratory acts as a bridge between our homes, our parish church, and the Lord Himself. It is a link that connects us with Divine Word, Song, and Image during the course of our week. Through the authors’ efforts families and individuals relearn, or learn for the first time, the necessity of understanding and respecting the idea of a sacred prayer space in the home

The Little Oratory – A Beginner’s Guide to Praying in the Home is a valuable and resource filled book. Every Catholic that reads it will come away refreshed and filled with ideas on how to bring the life of the Church into their home. It can be purchased on-line or through any major bookstore. This paperback’s cover price is $19.95.

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