Beautiful Corner – Making Way for a Spiritual Life

Icon Corner - Image used with kind permission of Phool4xc at Flickr

Having an altar in a house is an ancient practice stretching back into prehistoric times. In Romania and other East European countries, especially in small country villages, one would often find a beautiful painted plate, a treasured gilded icon and pictures or photos of family members  or religious figures on the wall decorated above with a beautifully embroidered cloth pinned just so to frame the collection of precious objects. Nearby there may be a small container tacked to the wall to hold a candle or a tiny bowl of holy water. Or underneath the pictures, a small wooden shelf holding a religious stauette and some flowers (maybe even faded plastic roses!). Continue reading »