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Pictures and Story by MaryT. Meier  There is a special place in our home where family members and friends gather to celebrate, to contemplate, and sometimes, to mourn together. We come here to “get focused”, to meditate in peace and quiet, often to commiserate when the weight of the Cross grows heavy. This place is our family altar, or shrine, where we find ourselves in the company of Our Lord and His Most Blessed Mother through their sacred images and statues. And we find solace and companionship, as familiar to us as those who are pictured in family portraits that stand nearby. Candles burn, symbolic of our prayers and petitions, their fragrance a reminder to offer our thanksgiving. Fresh flowers bloom, a sign of that living offering our lives should be. 
Most Sacred and Immaculate Hearts of Jesus and Mary, reign in our homes. And may our lives be always a shrine to Thee! * * * Our statue of the Blessed Virgin is a very special one indeed. 
Many years ago, my parents received notice that the rental property they occupied would be demolished, clearing the land for future urban development. Relocating their large family proved very difficult, and they stayed beyond the appointed deadline. One fateful day, through her kitchen window, my mother was horrified by the sight of a bull dozer plowing its way toward the outdoor shrine where her beloved Blessed Mother statue was enthroned in a stone and concrete grotto. Running with arms flailing, and shouts to “Stop!” she pulled the heavy statue from the ground and carried it to safety. That statue rests in my home now, my Mother in Heaven. She bequeathed to us something more precious than this beautiful statue. The Faith that empowered her with a strength beyond anything human lives on in her family. Our statues, our family altar, are symbols and an embodiment of that faith. The practice of gathering here in prayer will be passed on to my children, and to theirs.
We have begun a practice in our home quite by accident. When the paint on the beautiful face and gown began to chip over time with age, we began "dressing" the statue in bits of cloth left over from the sewing basket. This was to be a "temporary fix" until the statue could be restored. But more time passed, and we grew accustomed to the renewed beauty of the statue, now arrayed in garments of real cloth, with gold ribbon trim, a crown, and lovely little wreathes for Her head. 
For the May Crowning on Mother's Day Our Lady of Grace  We've prayed many a Rosary before Our Lady of Fatima  We have prayed the Stations of the Cross with Our Sorrowful Mother  We have sought the intercession of The Immaculate Heart of Mary  And on the Feast of the Assumption we honored Our Mother, Queen of Angels and Saints 
And since the September 11th Attacks We ask the intercession of Our Lady Queen of Peace 
To celebrate the February 11 feastday, we honor Our Lady of Lourdes 
October 7 Feast Day Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary 
~ ~ ~ If you don't already have a special place in your home where the family gathers to pray we encourage you to create a Family Altar today. Bring the little ones and acquaint them at a very early age with the practice of family prayer. 
On Nov 21, 2001, we were visited by the Pilgrim Virgin statue Our Lady of Fatima. For an account of this wondrous visit, please click on her image below. 
Why do Catholics pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary ? | 
