We live in a constant barrage of mandates to improve literally any aspect of our lives, all at once. Magazines, blogs, and social media posts all scream at us to buy new gadgets, redecorate our homes, improve our skin care routines, change our “aesthetic,” and reorganize our pantries with matching containers. It’s certainly overwhelming!
The term “glow up” is tossed around and applied to pretty much everything. Now, I’m not saying that working to improve health or refreshing our home is a bad thing. By all means, please take good care of yourself and pick a paint color you love! I do think it’s wrong for the all-knowing online influencers to make us feel we must do these things to feel happy, healthy, and better about ourselves, as if our lives are lacking if we don’t follow the trend.
With the dawn of the new year, we can prepare ourselves to be bombarded with “glow up” messaging as many of us set New Year’s resolutions. As Catholics, let’s support each other in putting the influencers on mute and seeing the new year as a hopeful invitation to seek changes that fill the soul with truth and beauty.
I present a wholesome and life-giving “glow up” to consider exploring in 2026: a Home Altar.
A home altar is your personal space to connect with Jesus. This is not the same as the Altar of Sacrifice found in a Catholic church. These altars are dedicated or blessed by the bishop for the purpose of Holy Mass. The home “altar” can be as big or as little as you like. It can be decorated in a unique way that speaks to your soul. And it definitely invites the glow of the Holy Spirit to fill the home!
Why bother creating a home altar? God is present always and everywhere, and we certainly don’t have to set up anything special to have a conversation with Him, because He’s always waiting for us to call upon Him in prayer. The beauty of the home altar is that it provides a little anchor in the home, a small, visible reminder to frequently direct our hearts and minds to God.
We created our home altar to facilitate family evening prayer with our then 3-year-old daughter. Having a special place of beauty and calm in our house has worked wonders for our daughter’s attention span during prayer time. As she’s aged, we’ve given her special jobs like snuffing out the candles at the end of prayer each night.
Aside from family night prayer, I can’t say I spend a ton of time in prayer at our altar by myself. It’s in a hallway, and there’s no real place to settle in to get comfy. However, caring for the altar and maintaining a rotation of seasonal decor feels like a prayer unto itself—I look forward to selecting flowers from our garden, changing the art and holy cards with the seasons, and refilling the holy water font.
If you’re thinking about creating a home altar this year, there is no shortage of beautiful photos online to inspire you. Something to keep in mind (I constantly remind myself of this): Don’t compare your space to others’ or try to duplicate exactly what they have done! Make your altar uniquely yours. God delights in our individuality and sincerity. If you’d like some prompts to get your creative wheels turning, here’s what we’ve added to our family’s home altar over the past couple of years:
—Crucifix
—Small table from a consignment shop
—Small table runner (we have different colors for each liturgical season)
—Small shelf built by my grandpa
—Beeswax candle and snuffer
—Holy water font
—Sacred art, changed seasonally and monthly for saint feast days and monthly devotions
—Rosary
—Prayer resources and the Bible
—Vases for flowers, greenery, etc.
To keep everything organized, I store art, holy cards, and linens in page protectors in a binder. Simple, easy, stress-free!
I wish you all a happy, healthy, and “glowy” New Year! I hope that you find inspiration to renew a little corner of your home as a sacred place of comfort and peace.
Mary Gannon is a wife, mother, and lifelong Rhode Islander. She works for the RIDEM Division of Fish and Wildlife, educating the public about wildlife conservation, and sharing her joy for all God’s creation.
