Chapel Changes

I posted a while back about giving my chapel a new coat of paint, and what a project that was! 

I made some other changes, too. First of all, the back wall of the chapel went from looking like this:

to this:

There has to be some sort of "cover" on the back wall because there is a rather unsightly door there, and in addition to being unsightly, it is not centered. I like the new look - clean and bright and uncluttered. Also the screen makes for better acoustics than the long draperies did.

The biggest and most wonderful change has been the recent addition of a tabernacle! I mean a real tabernacle instead of the little wooden collection box that was serving in that capacity before. I bought it on ebay, and I got it for an unbelievably excellent price. Here's the photo from ebay:

Now, to be perfectly clear, I do NOT have the Blessed Sacrament reserved in my chapel. Many years ago, I tried to convince the bishop to allow it, but I was unsuccessful. One problem is that a priest must come and say Mass to refresh the Blessed Sacrament quite frequently, and that is an issue where I live. And at this point, I would really want the priest to say the EF Mass, and that's become a pipe dream at this point. 

Nevertheless, I now have a suitable resting place for Our Lord, should He decide it is time for His Real Presence to abide in my little chapel. 

At first, I didn't know exactly how I would mount the tabernacle. Here it is in the initial stages:

 This is actually the second generation of the project. I had trouble finding a circular platform, and had another improvised arrangement. Then one day, as I doing chores in the house, my eye fell on our bar stools. I realized immediately that the seat was exactly the right diameter to hold the tabernacle. It was a simple matter to take the top off the stool and turn it into the platform for the tabernacle. I thought the brackets would be heavy-duty enough to support it, but there was still too much play with the weight of the tabernacle. I added the candlestick to keep it from dipping too low. That was only a temporary solution till I figured out something else.

The "something else" also came from ebay. It is a wall sconce/shelf. It finally arrived yesterday, and I got everything set up. But prior to that, I decided that I would veil the tabernacle even though the Blessed Sacrament was not reserved there. I figured the Lord would know I was really ready if I did that, and since I'm the only one here, no one will object to the veil. Here's one shot:

And here's the tabernacle, with a veil, mounted on the wall sconce (I will need to lengthen that veil!:

The sconce is actually just a "false front". It's not big enough to actually support the whole tabernacle. The bar stool/bracket arrangement remains in place, and the sconce takes over the job of supporting the outer edge of the platform. It's not pretty from "behind the scenes" but it will have to do for now!

I'm pretty happy with my little chapel, and I do believe Our Lord is pleased, too.

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.