Planning Our July Liturgical Shelf

July 1?  How is it already July first? 

I am not sure how the second half of this calendar year is upon us already.  I am also not sure how so many months have passed since my family has properly set up our liturgical shelf with one of our Marian peg dolls and items to help focus us on the monthly devotion.

Thus, as I head to bed tonight, I am brainstorming how my children and I might decorate our liturgical shelf this week.  I thought I would share my thoughts in case you, too, would like to prepare a liturgical shelf, feast table, prayer corner, or home altar space, too.

Since July is the Month of the Precious Blood, we will layer our shelf with a white cloth atop a red runner cloth.  From a symbolic point of view, the red cloth, of course, will remind us of the Precious Blood of Jesus,while the white will remind us of His pure love for us.

From a more practical standpoint, the white cloth will allow red cardstock cut into tear-shaped droplets to be visible, since the children and I will be making these to use a la a simple, yet beautiful idea shared by Anne at Under Her Starry Mantle.

The droplets will radiate out from one corner o the shelf, where we will place a chalice under a statue of Jesus as Anne did or a crucifix as Jennifer from Wildflowers and Marbles did.  Red cloth will run from the statue or crucifix to the chalice, symbolic of the Precious Blood.

We will also place this prayer on a stand:

An

Offering
Of the Precious
Blood for Souls

O my God, I beg of Thee in
union with the Immaculate Heart
of Mary, through the merits of the
Precious Blood offered Thee in every
Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world,
to grant that this day one mortal sin may be
averted, one soul in doubt may be converted to
the truth, one soul about to die in sin may receive
the grace of repentance and a happy death, and
the deliverance of that soul in purgatory which is
nearest Heaven. I wish by this offering to console
the Heart Of Jesus in agony for the souls lost
through the Teaching of error against the
true Church of Christ Jesus,
Our Lord. Amen

At the other corner of our shelf, we will place our Our Lady of Mt. Carmel peg doll.

Near the doll, will go a brown scapular and a copy of the Brown Scapular Coloring Book, which, I hope, we will end up re-reading together throughout the month.

Image: Amazon

If I can find where I last placed them, we will also out our copies of Garment of Grace...

Image: Amazon

... and Garment of Grace (children's version)

Image: Amazon

I would love to hear your favorite prayers, images, and book titles for the Month of the Precious Blood and Our lady of Mt. Carmel.