Some years ago I bought this prie Dieu.  It lives between the glass French doors that look to our pond outside and my piano inside.  It felt like the right place for it.  I am incredibly chagrined that the cats seem to use it more than I.  Exhibit A:  this picture.  In French “prie Dieu” literally means to pray to God.  It is a type of prayer desk/kneeler intended for private devotional use but may also be found in churches.  They have a couple in our Parish’s lovely old chapel and I have used them at times after lighting a candle and praying in quiet reflection surrounded by stained glass.  Our church bulletin used to read, “Worshiping in the beauty of holiness” and I still use that phrase.  Often the Rosary is recited.  As I do not have it memorized, it takes me quite a while to get through.  I use an iPhone app so if I’m at church I fear people think I’m on Facebook or something.  The prie Dieu did not appear to have received its present name until the early 17th century.  I fell in love with the little chapel in Marie Antoinette’s Petit Trianon, where I saw hers and was deeply moved.  Often people assume I am Roman Catholic.  I am actually Episcopalian (or Whiskeypalian, as I often joke).  Of course one does not need a prayer bench to pray; we can pray to God any time, any place, and any where.  I just hoped it would inspire me to pray more often and with more reverence and devotion.  1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray without ceasing.”  I strive to do so.  Now if I could just get the gatos off my kneeler.  We all know they sit quietly a lot with their eyes closed … they must be contemplating the Catechism.