by Claire Dwyer | Jun 28, 2020 | Eucharist, silence, spirituality
When I was a little girl, my family would say the rosary every night before an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I’d look at that luminous Heart, aglow, and the long fingers of Our Lord solemnly pulling back the folds of his robe to reveal its fire and its wounds....
by Claire Dwyer | Jan 10, 2020 | Catholic Church, Eucharist, Uncategorized
When I was invited to attend the FOCUS conference, SLS20: “Made for Mission” in Phoenix Dec 30-Jan 3, I jumped at the chance. The prior year’s event, SEEK2019, had been attended by some friends who declared it life-changing. And to have it in my...
by Claire Dwyer | Mar 30, 2019 | Eucharist, prayer, Saints, spirituality
Some time ago at Sunday Mass, I looked up to see a woman texting on her phone in line for Holy Communion. My heart stopped. It was the most blatant, shocking show of distraction I’d ever seen. To be so close to Jesus, to be approaching this intimate moment of...
by Claire Dwyer | Mar 3, 2019 | Books, Eucharist
Although I’ve always been an avid reader, with stacks of books on my desk, beside my bed, and on overflowing shelves around the house, I didn’t read J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy until I was an adult. (Now my sixth...
by Claire Dwyer | Mar 1, 2019 | Catholic Church, Eucharist
The last note of the organ lingered like the cloud incense in the air. I knelt for a quick thanksgiving as parishioners gathered their things and began to leave the pews at the end of the Sunday Mass. Then there was a gentle tap on my shoulder. “Excuse me,” the...
by Claire Dwyer | Jun 7, 2015 | Eucharist, parenthood, scripture
This spring saw our backyard filled with new life: families of quail scurrying across the grass, baby doves peeking out from the eaves of our patio, and a special surprise: a little killdeer mother, nesting on the ground in a shallow depression in the gravel out near...
