by Claire Dwyer | Nov 4, 2024 | Let Yourself Be Loved, Litany, prayer, Saints, Vocation
“My dad teetered on the ladder, balancing both a paint can and a Baltimore Catechism. ‘Why did God make you?’ He hollered down, quizzing me as I sat cross-legged on the grass underneath. “‘To know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to...
by Claire Dwyer | Oct 20, 2024 | Dryness, prayer, Spiritual Direction, spirituality
Re-reading the Diary of St. Faustina recently had me experiencing a bit of spiritual whiplash. She describes ravishing joy: “His presence penetrates me to my very depths and fills me with peace, joy, and amazement, After such moments of prayer, I am filled with...
by Claire Dwyer | Jan 21, 2024 | parenthood, prayer
“Mom, I never see you eat.” My teenager leaned against the kitchen table and looked at me with concern. I tried to laugh it off. After all, the extra 15 pounds I was carrying around indicated otherwise. “Oh, I eat,” I assured him. “You just don’t see me.”...
by Claire Dwyer | Sep 30, 2023 | prayer, Spiritual Direction, Writing
“I don’t know if I have been able to write ten lines without being disturbed…I am not telling any lies when I say that I am writing practically nothing,” lamented (laughed?) St. Thérèse of Lisieux. She had snuck out to the convent garden to write, hoping to make...
by Claire Dwyer | Apr 18, 2022 | prayer, Spiritual Direction
1. Be sure to bite off more than you can chew. If you are not a morning person and are not used to getting up early, set your alarm for 4 AM and expect to rise before the sun with a song in your heart. If you’ve only been praying for a few minutes each day, resolve...
by Claire Dwyer | Jul 9, 2021 | prayer, scripture, Spiritual Direction
There’s a certain timelessness we can feel while in conversation about eternal things: God, our soul, and the revelation of the work the Lord is doing to draw us ever closer to Him. As if everything else is suspended for a few moments and we hang up high from a...
