2023-08-19 12:31
There was a boy . . .Who brought me wine in a Mickey Mouse thermosWho would read aloud to me from his favorite booksWho brought me new music for listening together Who picked me… Read More
Blog Directory > Spirituality Blogs > Religion Blogs > Between the Moon and New York City religion Blog >
2023-07-23 15:02
It's Sunday morning. Im sitting outside on my small deck. It's late July. Birds are singing, a light breeze is rustling the leaves. In my minds eyes I see my boys i… Read More
2023-03-25 15:18
My husband and I became Florida snowbirds for awhile - mainly so he could extend his time on the water angling. Then the pandemic hit and we reconsidered life choices and opportu… Read More
2023-01-04 16:02
Growing up in an extended family, we celebrated New Year's Eve watching Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians. We had noisemakers, hats, and munchies. The adults had fancy cocktai… Read More
2022-11-12 13:42
This house, once filled with crazy chaos, now sits empty, silent. It never followed the fads of interior design, but willed itself into sameness, an attempt to hopelessly hold on to wh… Read More
2022-10-23 21:19
For as long as I can remember, I've kept clippings from magazines, newspapers, old school books, computer musings, etc. Not only do I keep clippings, I hole punch them and keep them in… Read More
2022-09-06 16:03
What gets me through the day remains a mystery even to myself. I'm either terrified out of my mind and so anxious about the future that I can barely breathe, or I'm serenel… Read More
2022-07-12 10:18
When your beloved dies, you grieve two deaths - theirs and yours. No matter what you may think, you will never recover, nor will you ever return to whom you used to be. That part of y… Read More
2022-07-03 19:08
"Do not lose hope — what you seek will be found. Trust ghosts. Trust those that you have helped to help you in their turn. Trust dreams. Trust your heart, and trust your story."… Read More
2022-03-15 17:49
Do you remember going to the prom? As a teenager I attended an all girl prep school. As was customary back in the day we had an affiliation with a "brother" school where we engaged in… Read More
2022-03-13 13:34
Right after my 18th birthday, I quit college - Rosemont College. And of course, a boy was involved. My parents were less than pleased, and on my first day home I needed to secure a jo… Read More
2022-03-04 14:47
There is so much I love about the technology of instant communication. Yet, I still miss the handwritten letters people used to exchange with one another. I get so excited when I… Read More
2022-03-02 17:15
Author and poet, Mary Karr, once described herself as a promiscuous Catholic. She admitted to hanging out with many different church communities. When I first heard her say this I tho… Read More
2022-02-16 01:04
"I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink… Read More
2022-02-06 15:16
February is the love month - wine, roses, chocolate and Valentines. Here's some things I've learned about love over a lifetime of wine and roses. Happy hearts month!1. Love part… Read More
2022-01-29 12:41
Every morning a friend posts a picture of her artwork with an appropriate piece of prose. Today she posted a Celtic blessing with a phrase I particularly keyed into - "the sacredness o… Read More
2022-01-25 01:33
So many, many times during the past few months I've had this feeling of losing my way. I wasn't sure which direction I should follow. The phrase, "lost in space", aptly defined my navigation… Read More
2022-01-20 01:55
It feels like the last two years has been some kind of apocalyptic episode. Was it like this for those who lived through the pandemic of 1918. Every afternoon I watch the local schoo… Read More
2022-01-12 22:53
A friend stopped by the other day. We hadn't seen each other since 1973. "So", my friend asks, "where do you go from here?" Good question, right? One that I get asked quite frequently… Read More
2022-01-05 16:04
Illustration by the Spotted Frog (Etsy)January 5: All About Twelfth Night Down with the rosemary, and soDown with the bays and mistletoe;D… Read More
2022-01-04 01:14
The night before Jim married me, he brought me a gift. It was a kitten, our Rass. During courtship couples share their past with one another, and I had shared that my heart was broken… Read More
2021-12-21 00:51
This was an extremely rough year. We all entered 2021 into a world shut down because of coronavirus. Then came the vaccines but still so many died - some because of the virus, and so… Read More
2021-11-30 14:56
My former parish priest used to read reflections at daily Mass from books by a priest named Carroll Stuhlmueller, C.P. I loved Stuhlmueller's poetic biblical meditations. His st… Read More
2021-11-24 12:21
To give thanks. That is what everyone does on a special Thursday in November. So, here's the thing. Despite having faced the worst day in my life, I do give thanks this year. Do… Read More
2021-11-20 18:51
My guess is this picture was taken right before my dad was sent to the South Pacific during WW2. I can see my Grandma Ida and my dad trying to put on brave smiles for the camera. I tre… Read More
2021-11-12 20:18
In this photo my Nanny is about 36 years old. She is with my Aunt Alice walking along some avenue in Newark. By this time she is a young widow with two young daughters. The year is ab… Read More
2021-11-02 00:23
Believe me, I have been one of those people who roll my eyes when someone shares too much information (TMI). But I need to share the following because I think trauma is something most… Read More
2021-10-31 10:02
Little by little the pieces of a broken life get put back together. Things start to normalize. New routines get put into place. Time marches on. While grief still looms in the backgro… Read More
2021-10-20 12:54
It hasn't been a particularly spectacular Fall this year in the mountains. Although, there are some pretty spectacular trees hinting at what could have been. "What could have been" s… Read More
2021-10-18 11:30
It really doesn't matter how old you are, or what life circumstance you find yourself in. Everyone needs to be seen, to be heard, to be comforted. I know whenever I feel overwhelmed… Read More
2021-10-14 21:02
After one and half months into widowhood here's what I've learned. Have that glass of wine but keep it at one - any more than that will throw you into a crying jag. Also, when t… Read More
2021-10-11 15:51
What can I say? This picture reminds me of my mom and dad - my fearless, fun-loving parents who just never grew up! As fate would have it these two screwballs found each other and marr… Read More
2021-10-10 11:52
It's all cumulative. Whether it's joy or sorrow, the moments and experiences of life pile up. No one tells you when you're four or five years old that your sixty nine year old self wi… Read More
2021-10-07 11:06
How are you doing? I'm okay. Are you sure? I'm not sure of anything anymore. Are you eating? Sure, I'm eating. Are you sleeping okay? Yes, every night for about five hours. Are you get… Read More
2021-10-04 08:31
Yesterday, I gathered with our children and grandchildren, along with Jim's only cousin at our family's Pocono cabin. We held a picnic on what would have been Jim's 79th birthday. The… Read More
2021-10-01 08:56
There is this sweet memory of walking around the block with my friends in Edison, NJ. We are laughing and kicking up leaves. It is an early October evening just seconds before sunset… Read More
2021-09-30 11:33
How does one circumvent becoming invisible? I think next to loneliness, not being seen is just as spirit crushing. I think this can happen to anyone in any stage of life. People that… Read More
2021-09-29 16:05
Even as I folded their little clothes every laundry day, I knew that these moments were numbered -finite. How I wanted time to just stand still - to literally stop the clock. I felt k… Read More
2021-09-28 10:48
Some days it's easy to feel like a road hazard. It's like I have a detour sign on my forehead. Go around - nothing to see here. Road work ahead. Slow down, don't you see the red flags… Read More
2021-09-27 11:47
I knew what I wanted from a marriage. I wanted what my parents had. A true partnership. I wanted a wing man. I wanted a cheerleader. I wanted someone I couldn't wait to get home… Read More
2021-09-26 20:00
4:00 p.m. Each day I look forward to 4:00 p.m. it means I made it through another day. When I was working, it was the time I arrived back home. In retirement, it was the time I w… Read More
2021-09-25 14:16
It can be a certain time of the day or the way the sunlight streams through the woods. It's cooking up the other half of the flank steak we so recently shared. It's not was… Read More
2011-01-02 22:40
Trying to keep a blog going is tough work, and so I decided to close off this blog. However,the book, Listening To Your Life by Frederick Buechner has inspired me to keep the blog going. It… Read More
2010-09-23 21:38
So amazing that two thousand years later a phrase from scripture can reach out and grab you. This Sunday's gospel reading from Luke 17:5-10 begins with the apostles asking Jesus, "Increase o… Read More
2010-09-06 16:38
Someone hacked into my Twitter account so I deactivated it - so annoying - why would anyone do that? So much identity theft out there that I am thinking of closing down this blog as well. It… Read More
2010-08-24 21:29
It's really hard to start a blog and keep at it. I guess I just don't have the discipline to log on and blog every day but I am hoping that after Labor Day I will have more time to think and… Read More
2010-06-13 00:24
Hate can be a hard lumpy mean thing that settles in a person’s soul. It is so easy to despise and hate what we don’t know. We formulate our mean little opinions of people based… Read More
2010-05-03 21:37
Admittedly I am a cradle Catholic schooled for twelve years in the parochial tradition. Yet, my family was anything but traditionally Catholic which I won’t go into here other than to… Read More
2010-02-14 02:32
I am a fan of anything written by the Canadian author Diane Schoemperlen. The first book I read by Diane was, Our Lady of the Lost and Found. It was such a phenomenal read that I went onlin… Read More
2010-02-09 00:30
For me being Catholic has never been easy. It is something I struggle with day in and day out. If I did not take my identity as a Catholic as seriously as I do, this struggle would be a n… Read More
2010-01-16 23:14
It was just one of those days. Someone's negativity was beginning to build up to a toxic level and I was feeling trampled down by it. My escape for these situations is to hit the bookstore… Read More
2010-01-12 02:04
Somewhere in the synapses of memory there can be this sense of having been in contact with the divine, even before having the ability to attach any verbiage to the feeling. Maybe it happens… Read More
2009-12-25 18:45
Here is an old favorite of mine from the poet, Rod McKuen. Enjoy.Simple GiftsThough the gift be small and simpleif the wish is widejust the simple gift of givingmakes you warm inside.Though… Read More
2009-12-21 23:47
Facing the test of mortality, what do we pray for? Courage. Strength. Sustained faith. Fast death. No pain. It's a path one walks alone. No one can free you from this. It's a test that can… Read More
2009-11-18 20:26
Gentlemen of the Jury:The best friend a man has in the world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those… Read More
2009-11-10 02:21
November is a "between" time - no longer autumn really, and yet, not quite winter. Somehow next Sunday's gospel story of the "end times" fits so perfectly into this 'tween season of early… Read More
2009-09-28 15:48
A spectacular autumn day in every way - makes you want to shout hallelujah. I am totally humbled in the wonder and awe of God's presence - to think what is yet for me to see! Read More
2009-09-11 14:36
O.K. I'll admit to being a bookalholic with very eclectic tastes. I just finished reading a book of poetry by a NJ poet, Diane Lockward. Her book, Eve's Red Dress is a phenomenal testament… Read More
2009-09-04 20:20
2009-08-31 00:40
Autumn air does a heart-danceon branches already gone barren;the misty air clings to golden leaves,making the trees bend even lower.It is a season to hold the trees close,to stand with them… Read More
2009-08-28 12:22
Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune--without the words, And never stops at all. . .~Emily DickinsonHow does one bring hope to the hopeless? What… Read More
2009-08-18 21:18
Cool August evenings signal summer's coming to a close and I am looking ahead to autumn and all its glories! Read More
2009-07-28 22:06
It doesn't come on suddenly like the onset of a 24 hour virus. But one day you look in the mirror and you just know - old age has arrived and it is looking at you square in the face. Maybe… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
This will be a big year for us. All of our children and grandchildren will now be within a short drive from where we live. My husband and I both turn the corner on a new decade of our lives… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
from Anita Diamant:"Romantic love is to married love as fireworks are to fireflies. Both light up the night and gladden the heart, but otherwise they're as different as grasshoppers and ants… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
Words are so powerful and Buechner's reflections in this book of daily meditations are amazing!From Frederick Buechner, Listening To your Life:"Faith. Hope Love. Those are names of course, t… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
If you buy yourself one meditation book for this year, buy Listening to Your Life - Daily Meditations with Frederick Buechner. The entry for January 16th is posted here in its beautifully wr… Read More
Subscribe to Between The Moon And New York City
Get updates delivered right to your inbox!