Avellina Balestri
The Diamond of England: The Mission and Martyrdom of St. Edmund Campion
St. Edmund Campion first became a major part of my life when I was assigned to read Edmund Campion: Hero of God’s Underground by Harold...
Star of the Sea: Marian Devotion through the Prism of an Old English...
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary has played an integral role in the tradition of Christian prayer since the early days of the Church,...
Water in the Wasteland: Unexpected Elements of Hope and Redemption in Television...
I am the kind of person who sometimes derives hope from unusual things. As a lover of stories, I often will comment that a...
The Games We Play: A Reflection on Competition vs. Sacrifice
Games. Always playing games. Filling up the mind with plotting, and our heart’s surge crested with the thrill. Our little games, so all-important to...
The Eyes of the Heart: A Movie Review of “Prince of Foxes”
Year: Â 1949Â
Filming: Â Black & WhiteÂ
Length:Â 107 minutesÂ
Genre: Â Adventure/Drama/History/SwashbucklerÂ
Maturity: Â PG (for intense thematic elements)
Cast:Â Tyrone Power (Andrea Orsini), Orson Welles (Cesare Borgia), Wanda Hendrix (Camilla...
And Thy Word Broke Their Swords: The Empowering Depth and Dimension of Advent...
There is more to Advent and Christmas than just waiting for and celebrating Christ's birth. It serves as the beginning of an epic, and...
To Be a Pilgrim: Thanksgiving as a Pilgrimage
   Thanksgiving, for most people here in America, is something of a precursor of Christmas that initiates a deluge of holiday hits playing ad...
Robin Hood “telling his beads”: A Catholic reflection on the prince of thieves
The legends of Robin Hood and his Merry Men exert a near universal appeal, and have done so for generations. From ballads to books...
A Hallowed Eve: The Spiritual and Cultural Traditions of Halloween Â
Halloween has always been a complicated holiday, laced together with many threads of different spiritual traditions and cultural customs. It has always stirred up...
Where your treasure lies: A spiritual reflection on an election year
 This election cycle, Catholic Americans are presented with the hair-raising choice between Hillary Clinton, a woman whose corrupt record and virulent support for the...