Author: Avellina Balestri
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A Man for All Seasons
Foolish men seek out a name, yet the wisest hold their own, set aside without shame, standing strong, standing strong, alone. Read more
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The Talk of the Three-in-One: Meditations on the Trinity
To be Trinitarian, to be Incarnational, is to me to seek out the Lover, Beloved, and Love in everything, to see the image of God generously incarnating in this world through so many signs and wonders, simple and extraordinary. Read more
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Abraham’s Sacrifice: Reflections from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
Both Jewish and Muslim traditions of the story, and the places connected to them, have their own unique ability to capture different angles of this radical example of self-sacrifice… Read more
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Soldier’s Heart: A Sense & Sensibility Fanfiction
“But, Miss Dashwood, Miss Marianne, I…” He paused, and there was nothing but pain on his face. “I…will miss you, Marianne. Yes, if you believe me capable of any honesty, I…I will miss you…very much.” Read more
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Mary and Fatima: Reflections on the Sacred Feminine in Christianity and Islam
Both Mary and Fatima are seen, in their respective traditions, as “queens of paradise.” And what is a queen of paradise? Perhaps it has less to do with crowns and scepters, and more to do with a certain fullness of being, a height of proximity to the divine light. Read more
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Our Lady of Britannia
Thou stood on Newgate Arch and graced Pendragon’s shield; Cardigan bore thy taper and Walsingham thy seal… Read more
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A Kiss Goodnight: A Game of Thrones Fanfiction
“Outside, when other eyes may see, you must steel yourself to never shed tears unless they may gain you some point in their game. But you may always feel free to cry in front of me…” Read more
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Easter to Me: A Personal Reflection on Holy Week
My childhood memories of Holy Week, when Christians the world over commemorate the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, are a kaleidoscope of images and impressions, turning from lighter colors to deepening hues. Read more
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Paschal Mystery: The Death of God and the Paradox of Salvation
All sin, in a sense, “wounds” God, causes rifts in our relationship with Him. We pierce Him through the heart, and each other through our hearts, constantly. It has real consequences, and real restitution must be made before reconciliation can take place. Read more
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The Riddle of Notre Dame
A holocaust of love burns boldly through the dusk. Cruciform, a candle gleams, in a city’s heart, consumed. Read more
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Star of the Sea: Marian Devotion through the Prism of a Medieval Hymn
I find particular inspiration in the soaring poetry of the Middle Ages in honor of the Virgin and believe it to be a wonderful method of sharing the Catholic understanding of Mary’s place in the Christian life and why we pay her homage. Read more
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Hidden Queen
Look into the poorest eyes, and find the hidden queen. This pool of liquid light reveals the depth of the Red Sea… Read more
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Mother of Sorrows
I’ve never seen him…dead before, he who was always so full of life, more fully alive than anyone I have ever known, pulsing with youth, agility, vigor. Life…now drained out. Read more
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Dewi Sant
St. David used his power when his mother was in labor, and soldiers came to slay her, but hailstorms drove them back. Read more
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Christ in a Waiting Room: An Early Spring Spiritual Epiphany
The painting showed the body of Christ being taken down by the cross, about to be placed in the arms of the sorrowing mother, and all at once I imagined the tears trickling down her face and the blood trickling from his heart, and it felt that everything around me dissolved in that one moment. Read more
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All in the Family: A Harry Potter Fanfiction
“They say the evening star carries with it a soul…and to each person, it brings the soul of the person most loved by them, who have crossed over to the other side.” Read more
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You Know Nothing: A Game of Thrones Fanfiction
You know nothing, they keep telling me, hoping, perhaps, I will prove easy to rule if I declare myself their ruler. Perhaps their assessment is true, even after everything I have endured. Read more
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Hussain at Karbala
I wander the sands, smeared crimson o’er gold; the blood of my house runs red as dusk. The children are crying, their throats parched earth. Read more
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Our Love Must Make Us Strong: The Music and Mysticism of Loreena McKennitt
While no single religion may be able to claim Loreena for their own, I think there is no doubt that she is a deeply spiritually aware person, and has led others to search for God and the meaning of existence through her music. Read more
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For Wrath, For Ruin: A Lord of the Rings Fanfiction
Is this the way of you mortals? Is this the thing you most fear? We have tasted it now, though we are unused to it…I am unused to it…you see? Read more