I was checking out the home page for the American Christian Fiction Writers because I was contemplating joining (in addition to being a member of the CWG). While I was on the page, they were featuring one of their authors, Laura Hilton. In her bio, one of the comments she makes is that she wants to make sure all of her writing glorifies God.

As much as I disagree with — and, in truth, must condemn as false — her religion, I have to admire her motive here. It made me question whether that is what I am doing with my writing.

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, For the Greater Glory of God, is written on every one of my handwritten letters, not only in recognition and adoration of my Creator, but also as a reminder of the purpose of what I am doing (and it helps cut down on sharing gossip).

Since I add words to my novel via Word, it’s not as if I type AMDG before every session, but I’m starting to think that I should. Is there any better way to ensure that my writing is true to my intent as a writer than to pray about it? And praying before a writing session isn’t something I do with any great frequency. If I do, it’s more along the lines of offering my writing to God to do with as He wills, and that helps me to let go and write because then there’s no pressure. I just do my best and forget the rest (thank you, Tony Horton).

If I think about whether I am glorifying God in my writing, I realize I probably don’t do it as much as I could. And there is a distinct possibility that I will find myself doing some serious revamps (groan) of existing works in progress in the near future.

Of course, the dilemma of glorifying God in fiction without preaching lies at the heart of what it is to be a Catholic writer. As a fiction writer, a good story is the most important part of a book. But as a Catholic fiction writer, writing fiction takes on more responsibility than the work merely being devoid of objectionable content. But what does that really mean?

Does that mean we have to be writing stories centered around the Catholic faith? Does there have to be a priest in every book? A major conversion? Struggling Catholics? Can they just be struggling people? How does this work in dystopian and sci-fi? All of these are questions I, and other Catholic fiction writers, ask ourselves. In what way does our Catholic faith shine through?

The solution to finding these answers, I think, must be prayer — praying that we are glorifying God with our talents as He would desire us to. The Benedictine mantra is Ora et Labora, Pray and Work. It’s a maxim that holds no matter what we’re doing, and it’s past time I apply it to my writing.

On a side note, tempting as it is to join a group that could give me and my writing more exposure, I am deciding against joining the ACFW. But thanks, Laura Hilton!

M. R. Zapp is a mother of five, an avid fan of Regency history, artist, and writer. She has recently taken on a labor of love as editor for Altar and Hearth Magazine, is contemplating the indie publication of her first novel, and blogs at Apostolate of the Pen. She nurses babies, wipes noses, hates ironing and folding clothes, is working on several more novels, and loves to cook.

Stephen Weisenbach is a freelance copy editor and proofreader, and guest-posts editor for the Catholic Writers Guild blog. He has worked with a number of Catholic media organizations, including Scepter Publishers, Circle Media, Catholic News Agency, Tiber River, and FultonSheen.com, as well as ad agencies serving national accounts. You can reach Steve at sweisenbach @ ymail.com.

4 Replies to “Glorifying God in Catholic Fiction, by M. R. Zapp”

  1. Hi Steve,

    Catholic fiction can glorify God by exemplifying the the life of grace in the Catholic/Christian characters. Like the fiction (parables) used by Jesus, modern fiction can demonstrate the strength and beauty of the Gospel message and Divine teaching. Secular literature certainly glorifies secular values, Catholics are called to set straight the readers of secular literature. My concern is that the we present Catholic truth as attractively as the secular authors deliver their own values.

    I’m reminded of G. K. Chesterton’s Father Brown, who after solving a mystery was more interested in changing the heart of the criminal than in punishing him. Consequently, the notorious Flambeau never served time in jail, but became an intimate friend of Fr. Brown, a convert and a detective who solved rather than executed crimes. The message of love, hope, forgiveness and redemption is there for all to see without the need to hit the reader over the head with doctrine.

    God Bless,

    Don

    1. Don – I think sometimes all of us (myself included) look at this backward. The entire world – secular and Christian – is God’s world. That world is good (though there is sin in it). Any art that honestly engages that world is good insofar as it is true. A landscape painting, for instance, is a good thing, or a musical composition. Catholic values permeate who we are, of course, but the role of art is not primarily to promote values but to help people truly SEE (in the broadest sense), and this is true even of abstract art (which helps us more clearly see shapes and colors). Just as science helps us comprehend the world scientifically, art helps us comprehend it aesthetically. All that is true is of God insofar as it is true; a Catholic scientist may or may not produce better science than a secular scientist, a Catholic artist may or may not produce better art than a secular artist – but insofar as any of it is good, it is of God. Of course any worker in any field can distort his/her talents to use them to promote sin & evil. But that is the problem of sin in whatever endeavor one is undertaking.

  2. Good article – very reflective. From the context, I assume Laura Hilton is a Protestant, in which case “condemn as false” may be an overstatement. Our Church teaches that Protestant churches have many elements of the truth. This, for instance, from the Catholic Catechism: “Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements. Christ’s Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church.” Blessings. Arthur

  3. At seven in the morning, before sitting down to write, and thinking of all the potential answers to the question placed before us, I think the fundamental platform of Catholic writing must be the living of a Catholic life, which will include prayer, sacrifice, and evangelization–note the latter, it does not say ‘ecumenical activities.’ All that will add up to material for fiction and non-fiction of all modes, as well as its more useful benefit to one’s personal spiritual journey.

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