A TRUTHFUL MAN: A Modern Catholic Novel
What Is Truth?
Thank you for tuning into this episode!
I’ll be talking about my new novel, A Truthful Man, which is going to surprise many of my regular readers, as it’s a big departure from my more light-hearted Christian equestrian romances and the Riding Out series.
What urged me to write in this different genre?
The Dimming of the Church
Most of you know that I am a practising Catholic. Like so many faithful, I’m very disheartened by the direction our Church is moving in: far from a strong rock holding fast against the current of popular ideas, she is threatening to drown with them. She should be a brilliant beam guiding us through the darkness of the world, but instead, the prince of this world – that father of lies – is threatening to extinguish her light.
A sad example of this is how good and holy priests, far from receiving support from their bishops for preaching the Gospel, are being told they are ‘too rigid’ and ‘divisive,’ and their ‘tone is unacceptable.’ And what is their reward for proclaiming the Truth of Jesus Christ? Having their priestly faculties removed. In other words, these loyal shepherds are being thrown out, just when the Catholic Church is in dire need of heroic priests to speak out against the evil spirit of the times and guide Christ’s lambs along the narrow way to heaven.
A New Spiritual Direction
My concerns about all this prompted me to visit a wonderful monsignor for spiritual direction. This very holy priest is 96 years young!
When I confided my worries, he laid out the history of the Catholic Church and revealed how she has survived manylow periods throughout the centuries, yet has always prevailed against the gates of hell, as Christ promised.
Heartened by his reassurance that this, too shall pass, I was about to leave, then he asked what I did?
When I told him I write Catholic fiction, his eyes lit up. He pointed a gnarly finger at me and told me to pursue that path. “People are starving for the truth. That’s your mission! It’s a gift from the Holy Spirit.”
His strong affirmation of my calling as a Christian writer filled me with deep joy and the idea for “A Truthful Man” came to me on the five-minute drive home. I was working on another project at the time, but jotted down the basic storyline of “Truthful” while it was still fresh in my mind and continued to add details over the next few months. Once my previous book, “Riding Out the Rift” was published, I was able to give the new novel my full attention.
The Laity Steps Up
When I was growing up, it was unthinkable that a Catholic clergyman should lose his priestly faculties because he was faithful to his calling. The world has certainly changed, and Satan is having his day. Hundreds – yes, hundreds – of good priests are being removed by their prelates and forced to find outside work or starve. To hear stories of their having to sleep on the couch in their parents’ nursing homes because they have nowhere else to go, is heart-breaking. Meanwhile, progressive priests are given the green light to pursue their ungodly and wholly un-Catholic agendas.
The Catholic faithful are now waking up to the plight of these holy men and taking to heart this quote from Archbishop Fulton Sheen: “Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our priests and religious. It is up to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes, and the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests, your bishops act like bishops, and your religious act like religious.”
The laity have responded and a new organization has sprung up to provide for the many needs of these hapless men. To cite their website, The Coalition for Canceled Priests is “a group of committed Catholics, lay people and clergy, who came together in the spring of 2021 after one too many instances of persecution or betrayal.” Although based in the United States, they will help priests in any part of the world and are in need of funds to carry out their mission.
Currently, the coalition is working to acquire a home for abandoned holy priests, who must immediately vacate their rectory and whose pay is cut or eliminated. They need somewhere to go while they appeal their cancelation in Rome, which takes years.
Why This Book?
I wrote “A Truthful Man” to bring awareness to the predicament of these priests, and the state of the Catholic Church in general. While it is a purely fictitious work, it nevertheless deals with hard, sad facts.
There are many troubling things going on with the Bride of Christ today, but they are all the more reason why she needs us faithful to stay and fight for her. As Our Lady said to Pedro Regis, “Trust fully in the Power of God and all will turn out well for you. Onward in defence of the truth.”
Is it easy to be Catholic or a Christian? No, and it’s only going to get harder. But those of us who persevere to the end will win the crown of eternal life with God. The alternative is too dreadful to contemplate!
And now, I hope you enjoy this novel.