Do you think that you can be an author and a priest at the same time.

[Adviser/asker]

I think I would make a very good priest, but I know I am a very, very good author. I am worried that if I become a priest, people won’t take me seriously as an author, or they will think my books are just boring religious ones or worse, propaganda. I am also worried that people will read to much of my priestlyness into my books, especially in the instances where I do put some Christian themes in it. In brief, I don’t want my books to be “religous books”, just books that have religious themes, amongst many. I think that’s how I can best serve the lord. But I also think I could be great at being a priest. Advice? Thank you! 

ps: Saying “I know I am a great priest/author” might sound prideful, but trust me, everyone I know says it. And you don’t know who I am so I don’t think it’s possible for me to be prideful here. 

[Swami Mommy]

Write under a pseudonym if you’re concerned that your future congregation or your non-denominational readers won’t take your work seriously or would think  that your themes were too religious if they knew you were a priest.  Problem solved...

Edited November 3, 2020 by Swami Mommy

[adoro.te.devote]

Hi, well I think there are priests who are also authors, such as Fr Michael Giesler who wrote some novels about the early Church. (Cardinal Newman wrote a fiction book on the early Church martyrs as well). However, I would recommend just giving this to God with trust, because remember a vocation to the priesthood is much greater than anything we can give to God I like to write as well and to do art, and maybe this is something I'd get to do in my vocation, but I'm trying to remember that my vocation is something that I should always put first. God's will first  and our happiness in Heaven would be in how much we have loved God, and if we have done His will. The priesthood is a very very special calling, it is to represent Christ Himself, and if there is a choice between our vocation and a career, I believe we should choose our vocation first. But God might use our gifts there too. I heard of a cloistered nun who used to be a music composer, and she composed the soundtrack for the movie "Therese" (the music there is so beautiful btw). There are religious who also do art or write. But it's all in God's will, and He wants most of all our love and our will  He would reward us beyond our hopes if we give Him our liberty... remember how Jesus said we would receive the hundredfold for giving up the world for Him. If God wills for you to keep writing if you become a priest, don't worry if people would take it seriously etc. All that matters is pleasing Him. If your books would do good for souls, that matters more than what the literary establishment thinks of them

[Nunsuch]

There are tons of priests who also write, including a huge number of Jesuits. But think about Andrew Greeley, Richard Rohr, Jim Martin, Dan Horan, and many more I could name. What kind of writing do you do? Are you published? 

[Sister Leticia]

23 hours ago, Adviser/asker said:

I think I would make a very good priest, but I know I am a very, very good author.

It sounds like you have already published, or are a blogger. In this case, you already have feedback from your readers - and reviewers, if you've written books. So if your reviews are glowing, then yes, you can say you're a very good author.

Whether you are called to priesthood, and would make a very good priest, is another matter. People might say this to you - that happens. But in the end, it only matters if God says this to you, and the diocese/religious order you apply to agrees with him. So focus on listening to that Voice, and discerning what it is saying.

And remember that with God, the giver of all gifts, no gift or talent is wasted - but it can and will be transformed. 

[Adviser/asker]

Thank you 

[gloriana35]

Many priests are authors. Many authors, in any state of life, have insufficient income from their writing alone, and must hold other jobs. (I'm not suggesting that priesthood is just a job - what I mean is that working on writing does not have to mean one does not fulfil obligations for other professions.)