Why Can’t I Find More Catholic Romance Novels?

Nov 07, 2023

Being a book reviewer, I’ve had my share of reviewing books in the Christian romance genre. And while it is fair to say that Catholic romance novels are just within that category, I can’t remember seeing such novels as often as I saw Christian novels from Protestants.

It isn’t that there are more non-Catholic authors in the world.

And I think it isn’t also because there are more non-Catholic readers. But then, why is it that there seems to be a smaller number of Catholic romance novels in general?

When I tried to look for the answer, several articles gave me a clue of the possible reason for this. They all pointed out that romance novels may be the female equivalent of porn and is not a healthy material for most Catholics to consume!

Yes, that seemed to be one reason. Many experiences were documented where wives felt disappointed with their husbands and sought escape by reading romance novels. These experiences also seemed to imply that the more they read these materials, the more dissatisfied they became with their partners in life.

But then if this is the case, I think reading romance novels shouldn’t be blamed. What we need to do is to write better ones that can help people instead of drawing them away from real life.

Why not write about real characters who learn to grow from their flaws? Why not let the reader see how we often seek to find in people the perfection that can only be found in God?

The fact that romance novels are about love doesn’t mean that it should be about lies.

Along the way, we can also present stories that give us hope amidst our brokenness.

After all, haven’t we all read that one story that inspired us to live better lives instead of pushing us toward despair? Aren’t there many novels out there offering so much truth and wisdom within their pages?

Romance novels are also novels. And since they are meant to highlight love, couldn’t we use this chance to help people learn more about what true love means?

While there will always be an element of escape in reading fiction, such can also offer timeless elements of truth, virtue and heroism.

Love is a sacred gift from heaven, and the love between spouses should foreshadow the love between Christ and the Church.

It is love alone that will remain when we’re in heaven. Love that is pure and beautiful and full of grace!

Whatever goodness or perfection therefore that the reader can find in our stories should inspire them instead of keeping them away from truth. It should draw them upwards, towards authentic and self-sacrificing love, not the love that focuses only on pleasure and draws back from suffering.

Now this doesn’t mean that Catholic romance novels should be all “preachy”. But we can feature characters who can stay true to their beliefs while living ordinary lives.

Nicholas Sparks did not always write about Catholic characters. But he did imbue them with Catholic virtues.

One example is Jamie from Spark’s novel “A Walk to Remember”. Even though she was a Baptist pastor’s daughter, she was one character who made me feel as though being saintly was something that gave life to a character instead of taking it away. From her life, one can learn chastity, courage and hope, virtues that can be emulated in real life.

These good traits need not make us feel dissatisfied with the people we love.

They should instead inspire us to become better for the very people that we love! And they should, in the end, point us toward God’s love.

Whenever we read about the lives of saints, our goal is not to compare them with our loved ones and feel bad about how imperfect they are. Our purpose should be to see how despite all their weaknesses, they were able to attain holiness and great love.

The task of the author therefore, is to use fiction to narrate the true substance of life. It is to reveal what is true and good and to draw the reader towards spiritual beauty and authentic love.

Can you suggest some good Catholic romance novels?

“Jamie was more than just the woman I loved. In that year Jamie helped me become the man I am today. With her steady hand she showed me how important it was to help others; with her patience and kindness she showed me what life is really all about. Her cheerfulness and optimism, even in times of sickness, was the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed.” - Landon Carter, A Walk To Remember