Children and Fruitful Love in Catholic Poetry: Our Third Issue

Dear readers and contributors,

Voice & Virtue is delighted to announce the theme for our third issue: "Glimpses of Eden: Life and Fruitful Love." Following our previous issues—centered on the Holy Family and the sacrificial covenant of marriage—we now invite our community to step into the garden. This spring, we ask you to reflect on the beauty of life itself, the kind of love that creates and sustains, and the divine pattern written into every human soul.

The Theme

This issue draws inspiration from Psalm 127:3:

“Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.”

In Glimpses of Eden, we turn our eyes to the life-giving nature of love—not merely romantic love, but the Godly love that created the universe with a word, formed each of us in His image, and continues to cultivate life through the mystery of family, parenthood, and creation. This is a love that multiplies rather than consumes, that bears fruit and makes beauty—like a well-tended garden rooted in truth.

We also boldly enter the pro-life conversation, artistically and intellectually. In a world where life is too often devalued or discarded, we affirm the inviolable dignity of every person—from the unborn to the elderly, from the disabled to the forgotten. Through metaphor and meaning, argument and art, this issue seeks to offer a rich defense of life and a vision of love that is fruitful, holy, and deeply human.

Our Vision’s Thematic Connection

At Voice & Virtue, we believe that beauty can be the beginning of belief. Glimpses of Eden is a call to artists and thinkers to bear witness to the sanctity of life—not just through polemic or policy but through poetry, storytelling, and the quiet power of creative truth.

The life-giving love of God is the same love that brought the world into being and continues to make all things new. It is the love of a gardener, tending the soul, sowing seeds of grace, and rejoicing in the fruit. It is the love of a mother, bearing life in sacrifice and joy. It is the love of a father, providing and protecting with strength and tenderness. It is the love of a Creator who saw what He had made and called it good.

Through this issue, we hope to reveal how God's image is most clearly reflected in the love that gives life—not just biologically but spiritually, emotionally, and artistically.

Call for Submissions

Catholic and Christian Conservative Literature and Art

We are now accepting submissions for our third issue. We welcome works that align with Christian, Catholic, and socially conservative values, including:

• Poetry that reflects on divine love, the sanctity of life, and the beauty of fruitful relationships

• Fiction that portrays the joy and struggle of parenthood, family legacy, or life-affirming decisions

• Essays presenting thoughtful, persuasive pro-life arguments from theological, philosophical, or cultural angles

• Visual art capturing the garden-like beauty of life, family, and God’s creative hand

• Personal narratives witnessing to the transformative experience of choosing life and loving sacrificially

• Cultural critiques that challenge anti-life ideologies and highlight the need for a life-affirming cultural renewal

• Theological reflections on the Creator’s love and our call to participate in His life-giving work

• Social commentary on how fruitful love—within families, churches, and communities—can revive our nation’s moral and spiritual roots

Submission Period: April 1, 2025 – May 15, 2025

We welcome both explicitly faith-based and socially conservative perspectives that uphold the sacredness of life and explore the fullness of what it means to love fruitfully.

Read our Submission Guidelines to get started!

Join Us in Celebrating Life

Glimpses of Eden is not merely about nostalgia for paradise lost—it is about catching sight of paradise promised. It is about lifting our eyes from the barren fields of a culture that devalues life and turning instead to the blooming gardens of homes, churches, and communities that still believe in love, in beauty, and in the sacredness of each human soul.

We invite you to write, paint, reflect, and sing of this love—a love that makes life, sustains it, and creates beauty wherever it goes.

We look forward to reading your work and sharing it with our growing community of readers committed to faith, tradition, and the transformative power of art.

Sincerely,

LyLena D. Estabine

Founder, Voice & Virtue