by Amy Reinhardt
Special to The Leaven
He is a husband, father of two, Spanish teacher, a doctoral candidate and now a published author; and he is only 26 years old. Meet Christopher J. Rziha.
Born and raised in Atchison, Rziha and his eight siblings had a strong Catholic upbringing. His father teaches theology at Benedictine College in Atchison, while his mother continues to home school their children.
Rziha grew up with a love of reading. He considers J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis to be two of his literary influences.
After graduating from Benedictine, Rziha got his master’s degree at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and is now working on a Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, where he resides with his wife and children.
Rziha’s first novel, entitled “The Way of Lucherium,” is classified as Catholic fantasy. Here is a short synopsis:
“In a war-torn land where the line between the spiritual and the material is blurred, an ambitious bard named Geoffrey falls out of favor with his powerful superiors and falls into a life of grace, freedom and fulfillment when he joins the followers of an ancient Lord and embraces their paradoxical path of light and life.”
The story idea, said Rziha, came from a conversation he had with one of his professors at Baylor, who told him: “Tragedy is the most enduring form of literature, because it gets at the deepest elements of the human experience, which is loss.”
The devout student felt called to explore a storyline that showcased how the tragedy of life yields a greater triumph, according to Catholic belief.
If Christ’s death and resurrection teaches us anything, said Rziha, it’s that there is a deeper unity of life and love that undergirds our experiences of sinfulness and brokenness.”
His studies on the intersection of Spanish mysticism and Spanish religious theater inspired the fantasy genre.
Lives of the saints — especially Spanish mystics like St. Teresa of Ávila and St. John of the Cross — heavily influenced the creation of the story’s heroes.
“Every name in the book has a deeper meaning that connects the character with a different virtue — or vice, if it’s an evil character.”
It may come as a shock, but Rziha didn’t plan on writing a full book. He thought it would be a quick, short story.
God had other plans. In six months, Rziha had typed out a manuscript containing over 80,000 words.
He wore an editor’s cap for the next six months, fielding feedback to get the book ready for potential publishers.
Since few Catholic publishers deal in fiction, three years passed before Rziha received the incredible news.
It was En Route Books and Media that added “The Way of Lucherium” to their collection of young adult fiction.
The big question now is whether the novel will become a series.
“Provided I have the time and inspiration of the Holy Spirit,” Rziha said, “I’m open to continuing this narrative for at least a couple more books.”
Meanwhile, Rziha promotes his novel with help from mentors like Angie Bittner, the rural youth ministry outreach coordinator for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.
Bittner met Rziha through a faith group for high school leaders called NEKRYC (Northeast Kansas Rural Youth Council).
“Christopher has found a creative way to share the beauty of our faith without preaching it directly,” Bittner said. “Rather, he’s offered an adventure for readers to discover or reinforce the truth themselves.”
“The Way of Lucherium” is a classic hero’s quest of redemption, conversion, loyalty and sacrifice. It’s also a dramatization of St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s “Little Way,” explained Rziha.
The small ways we cooperate with God’s grace allow us to gain virtue and be open to the movement of the Holy Spirit, he explained, and he hopes people contemplate how grace operates in their own lives after reading his book.
Rziha wrote his novel with a central question in mind: What if the realities of grace and sin were made explicitly visible in our bodies, souls and relationships?
“A greater awareness of God’s grace has helped me become a better teacher, student, father and husband,” he said.
To read more about “The Way of Lucherium” and Rziha, visit the website at: https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/lucherium.
