How does the author use symbolism in the novel, Wheat That Springeth Green?

The Catholic priesthood symbolizes the trials and rewards of living within both the sacred and secular realms in the modern world. A priest can do nothing without involving the greater dimension of spiritual responsibilities. Every action a priest takes and every thought a priest has must be measured against the implications of the soul. Indeed, here, it is the presence of priests, whatever their failings, as men who commit their lives to the spiritual world ultimately that make significant the modern world’s larger drift away from such concerns. In the novel, priests are a reminder that materialism is not the entirety of the world. In examining a number of different templates for priests ranging from those absolutely committed to the day to day busyness of running a church with its enormous financial realities to those who are fanatically committed to the spiritual life of prayer and contemplation, the novel offers examples of priests who themselves struggle to balance those two imperatives.