Tainted Chalice

The novel is a story of forbidden love, which takes the reader on a poignant but delightful journey that begins in a little Wheatbelt country town in Western Australia and leads to world-famous Opera Houses.It was a serendipitous encounter between Emily Grey and Father Matteo da Luca, a young and recently ordained Catholic Parish Priest. They were instantly attracted to each other - Emily fell in love with Father Matteo on that very first day. Emily is a strikingly beautiful woman whose effect on Father Matteo is to make him emotionally conflicted between his growing affections for Emily and his Priestly vocation. Father Matteo is seriously affected by Emily’s beauty, but he has taken Vows of Chastity. Also, he is already in a relationship with God. God has presented him with a tainted chalice. His dilemma could be solved by deciding between his Priesthood or his relationship with Emily - Or, he could have both. Father Matteo is a very principled, and he would never allow himself to be in two relationships, although he knows priests do have sexual relationships. In his mind, that would be cheating, badly. Emily understands Matteo’s conflicted state. Both don’t want to ’break up’, so they decided to have a Romantic Relationship that is based on music rather than sexual desires. Emily is always hopeful that their relationship will develop to more than that.Regardless, their relationship becomes entwined by their special gift - their singing voices. Emily is an emerging opera diva with a beautiful soprano voice, and Matteo has a God-given tenor voice. The story follows the lives of these two protagonists. Matteo’s story begins in a small Wheatbelt town in Western Australia through to him being ordained a Catholic Priest and assigned as Parish Priest to a Perth Parish. Meanwhile, Emily is studying Law at the University of Western Australia. She discovers that Law is a mistaken career choice. With the help of a good friend, she switches to classical voice training under the tutelage of a retired but world-renowned opera diva.The relationship between Emily and Matteo continues to strengthen. Finally, Father Matteo admits to himself that he loves Emily. He wants to marry her and enjoy a lifetime of music with her. In his Church, and under the hanging Crucifix overhead, Father Matteo tells God that he is going to quit the Priesthood. But God has other plans for His disciple. He will decide Matteo’s destiny.