CatholicStand: Seeking Jesus, An Interview with author Julie Davis
We do not draw people to Christ by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it. – Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water
In her second book, Seeking Jesus in Everyday Life: Prayers and Reflections for Getting Closer, Julie Davis shows that lovely light L’Engle cites. I’ve been a fan of Julie Davis since she autographed her first book, Happy Catholic, for me five years ago. I finally summoned the courage to request an interview, which became a long lunch of conversation among fellow writers.
During our time together, I discovered how this new book reflects her journey from atheism to Catholicism, why she wrote it and for whom, how it helps us become missionary disciples and the main takeaway for readers.
Nancy: Your faith journey has taken you from your childhood in an atheist home, into Christianity and then into Catholicism. How does your new book, Seeking Jesus In Everyday Life with its variety of quotes reflect that journey?
Julie: It reflects where I wound up. When I was telling a non-Catholic friend about the book, I realized how some parts of the book are so embedded in me. It didn’t occur to me that I was talking to a Protestant — about novenas, Mary, or the saints — in a way that some Protestants would not understand.
God started me off by making me love books and stories, and I would reread and rewatch them. After becoming Catholic, I would hear the Holy Spirit talking to me through the stories. Some of the characters in these stories reminded me of the saints, and their situations reminded me of the way God treated those saints so they could accomplish his work. Not an easy life, but look where they ended up! That experience reflects where I began with the variety of quotes. Now it’s all kind of amalgamated together with Jesus as the focus.
The book reflects the fact that my conversion began as a non-Christian. Then I knew I belonged to God the Father and then to the Holy Spirit. Now I feel that although I have had encounters with Jesus, they were not the intimate encounters I feel I should have with him. Maybe this is how most people start off as Christians.
Read the entire interview on CatholicStand.com
