From ‘Catholic Lite’ to Catholic Light
Former news anchor and broadcast journalist Tracy Davidson refers to her religious upbringing as “Catholic lite.” But as she got older, she found herself becoming both a recipient and sharer of Catholic light, which came to illuminate her actions and perspective on life. We discussed her spiritual growth, her illustrious career, and her new mission to reach people in a more personal way on “Christopher Closeup.”
Tracy and her two siblings grew up with parents who had substance abuse and mental health issues. Still, she credits her mother with doing the best she could to plant the “seeds” of faith. “I received all the sacraments, and those seeds were deeply rooted,” Tracy recalled.
Those seeds only started blossoming about 20 years ago when Tracy felt drawn to grow closer to God and to study her faith more deeply. At first, she joined some friends for a Christian Bible study, then tried to find a Catholic Bible study group that fit into her busy work schedule at NBC 10 in Philadelphia, but she was unsuccessful. “Then I just started studying the Bible at home on my kitchen table early in the morning,” Tracy said. That led to a desire to pursue a degree in the area of religion, so she earned a Religious Studies certificate at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and got her master’s in Holistic Spirituality at Chestnut Hill College.
After earning that final degree, someone asked Tracy why she pursued it. She answered, “Because I wanted to talk to people about God’s love, but I didn’t think that people would listen to the girl on TV, admittedly, Catholic lite, [who didn’t] know much about all the rules.”
This person inquired again, “Okay, but why?” This time, Tracy responded, “Because there is no other explanation but God’s love that my brother, my sister, and I are all living productive, happy, healthy lives. I credit the Lord.”
“I always did believe that the future could be better,” Tracy added, referencing her troubled home life in her youth. “I can think back…going to 5:00 Mass, and I was part of the guitar group where I sang. I always felt incredibly peaceful at Mass. There was something inside me, the message was always that it was going to get better. And I tell people that today. Whether I’m talking in spiritual terms or not, I say, ‘You get to decide how you’re going to view the future, and I’m going to always choose hope.'”
After 40 years working in news, Tracy recently stepped away from that job to focus on public speaking and mentoring young women. Faith remains a focus of her life and work, though. She even received the John Cardinal Foley Award for Excellence in Communications from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.
She said, “Even though I didn’t go the pastoral counseling route, I feel like I had a lot of classes in that, and I feel well-prepared to journey with anyone up the mountain regardless of their spiritual tradition, whatever they’re facing. [Also], I just delivered a commencement address, and I quoted one of my favorite songs. The lyrics are, ‘God put a million doors in the world for His love to walk through. One of those doors is you.’ I actually used that in a commencement address at Ursinus College, which is an incredibly diverse community…I said, regardless of your spiritual tradition, that holds true. We’re all called to love one another and to serve one another.”
For free copies of the Christopher News Note Talking to God: Everyday Prayer For Everyday People, write: The Christophers, 264 West 40th Street, Room 603, New York, NY 10018; or e-mail: mail@christophers.org.
