Summit West emcee found genuine answers in Catholic teaching

POPULAR SPEAKER ON THEOLOGY OF THE BODY, NIC DAVIDSON TO SPEAK ABOUT LIVING ON PROVIDENCE

Nic Davidson, renowned speaker on the theology of the body, will emcee the Legatus Summit West this September in Colorado Springs, CO.

Davidson, 42, will share his life experiences as a foreign missionary with his wife, Jacelyn. Both grew up Protestants and were attending an Assemblies of God church in 2007 when a series of weekly talks over coffee with Father Mike Schmitz led them to the Catholic Church.

Davidson spoke about their family’s faith journey in a recent interview with Legatus magazine.

What will you discuss at the Legatus Summit West?

I’ll be speaking about being a missionary, living on providence, and always recognizing that everything you have comes from God. Because my wife and I have been missionaries, we’ve always been forced to live on providence. For so much of our lives, we’ve lived just on what God brought in. We never had any money, but then money would come in from all around the world at the right time.

How did it feel to be invited to be the emcee?

I was floored, but very excited. I’ve spoken at four separate Legatus events. Every time it’s always been such a huge blessing. Legates are such generous people who are doing so much with what God has given them.

Why did you and Jacelyn become missionaries?

My wife has known since she was 10 that she wanted to be a missionary. Her dad was a pastor and would have missionaries come in at least once a month. I always joke that I knew from when I met her that I was going to be a missionary. With the missionary life, you give up a lot that you’re comfortable with, and that’s a good challenge. The stories, experiences, and people you meet are amazing.

How did you and Jacelyn convert from Protestantism?

A few years into our marriage, while we were living overseas as missionaries, I had started to do some master’s-level theology study.

Intellectually and theologically, I was kind of discontented with a lot of what I had been told, but I didn’t really know how to figure that out. My wife and I decided when we got back from Asia that we would supplement our faith. We would go to our church on Sunday, but also try other things. We went to a Greek Orthodox church for a time.

In Duluth, where my wife was attending pre-med school, there was a Tuesday-night student Mass at the University of Minnesota. We figured we would try it. It was God’s perfect timing. The first priest we ever met was Father Mike Schmitz. The following week after Mass, we asked if he would go to coffee with us and answer some questions. We met every week, once a week, from ten to midnight, for five months. We would make a list of every question we could think of throughout the week, and we’d bring it to the table. We’d go through it. He would call me and humbly answer the questions. The following Easter Vigil, we became Catholic

How did you discover the theology of the body?

When we were discovering the Church, the first thing we went to besides Mass was a theology of the body series that Father Mike was doing. We missed the first two weeks, but went to the third one. It was life-changing. We had been married six and a half years, but there were a lot of things we hadn’t been told or understood about marriage. When theology of the body came along, it saved us, healed us, and brought us close to Christ.