CBB Interview with Cathy Gilmore

Last updated on: November 30, 2015 at 5:30 pm by Pete Socks

CBB Interview with Cathy Gilmore 2015-11-30T12:15:07-05:00 Pete Socks

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Cathy Gilmore is married mom of three, living in St. Louis, MO. As an award winning author and speaker, I help adults and children cultivate spiritual imagination.

Little Lamb Finds Christmas is actually my second published title, both by Liguori Publications. It is the holiday parable in which readers experience the LOVE of the Good Shepherd, the MIRACLE of the Peaceable Kingdom and the JOY of Christmas all snuggled together in one captivatingly illustrated book.

PETE: How did you develop the story of Lemi the lamb?

CATHY GILMORE: I developed the story of Lemi, the Lamb as a result of my experience as a catechist in the Montessori-style preschool Bible study called Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS). I had witnessed the power of certain simple messages that speak straight to the heart. In CGS these truths are discovered by children through the use of materials and figures that are hand-made by the catechists. My heart nagged at me. Was there a way to offer a profound CGS type of experience to a broad population in the pages of a storybook? I felt certain that a picture book with that kind of depth and meaning was possible.

The challenge I gave myself was to integrate the New Testament Parable of the Good Shepherd and the Old Testament Prophecy of the Peaceable Kingdom into the context of the narrative of Jesus’ birth. If a lamb told the story himself as a first person account, it could give a powerful access point for the child’s imagination. Thus, the moment where the lamb, Lemi, realizes, “I found my forever Shepherd,” with whom lions and lambs can be friends, and “I am HIS little sheep,” can be deeply internalized for a child.

PETE: Why was this a story you had to tell?

CATHY GILMORE In the fall and winter last year, when so much violence was tearing apart Ferguson not too far from my home in St. Louis, I was struck with God’s beautiful timing in the release of Little Lamb Finds Christmas. Lemi the lamb shows us that the true gift of Christmas is the miracle of PEACE…in our hearts and among us all. It’s obvious that our world needs this message no less for Christmas this year.

PETE: Who is the artist who created the beautiful illustrations in Little Lamb Finds Christmas?

CATHY GILMORE I had been struck by the endearing whimsical realism of the sample work of Missouri artist, Kim Wilson and suggested her to Liguori. I couldn’t be more thrilled with the results.Her love for animals and her creativity thrives at what she calls her Art Barn in Dittmer, MO.

PETE: You have also co-written a book about Easter. Can you tell us a little about that book?

CATHY GILMORE: My first book, Easter Bunny’s Amazing Day was co-authored with my sister, Carol Benoist, in which we, as Catholics have done for centuries, took a secular symbol and reframed it with Christian meaning. We took Easter’s furry bunny mascot and allow him to “experience” the love of Jesus as a witness to the Resurrection. It is a precious story that demonstrates that Jesus’ love casts out fear!

PETE: Do you have any other book projects you are working on or have any future plans for more books?

CATHY GILMORE: This spring, on my website blog, www.catherinecgilmore.com, I’ll be releasing a series of brief guided reflection videos based on the vivid imagery of mystical saints to help us use spiritual imagination to enter more deeply into each Mystery of the Rosary. I’m also currently working on a 20 book series with more little animals, and even insects, who each tell their story as a “witness” to a key moment of the Gospel. In our world where often the dominant drift in the use of creativity is toward darkness, I feel deeply called to help people fill their imagination with what is good, true and beautiful in ways that lead them to God.

On Twitter, for daily doses of faith that smiles, follow me @PowerofParable.

PETE: Time for my signature ending question. This is a blog about books. What books are currently on your bookshelf to read?

CATHY GILMORE: The Well, by Stephanie Landsem was the book I read and thoroughly enjoyed last summer. It is a great example of an accomplished writer climbing into a Gospel narrative and painting a picture of it that is unforgettable.

The Life of Mary as Seen by the Mystics, by Raphael Brown, is my all-time favorite book. My copy is dog-eared and falling apart, but I return to this compilation of the visions of mystical saints written in the style of a historical novel again and again.

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To purchase a copy of this book visit Liguori.org

Interview

Cathy Gilmore

Easter Bunny's Amazing Day

Little Lamb Finds Christmas

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