{"id":11896,"date":"2012-10-31T15:49:01","date_gmt":"2012-10-31T19:49:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/news\/?p=11896"},"modified":"2012-10-31T22:35:51","modified_gmt":"2012-11-01T02:35:51","slug":"roma-downeys-life-has-been-more-than-touched-by-an-angel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2012\/10\/roma-downeys-life-has-been-more-than-touched-by-an-angel","title":{"rendered":"Producer, author, actor Roma Downey’s life has been more than touched by an angel"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Roma Downey speaks, you know you\u2019ve heard that golden voice before, but as you listen, the Irish-born actress is reading aloud a children’s book, The Sweetest Story Bible<\/em>. She\u2019s telling how much God loves us \u2013 with stories chosen specifically for little girls.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tell about some of the female characters from the Bible so girls can be inspired and empowered and uplifted,\u201d she says. \u201cThey can see themselves in these characters. They can see themselves in these women. That they can understand that they\u2019ll be called on to step into faith, to be strong and to make good choices about themselves.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Tess and Monica, played by Della Reese and Roma Downey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cYou know, it\u2019s presented in such a cute way,\u201d she says, \u201cas sweet thoughts to think about and easy Scripture verses to remember \u2013 all which connect a little girl’s life to God’s Word. My hope is that it will help them see just how wonderful God’s love really is.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really, really sweet and wonderful and I enjoy lending my voice to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that voice is so instantly recognizable. Although her long-running TV drama \u201cTouched by an Angel\u201d has been off the air for almost ten years, Downey can be shopping unnoticed until she speaks.\u201cInevitably,\u201d she says, \u2018someone will turn around and say \u2018Is that you? I recognize your voice.\u2019 So, I think perhaps that\u2019s why they asked me if I would do The Sweetest Story Bible.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>She\u2019s also lent her voice to a line of children\u2019s books and DVDs called \u201cLittle Angels\u201d aimed at preschoolers, both boys and girls.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the stories, these little angels live on the ceiling of the children\u2019s nursery,\u201d she says, \u201cand when the mom and dad aren\u2019t around, they come down and teach the kids Scripture and how to live in the world \u2013 how to be kind, how to be respectful, how to be obedient \u2013 you know, all the things we want our children to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several years ago, she had to mask\u00a0that trademark voice, her gentle Londonderry brogue. In the Emmy Award-winning miniseries \u201cA Woman Named Jackie,\u201d she played First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who had a very un-Irish voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to work with a dialect coach,\u201d recalls Downey. \u201cWe nicknamed him the \u2018brogue basher.\u2019 He was on the set and anytime he heard a hint of my Irish accent, he would stop everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

In March, she will play Mary the mother of Christ in a 10-hour mini-series, \u201cThe Bible,\u201d that she and her husband Mark Burnett produced for the History Channel. Yes, Mary will have a golden, Irish voice, but there\u2019s much more\u00a0behind the role than\u00a0an acting\u00a0career\u00a0or a trademark voice, says Downey.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Roma and Mark in Morocco<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cAll these projects have been ways of combining my faith with the things that I\u2019ve learned in life. In the books, I\u2019m trying to find ways to look back and reach the wee ones. It\u2019s been a very fun and loving and engaging project.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u00a0was raised in a single-parent family after her mother died when Roma was 10. Her father filled the gap as best he could. \u201cMy dad used to sit me on his knee and read from the Bible to us. We were a praying family. Ours was a family of love and a family of prayer.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of my fondest memories are of kneeling next to him and slipping my little hand into his. He was such a great guide and mentor to me. His love and his teaching me about my heavenly Father\u2019s love allowed me to get through tough times — to be comforted and to feel the unconditional love that the Lord has for us.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose childhood experiences have taken me forward every day since he passed away. There is not a day in my life goes by that I don\u2019t feel his love. That\u2019s one reason I\u2019ve made a choice in the career that I have — to honor my parents and to honor God.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0And that\u2019s one reason she\u2019s so excited about \u201cThe Bible,\u201d the 10-hour mini-series, co-produced with her husband. \u201cIt\u2019s the best work of our careers,\u201d she says. \u201cI mean we are just on fire with this. An early version of the script referred to \u2018Young Mary\u2019 and \u2018Old Mary,\u2019 We have a young actress playing Mary during the nativity and the early years of Jesus’ life. Then 30 years go by and I am on camera as Mary. But when I stepped into the role, I said, ‘You know, could we have \u2018Young Mary\u2019 and \u2018Mother Mary\u2019?’ Oh, vanity! Being \u2018Old Mary\u2019 was more than I could deal with.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been involved in the project for three years. We developed it and hired the crew. Then we flew to Morocco where we spent most of the first part of this year on site. All\u00a010 hours are just beautiful. It\u2019s from Genesis through Revelation. It\u2019s very ambitious. We tackled the whole Bible. I wish we\u2019d had 10,000 hours. This project has the potential to touch millions of people\u2019s lives. It will go to places where they\u2019ve never even seen a Bible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shooting it\u00a0hasn\u2019t been easy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s taken three years of all our days and nights to bring it together and to make it the best it can be — so we\u2019re very, very excited,” she says.\u00a0“It\u2019s been very, very difficult and sometimes challenging, but I think that it\u2019s going to breathe fresh, visual life into stories that we all know but haven\u2019t quite seen like this before.”<\/p>\n

She\u2019s also aware she\u2019s stepped off onto into potential controversy, “but you have to step out there,” she says. ” We\u2019ve hired amazing actors to make emotional connections that will open your heart. We\u2019ve made it exciting and compelling. For visual effects, we hired an Oscar Award-winning team that has brought to life on the screen miracles like you\u2019ve never seen them — Moses’ burning bush, the fourth man in the Fiery Furnace, Jesus walking on the water. To see computer-generated imagery applied to the miracles of the Bible is just thrilling. You will see things you never been seen before.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re hoping that we will pull teenagers and reach a new generation not only in this in this country, but globally — so it\u2019s very, very exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

“I know it’s epic, and I think it will be the must-watch event of the spring. It is being made with full hearts. We’ve had help. Mark and I are not pretending to be biblical experts. We brought in scholars and theologians once the scripts were created to take a look to make sure we were accurate and true to the Bible, but obviously we’re making a movie, and so we breathed creativity into it.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
On “The Bible” set, Roma and Mark<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cMark,\u201d is Roma\u2019s husband \u2013 Mark Burnett, the producer of one of TV\u2019s most-popular shows ever, \u201cSurvivor.\u201d He is also the creator of TV\u201ds \u201cThe Apprentice,\u201d \u201cThe Voice,\u201d \u201cAre You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? \u201c \u201cShark Tank,\u201d \u201cOprah\u201ds All-Stars,\u201d \u201cMartha Stewart, \u201c \u201cSarah Palin\u201ds Alaska\u201d and scores of other shows. Recently, he made TV history by having a renewed series on each of the four major broadcast networks.<\/p>\n

He and Downey share great expectations about \u201cThe Bible\u201d mini-series. \u201cIt offers God\u2019s Word to people who may never have an opportunity to step inside a church,\u201d Downey says, \u201cbut they may get a chance to turn a TV set on. As someone who has loved Jesus my whole life, it was wonderful to get to step into the role of His blessed mother. It was a great privilege. It was just extraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n

But\u00a0Roma will\u00a0always be known as \u201cMonica,\u201d the angel. What are the chances of a “Touched by an Angel” reunion movie? Nothing\u2019s planned, she says. The show concluded its nine-year run on CBS in 2003. Even so, Downey continues her close friendship with fellow “angel” and co-star Della Reese \u2013 who is an ordained Christian pastor and performed Roma and Mark\u2019s wedding.<\/p>\n

The show is enjoying new life in re-runs \u2013 a few weeks ago, cable\u2019s GMC network scored its best-ever weekend ratings with a \u201cTouched by an Angel\u201d marathon. The network is now airing episodes weeknights at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fantastic that it\u2019s on GMC,\u201d says Downey. \u201cIt\u2019s reaching a whole new generation of people with its beautiful message of faith. I loved being on that show. I loved it. I loved playing Monica. I loved being the messenger, the believer. I loved being part of a message that went out weekly reminding people there is a God and this is God\u2019s purpose for you and God will be part of your life and most importantly that God loves you.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to deliver that message every week for almost 10 years to millions of people a week.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStill to this day, wherever I am in airports or shopping malls people tell me, \u2018Oh, that show has changed my life.\u2019 or \u2018That show helped my family heal\u2019 or \u2018You\u2019ll never know what that show did for us\u2019 and so I\u2019m thrilled that it\u2019s back at a regular spot in the television and has a chance to heal and touch people\u2019s lives all over again.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve been there, too, needing an angel — I can tell you. Over the years I\u2019ve found myself\u00a0wishing sometimes my angel would show up. I could use a little uplift, a little reminder.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then you know, and it\u2019s available to everybody at all times. You\u2019ve just got to turn your attention into your own loving heart where God exists inside of all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
One of Roma’s Little Angels books<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a timeless quality to the story,” she says. “It was always stories of people at certain crossroads in their lives when a decision was to be made. The spirit would show up and help you make that good decision. You know, there\u2019s no magic wand. Somebody didn\u2019t come down and fix it for you. All we did as the angels was to come down and to remind you that you were a child of God and God loves you and God wants the best for you, that God has a purpose for you and that you have to reach into your own heart to see it and believe it and then out of that place, make a good choice for yourself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very empowering in that way. It wasn\u2019t some easy fix, because life isn\u2019t filled with easy fixes. But when you pray and really trust and hand yourself over to God, you know that God has you and holds you in his heart and in his hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know there\u2019s no better feeling.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I were to look back at my career, I think my greatest achievement is very simple.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been able to make choices where I could glorify God.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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