by Lisa Fraser

“Oh, you’re one of the Catholic Voices, the people who spin things in the media?”, one of my friends told me. I laughed. If CV were about ‘spinning things’, I would not be interested. My path has been motived by one idea: how do I become a better apostle?  

I joined Catholic Voices because I wanted to ‘defend my faith’. Four years later, I see I’m not at all on the defensive: I’m learning to live in love and charity – it’s my personal journey; it is healing and fulfilling; and because I want everyone to experience this grace, I’m genuinely happy to talk about what I believe in. We’re not fighters – we do our best to live our faith, and we share openly about our experience, achievements and struggles.

I thought Catholic Voices would give me a toolkit to become a Super-Apostle. Instead, they told me to read, learn, do homework: what a disappointment! As I look back, I see it was a blessing: it forced me to take my personal development in charge. I started doing research about ideas I felt uncomfortable with; I talked to people I disagreed with, for the sake of learning. Now, I no longer feel defeated by the things I don’t know: I trust I can seek answers. Catholic Voices taught me that lack of knowledge is a normal part of the journey. The question is: am I willing to grow?

Some say CV is about public speaking. I rather think it’s about listening first. After four years of going from parish to parish, I’ve come to realise that each question I hear arises from a deep and personal life experience. People who come to talk to us have their own lights and shadows. That’s why I often ask more questions than I give answers: it’s not a communication trick; it’s because I genuinely want to know you, and how I can be helpful.

Of course, Catholic Voices is also about developing skills in public speaking. I had done and given media trainings before CV: ‘smile, be mindful of your body language, don’t let down your guard’. However, the Catholic Voices I met were very different: they didn’t have the ‘marketing-smile’, they genuinely smiled at me. They smiled because they cared and wanted to make me feel welcome – not as a colleague Catholic Voice, but as an individual. It had such a big impact on me that I thought I could try…and now, I smile too. I want to welcome you, listen to your view, and see where we can go from there. Catholic Voices is not ‘a method’: it’s a journey with other people. 

Smile, love: good. But the truth is: there are tensions along the road. Some discussions will end with ‘let’s agree to disagree’, because there is no magic recipe to convince everyone – second disappointment! However, what I’ve learnt instead is more valuable: I’ve learnt to accept tensions without being upset, and without compromising with my beliefs. The more I spend time deepening my faith with the CV network, the more I understand what I believe in, and why I believe it. As a result, I’m more able to speak about faith without feeling threatened when people have different views. That’s the humbling part of the journey with CV: we support people to witness the joy of the Gospel but ultimately, it’s the Spirit that is at work in each one of us. Do your best, let go, and let God.