The Best of the Week

Relevant Radio
  • 4.6 (9)
  • CHRISTIANITY
  • UPDATED DAILY

Life can get busy, and it's easy to miss out on the captivating moments from your favorite Relevant Radio shows. But now, we've got you covered! "The Best of the Week - Relevant Radio Podcast" brings you the crème de la crème of Relevant Radio's programming. We carefully curate and compile the most engaging and relevant content from the past week, just for you! Get ready to catch up on faith, culture, current events, and personal growth, all in one convenient and easily accessible podcast. It's like having a front-row seat to the most compelling moments from Relevant Radio's diverse range of shows. So, whether you're an active Relevant Radio listener or new to our programming, "The Best of the Week - Relevant Radio Podcast" is your passport to a world of knowledge, growth, and inspiration.  

  1. Why Receiving Only the Host Is Receiving All of Jesus (The Patrick Madrid Show)

    FEB 5

    Why Receiving Only the Host Is Receiving All of Jesus (The Patrick Madrid Show)

    A caller named Andy from Long Beach raised a question many Catholics quietly wonder about: if Jesus said to eat His Flesh and drink His Blood, why do we usually only receive the Host at Mass? Are we missing something? Patrick Madrid’s answer cuts through the confusion with a clear answer founded in Catholic teaching. First, he explains that at the Last Supper, Jesus was speaking directly to the Apostles, whom He was ordaining as priests. “It’s proper, it’s necessary…that the priest at the altar consume both the Host and the Precious Blood,” Patrick explains. That command was not directed to the entire congregation. The deeper truth, however, is this: when you receive Holy Communion under either form, you receive all of Jesus, “Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.” Nothing is lacking. Patrick points out that this is evident every time we adore the consecrated Host at Mass. Even before the chalice is consecrated, the Church worships Christ fully present in the Host. If that weren’t true, Patrick notes, “it would be wrong to worship this because it’s something less than the Lord Himself.” Historically, the Church often limited Communion to the Host alone to guard against a recurring misunderstanding known as utraquism, the false idea that receiving both forms is required to receive the whole Christ. While receiving under both kinds can be beautiful, it is never necessary. Andy’s response says it all: “You’re very, very clear. I’m getting it now.” The best way to listen to the Best of the Week is on our #1 Free Catholic App. It’s free, and always will be! To get and share the Relevant Radio app, check it out here.

    8 min
  2. When Baby-Making Becomes a Business: The Moral Problem with Surrogacy (Trending with Timmerie)

    FEB 5

    When Baby-Making Becomes a Business: The Moral Problem with Surrogacy (Trending with Timmerie)

    As Catholics, we are called to look honestly at surrogacy and in vitro fertilization (IVF), not simply because the Church says “no,” but because these practices reveal a deeper moral crisis about how we understand human life. On Trending, Timmerie explains why surrogacy is inseparable from IVF, a process that routinely creates multiple embryos, many of whom are discarded, frozen indefinitely, or lost along the way. Human life becomes something manufactured, managed, and contracted for, rather than received as a gift. In today’s culture, baby-making has been commodified. If enough money is involved, a child can be ordered, transferred, or replaced. This mentality treats the human person as a product, not an end in himself or herself. The Church has consistently taught, drawing from thinkers like St. Thomas Aquinas, that the only proper attitude toward another human being is love, and that no person should ever be reduced to a means to an end. Timmerie highlights how casually this loss of life is often discussed in IVF circles. Stories shared online may celebrate that “five embryos are left” or “one survived,” but rarely pause to grieve the many children who died in the process. We are not talking about failed experiments or plants that did not take root. We are talking about human beings. At the same time, the Church makes an important distinction: every child conceived through IVF or surrogacy is fully loved by God and possesses infinite dignity. Critiquing the method is not a rejection of the child. It is possible, and necessary, to affirm the goodness of the person while naming the injustice of the process. Surrogacy also places serious physical and psychological burdens on women, especially gestational carriers, who often face higher medical risks and deep emotional wounds. Consent and contracts do not make exploitation just. As Timmerie reminds us, just because we can manipulate biology does not mean we should. The best way to listen to the Best of the Week is on our #1 Free Catholic App. It’s free, and always will be! To get and share the Relevant Radio app, check it out here.

    13 min
  3. A Simple Way to Invite Your Spouse Closer to God (Family Rosary Across America)

    FEB 5

    A Simple Way to Invite Your Spouse Closer to God (Family Rosary Across America)

    On the Family Rosary Across America, Sylvia from Fresno called in to share a heartfelt struggle many spouses understand. She prays the rosary three times a day and is deeply in love with the Lord and Our Blessed Mother. Her husband, who entered the Catholic Church three years ago, believes but doesn’t express devotion in the same way she does. Between the demands of military life and his quiet approach to faith, Sylvia feels a little hurt and wonders how to help him grow closer to God. Fr. Rocky’s response was a simple one: he asked what Sylvia’s husband likes to eat. When Sylvia explained that her South Korean and Hispanic husband does the cooking, Fr. Rocky offered a gentle strategy. Affirm the good he already does. Receive his gifts with gratitude. Then, in that moment of warmth, invite him: “Let’s go to church,” and thank God together for the blessings of your home. The takeaway is simple but powerful: love often moves the heart before arguments ever do. If someone’s faith looks different than yours, start with appreciation, patience, and prayer. The smallest invitation wrapped in gratitude can become the beginning of something deeper. The best way to listen to the Best of the Week is on our #1 Free Catholic App. It’s free, and always will be! To get and share the Relevant Radio app, check it out here.

    2 min
  4. Coming Home Without Fear: Preparing for Your First Confession at Any Age (The Inner Life)

    FEB 5

    Coming Home Without Fear: Preparing for Your First Confession at Any Age (The Inner Life)

    For many new or preparing Catholics, one question often causes anxiety: What will my first confession be like? On The Inner Life, a caller named Lynn from Albuquerque shared her thoughts. At 56 years old, she has decided to become Catholic, not because of marriage or obligation, but because she feels deeply called by God. As she prepares to enter OCIA, the idea of confession feels overwhelming. “I’m imagining my first confession,” she admitted. “How could I possibly remember everything? How would I even know numbers?” Guest Fr. Rob Kroll responding quickly put her at ease. Even lifelong Catholics, he explained, sometimes make what’s called a general confession, a prayerful inventory of the sins from one's entire life, often before major milestones like religious vows or ordination. Perfect recall isn't expected. “It would be unrealistic,” he said, “to expect you to remember every single sin.” Instead, the Fr. Kroll encouraged Lynn to reflect on her life in stages, childhood, young adulthood, adulthood, and to use a detailed examination of conscience, often based on the Ten Commandments. The focus is on patterns, especially patterns of serious sin, not an exhaustive list. Confession, he emphasized, is not meant to trap someone in scrupulosity. It’s an act of trust, honestly placing one’s life before Christ and asking for mercy. To underscore the heart of the sacrament, Fr. Kroll contrasted St. Peter and Judas. Both betrayed Jesus. One repented and trusted in mercy; the other despaired. “We never want to be like Judas,” he said. “We always want to be like St. Peter.” God does not want us discouraged or afraid. He desires to forgive, heal, and restore. Lynn left the call encouraged and grateful. She was excited, not fearful, about coming home to the Church. Her story is a reminder to anyone considering Catholicism: your past does not disqualify you. God’s mercy is already waiting. The best way to listen to the Best of the Week is on our #1 Free Catholic App. It’s free, and always will be! To get and share the Relevant Radio app, check it out here.

    9 min
  5. When Faith Feels One-Sided in Marriage (Marriage Unhindered)

    FEB 5

    When Faith Feels One-Sided in Marriage (Marriage Unhindered)

    Trakina had just discovered Relevant Radio. Young and married, she called in to Marriage Unhindered with a question many spouses quietly carry: Can a marriage thrive when one person is digging deeper into God and the other is chasing “worldly things”? She described feeling like a parent, constantly urging her husband: “Come on, let’s go to church. Come on, let’s read the Bible.” The more she pushed, the more frustrated and angry she became. Doug Hinderer affirmed her desire to grow closer to the Lord, but he warned her not to turn faith into a tug-of-war. “You will not be able to push him into religion,” Doug said. The enemy would love nothing more than to use even religion to “drive a wedge” between husband and wife. Instead, Doug encouraged her to keep deepening her own faith, especially through prayer and Sunday Mass, and to let that grace shape the way she loves her husband. “Just love him better every day,” he said. More tenderness, more patience, more kindness. In time, the fruit of her peace may awaken a holy curiosity: What changed? Where did that joy come from? Trakina recognized the shift she needed: “I’ve been trying to drag him into it wrongly using my anger.” Doug helped her recognize that she wanted to show him, gently and consistently, what God was doing in her. The best way to listen to the Best of the Week is on our #1 Free Catholic App. It’s free, and always will be! To get and share the Relevant Radio app, check it out here.

    4 min
  6. Trading Doomscrolling for Peace at Night (Morning Air)

    FEB 5

    Trading Doomscrolling for Peace at Night (Morning Air)

    We’ve all been there: one last headline, one more video, one more scroll just to be sure we didn’t miss anything. But instead of getting restful sleep, we’re left anxious, overstimulated, and wide awake. On Morning Air, host John Morales spoke with Catholic writer and speaker Laura DeMaria about breaking the habit of nighttime doomscrolling, and reclaiming those final moments of the day for peace and prayer. DeMaria explained that “doomscrolling” became common during the pandemic, when constant exposure to negative news trained us to compulsively seek more. The result, she said, is stress that harms our mental, spiritual, and even physical health. “It’s a really bad habit to have,” she noted, “but the good news is, we can break the habit.” Rather than quitting outright and going straight to sleep, DeMaria recommends replacing scrolling with something better. Her first suggestion is simple and unapologetic: pray the Rosary, especially before bed, when our minds and hearts are winding down. “Just pray the Rosary,” she said. “Do that for 15 or 20 minutes before you go to bed for a week and see what happens to your interior life.” She also encouraged listeners to try an examination of conscience at night. Get into the practice of having a gentle, honest review of the day with God. It’s not about judgment, but awareness. Where did you show grace and virtue? And where do you still need work? What areas can you grow in tomorrow? Morales added other practical alternatives, from listening to Archbishop Fulton Sheen to reading Scripture or a short spiritual meditation. Unlike doomscrolling, these habits calm the body and refocus the soul. As DeMaria pointed out, reading often leads naturally to rest, something endless scrolling never seems to do. In the end, the invitation is simple: trade anxious headlines for prayerful presence, and let the day end not with noise, but with God. The best way to listen to the Best of the Week is on our #1 Free Catholic App. It’s free, and always will be! To get and share the Relevant Radio app, check it out here.

    10 min
  7. When Words Lose Their Weight (The Drew Mariani Show)

    FEB 5

    When Words Lose Their Weight (The Drew Mariani Show)

    Words matter. That simple truth was at the heart of a recent reflection from Drew on The Drew Mariani Show, who noticed how quickly reverence for language has faded in modern culture. What once shocked or stopped a conversation cold has now become background noise, especially with profanity, which is everywhere from music and media to professional settings. Drew pointed out that sacred names, once spoken with care, are now often used casually or as emotional fillers. Many brush it off as harmless or “just how people talk now.” But Drew asked a deeper question: What is this doing to us? Drawing on insights from linguistics and psychology, he explained that profanity is not neutral. Swear words trigger the brain’s emotional center, releasing dopamine and embedding themselves deeply into memory. That’s why they feel powerful and why it's hard to stop using them. Over time, habitual swearing can weaken self-control, lower emotional regulation, and make us quicker to anger and slower to reflect. Drew connected this to what we see all around us: a culture that feels increasingly short-fused, reactive, and divided. Social media rewards shock, not virtue, and young people are being formed by it daily. Vulgarity, he warned, is spreading faster than wisdom. Scripture offers a clear alternative. As St. Paul writes, “No foul language should come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for needed edification, that it may impart grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29) From the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks. Recovering respect for speech isn’t about being old-fashioned. It’s about choosing words that build, bless, and reflect the dignity of the human person. The best way to listen to the Best of the Week is on our #1 Free Catholic App. It’s free, and always will be! To get and share the Relevant Radio app, check it out here.

    8 min
  8. A Man After God’s Own Heart – Even After Grave Sin (Father Simon Says)

    FEB 4

    A Man After God’s Own Heart – Even After Grave Sin (Father Simon Says)

    Sacred Scripture never airbrushes its heroes. In one of the Bible’s most sobering passages, 2 Samuel 11 and 12, we see King David not as the triumphant warrior or inspired psalmist, but as a deeply flawed man capable of grave sin. On Father Simon Says, Father walks listeners through David’s pattern of abuse of power, beginning with an earlier episode involving Nabal and Abigail (1 Samuel 25). There, David nearly murders a man who insulted him and later takes the man’s widow into his household. It is a warning sign of what is to come. That warning becomes a tragedy in the story of Bathsheba. While his army fights, David remains behind, sees a married woman bathing, and “sent messengers and took her.” When Bathsheba becomes pregnant, David attempts a cover-up. When that fails, he orchestrates the death of her husband, Uriah the Hittite, sending him to the front lines to be killed. It is the prophet Nathan who finally breaks through David’s self-deception. After hearing a parable about injustice, David condemns the guilty man, only to hear Nathan’s piercing words: “You are the man.” David’s response changes everything. “I have sinned against the Lord,” he admits. Unlike King Saul, David does not excuse, justify, or deflect. He repents. Father Simon reminds us that this is why David is called a man after God’s own heart. Not because he was sinless, but because he was capable of repentance. Scripture is filled with sinners: Abraham, Moses, Peter, Paul. All fell, confessed the truth, and allowed God to change them. That story continues with us. Will we accept God’s grace, admit our sin, and let Him heal us? The best way to listen to the Best of the Week is on our #1 Free Catholic App. It’s free, and always will be! To get and share the Relevant Radio app, check it out here.

    12 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.6
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

Life can get busy, and it's easy to miss out on the captivating moments from your favorite Relevant Radio shows. But now, we've got you covered! "The Best of the Week - Relevant Radio Podcast" brings you the crème de la crème of Relevant Radio's programming. We carefully curate and compile the most engaging and relevant content from the past week, just for you! Get ready to catch up on faith, culture, current events, and personal growth, all in one convenient and easily accessible podcast. It's like having a front-row seat to the most compelling moments from Relevant Radio's diverse range of shows. So, whether you're an active Relevant Radio listener or new to our programming, "The Best of the Week - Relevant Radio Podcast" is your passport to a world of knowledge, growth, and inspiration.  

Information

  • Creator
    Relevant Radio
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    1.6K
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 2023 Relevant Radio, Inc.
  • Show Website
    The Best of the Week

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