Father Ryan Brady never expected an email reply from the new Holy Father. But after Pope Leo XIV was elected, Fr. Brady took “a shot in the dark” and wrote to him, simply to share his joy and his promise of prayers. To his surprise, the Pope responded kindly, personally, and generously, and even arranged a ticket for Fr. Brady to greet him after the general audience on Feb. 11.

Fr. Brady, pastor of St. Christina Parish in Chicago and chaplain to nearly 5,000 members of the Chicago Fire Department, knew he couldn’t arrive empty-handed. “What do you give the man who needs nothing?” he asked. The answer came from home: a Chicago Fire Department chief’s helmet. The white helmet, he noted, is easy to spot at the scene of a fire.

Before his meeting with the Pope, Fr. Brady received an unexpected sign in Rome. Lost on a walk, he found himself at St. Rita’s Church, an Augustinian favorite, on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Praying for the intercession of St. Rita, “the patron saint of impossible causes,” he noticed a grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes staring right at him. In that moment, he heard the reassurance in his heart: “All will be well, Ryan, rest easy.”

“That’s the guy who’s in charge. He’s the one that we should follow.” At the top of the front plate, they placed “Pope Leo XIV”, and on the bottom “Chicago”. In the center where an engine company number would go, they placed a cross, because the Pope “stands firmly with Jesus Christ…as he leads the universal church.”

The gift sparked laughter between the Fr. Brady and the Holy Father. “Firemen are putting out fires all the time,” Fr. Brady joked, “and so do popes, apparently.” Pope Leo received the gift with warmth — an example, Fr. Brady said, of being a gracious receiver. We should never “rob someone of the opportunity to be generous,” he explained, because love bears fruit in both the giving and the receiving.

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Father Ryan Brady never expected an email reply from the new Holy Father. But after Pope Leo XIV was elected, Fr. Brady took &ldquo;a shot in the dark&rdquo; and wrote to him, simply to share his joy and his promise of prayers. To his surprise, the Pope responded kindly, personally, and generously, and even arranged a ticket for Fr. Brady to greet him after the general audience on Feb. 11.
Fr. Brady, pastor of St. Christina Parish in Chicago and chaplain to nearly 5,000 members of the Chicago Fire Department, knew he couldn&rsquo;t arrive empty-handed. &ldquo;What do you give the man who needs nothing?&rdquo; he asked. The answer came from home: a Chicago Fire Department chief&rsquo;s helmet. The white helmet, he noted, is easy to spot at the scene of a fire.
Before his meeting with the Pope, Fr. Brady received an unexpected sign in Rome. Lost on a walk, he found himself at St. Rita&rsquo;s Church, an Augustinian favorite, on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Praying for the intercession of St. Rita, &ldquo;the patron saint of impossible causes,&rdquo; he noticed a grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes staring right at him. In that moment, he heard the reassurance in his heart: &ldquo;All will be well, Ryan, rest easy.&rdquo;
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the guy who&rsquo;s in charge. He&rsquo;s the one that we should follow.&rdquo; At the top of the front plate, they placed &ldquo;Pope Leo XIV&rdquo;, and on the bottom &ldquo;Chicago&rdquo;. In the center where an engine company number would go, they placed a cross, because the Pope &ldquo;stands firmly with Jesus Christ&hellip;as he leads the universal church.&rdquo;
The gift sparked laughter between the Fr. Brady and the Holy Father. &ldquo;Firemen are putting out fires all the time,&rdquo; Fr. Brady joked, &ldquo;and so do popes, apparently.&rdquo; Pope Leo received the gift with warmth &mdash; an example, Fr. Brady said, of being a gracious receiver. We should never &ldquo;rob someone of the opportunity to be generous,&rdquo; he explained, because love bears fruit in both the giving and the receiving.
<hr>
The best way to listen to the&nbsp;Best of the Week&nbsp;is on our #1 Free Catholic App. It&rsquo;s free, and always will be! To get and share the Relevant Radio app, check it out&nbsp;<a href="https://relevantradio.com/listen/get-the-app/">here</a>.

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.

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.

The Best of the Week

A Chicago Fire Chief’s Helmet for Pope Leo XIV and a Lesson in Grace (The Inner Life)

There’s more going on in our tech habits than most of us want to admit.

Timmerie warned that the biggest battle for platforms like TikTok and X isn’t just over marketshare. They're battling for influence. These systems aren’t neutral. They're fighting for your attention. They’re designed to keep you scrolling, keep you agitated, keep you hooked, and over time they can shape what you think is normal, what you fear, and even what you believe about yourself.

She pointed to a disturbing pattern many parents recognize: young people changing in sudden, clustered ways that orbit around the topic of identity. Timmerie noted that peer influence plays a role, but she suspects something deeper, what she called “a level of psychological manipulation,” prominent in a generation that's rarely offline. And it’s not only teenagers; some adults ignore real-life relationships for the pull of a screen, too.

Timmerie said this shouldn’t shock us. We already know major tech companies use addiction specialists to “hack our brains” so we stay engaged. The algorithm doesn’t just show you what you like. It can steer you toward frustration, obsession, isolation, and a constant craving for novelty. The end result, she argued, is disorientation and disengagement from our Faith, pulling us away from knowing, loving, and serving God.

So what do we do?

Timmerie explained that this is a spiritual battle for our souls, so it requires spiritual weapons. She urged listeners to begin where the Church begins: obedience to Christ, frequent prayer, and especially the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Confession, she explained, forces honesty. It breaks self-deception. It helps us stop excusing sin and return to reality because God is truth and perfect love.

She also turned to St. Paul’s call to “take every thought captive to obey Christ.” That’s the real fight: not just resisting a screen, but resisting anything that tries to form our minds away from God. Our hope rests in this: God has the divine power to destroy any evil. So stay close to Jesus. Stay close to the Church. Grace builds on grace, and little by little, we can become resilient again.

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.

There&rsquo;s more going on in our tech habits than most of us want to admit.
Timmerie warned that the biggest battle for platforms like TikTok and X isn&rsquo;t just over marketshare. They're battling for influence. These systems aren&rsquo;t neutral. They're fighting for your attention. They&rsquo;re designed to keep you scrolling, keep you agitated, keep you hooked, and over time they can shape what you think is normal, what you fear, and even what you believe about yourself.
She pointed to a disturbing pattern many parents recognize: young people changing in sudden, clustered ways that orbit around the topic of identity. Timmerie noted that peer influence plays a role, but she suspects something deeper, what she called &ldquo;a level of psychological manipulation,&rdquo; prominent in a generation that's rarely offline. And it&rsquo;s not only teenagers; some adults ignore real-life relationships for the pull of a screen, too.
Timmerie said this shouldn&rsquo;t shock us. We already know major tech companies use addiction specialists to &ldquo;hack our brains&rdquo; so we stay engaged. The algorithm doesn&rsquo;t just show you what you like. It can steer you toward frustration, obsession, isolation, and a constant craving for novelty. The end result, she argued, is disorientation and disengagement from our Faith, pulling us away from knowing, loving, and serving God.
So what do we do?
Timmerie explained that this is a spiritual battle for our souls, so it requires spiritual weapons. She urged listeners to begin where the Church begins: obedience to Christ, frequent prayer, and especially the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Confession, she explained, forces honesty. It breaks self-deception. It helps us stop excusing sin and return to reality because God is truth and perfect love.
She also turned to St. Paul&rsquo;s call to &ldquo;take every thought captive to obey Christ.&rdquo; That&rsquo;s the real fight: not just resisting a screen, but resisting anything that tries to form our minds away from God. Our hope rests in this: God has the divine power to destroy any evil. So stay close to Jesus. Stay close to the Church. Grace builds on grace, and little by little, we can become resilient again.
<hr>
The best way to listen to the&nbsp;Best of the Week&nbsp;is on our #1 Free Catholic App. It&rsquo;s free, and always will be! To get and share the Relevant Radio app, check it out&nbsp;<a href="https://relevantradio.com/listen/get-the-app/">here</a>.

The Hidden Spiritual Battle Behind Social Media (Trending with Timmerie)

Drew Mariani opened a segment of The Drew Mariani Show with a sobering image of chaos: cartel violence in Jalisco, Mexico—“a multi-headed snake” that keeps rearing its ugly head, resulting in buildings burnt down, cars engulfed in flame, and bullets flying through the streets. In the middle of that fear, one priest did something that stopped Drew in his tracks.

Drew explained that everyone was told to stay in lockdown, but this priest didn't bother hiding. Instead, he went into the church, took the Blessed Sacrament, and climbed onto the roof of the church. There, above the smoke and panic, he lifted Our Lord and blessed the city where violence and bloodshed ruled. As the priest raised Jesus above the chaos, he prayed for Mexico.

That scene became a catechesis in action. “The Eucharist is not a symbol,” Drew reminded us. “It’s not a piece of bread.” What the Church teaches is staggering but true: when the Lord is brought into darkness, it is the living Christ, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, that is being brought into that darkness. He is the light.

Drew recalled how, in 1240, a terrified convent turned to St. Clare of Assisi when invaders climbed the walls. She had the Blessed Sacrament brought to her, and she “lifted the monstrance towards these attackers and she prayed.” Later, during the 1576 plague in Milan, St. Charles Borromeo carried the Blessed Sacrament in procession, placing the city under Christ’s protection as the people begged for mercy. Drew even shared modern eyewitness stories, like a priest in India during the 2004 tsunami who, in the face of imminent death, followed the example of the saints before him and lifted Jesus.

Then Drew turned the spotlight back on us: “So here’s the question for you. When fear comes to your door, what do you lift?” Maybe it’s not cartel violence, but unrest in your marriage, division in your family, or that crushing, anxiety at 2:00am.

“You can argue. You can rage. You can spiral. Or, you can lift Jesus.”

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.

Drew Mariani opened a segment of&nbsp;The Drew Mariani Show with a sobering image of chaos: cartel violence in Jalisco, Mexico&mdash;&ldquo;a multi-headed snake&rdquo; that keeps rearing its ugly head, resulting in buildings burnt down, cars engulfed in flame, and bullets flying through the streets. In the middle of that fear, one priest did something that stopped Drew in his tracks.
Drew explained that everyone was told to stay in lockdown, but this priest didn't bother hiding. Instead, he went into the church, took the Blessed Sacrament, and climbed onto the roof of the church. There, above the smoke and panic, he lifted Our Lord and blessed the city where violence and bloodshed ruled. As the priest raised Jesus above the chaos, he prayed for Mexico.
That scene became a catechesis in action. &ldquo;The Eucharist is not a symbol,&rdquo; Drew reminded us. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not a piece of bread.&rdquo; What the Church teaches is staggering but true: when the Lord is brought into darkness, it is the living Christ, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, that is being brought into that darkness. He is the light.
Drew recalled how, in 1240, a terrified convent turned to St. Clare of Assisi when invaders climbed the walls. She had the Blessed Sacrament brought to her, and she &ldquo;lifted the monstrance towards these attackers and she prayed.&rdquo; Later, during the 1576 plague in Milan, St. Charles Borromeo carried the Blessed Sacrament in procession, placing the city under Christ&rsquo;s protection as the people begged for mercy. Drew even shared modern eyewitness stories, like a priest in India during the 2004 tsunami who, in the face of imminent death, followed the example of the saints before him and lifted Jesus.
Then Drew turned the spotlight back on us: &ldquo;So here&rsquo;s the question for you. When fear comes to your door, what do you lift?&rdquo; Maybe it&rsquo;s not cartel violence, but unrest in your marriage, division in your family, or that crushing, anxiety at 2:00am.
&ldquo;You can argue. You can rage. You can spiral. Or, you can lift Jesus.&rdquo;
<hr>
The best way to listen to the&nbsp;Best of the Week&nbsp;is on our #1 Free Catholic App. It&rsquo;s free, and always will be! To get and share the Relevant Radio app, check it out&nbsp;<a href="https://relevantradio.com/listen/get-the-app/">here</a>.

When Fear Comes to Your Door, Lift Jesus (The Drew Mariani Show)

Omar from Ceres, California, called The Patrick Madrid Show with a concern many parents have. His 5-year-old daughter had watched a Disney movie featuring a “magician,” and he wasn’t sure to what extent he should let her indulge in movies that featured magic or spells.

Patrick first helped Omar sort out an important distinction. Not all “magic” is the same. A stage performer doing card tricks or “pulling a rabbit out of a hat” is one thing. But if a show is presenting spell-casting, conjuring, or seeking forbidden power as something exciting or harmless, that’s a different story. Depending on the way the magic is presented, that can be a serious red flag for families.

Without having seen the exact movie, Patrick encouraged Omar to do his due diligence, while also acknowledging why parents feel wary. He noted Disney’s “bad track record” in pushing ideologies to children and even said plainly, “If you were to ask my opinion, I wouldn’t even pay for Disney. I wouldn’t have it in the house.”

Then Omar asked a follow-up question: How do you explain the fantasy of magic and the reality of Jesus to a kid?

Patrick suggested keeping it simple, concrete, and centered on Jesus. Show her a crucifix. Ask who Jesus is. Then explain that Jesus teaches us not to try to “contact spirits or cast spells” or “conjure things,” because that’s what witchcraft seeks. Instead, “We are followers of Jesus… We are to ask God for the things that we need.”

Omar thanked Patrick and asked for prayers that he and his wife might be blessed with more children. Patrick responded warmly: “May God grant you many happy years together and many happy, healthy children, please 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.

Omar from Ceres, California, called The Patrick Madrid Show with a concern many parents have. His 5-year-old daughter had watched a Disney movie featuring a &ldquo;magician,&rdquo; and he wasn&rsquo;t sure to what extent he should let her indulge in movies that featured magic or spells.
Patrick first helped Omar sort out an important distinction. Not all &ldquo;magic&rdquo; is the same. A stage performer doing card tricks or &ldquo;pulling a rabbit out of a hat&rdquo; is one thing. But if a show is presenting spell-casting, conjuring, or seeking forbidden power as something exciting or harmless, that&rsquo;s a different story. Depending on the way the magic is presented, that can be a serious red flag for families.
Without having seen the exact movie, Patrick encouraged Omar to do his due diligence, while also acknowledging why parents feel wary. He noted Disney&rsquo;s &ldquo;bad track record&rdquo; in pushing ideologies to children and even said plainly, &ldquo;If you were to ask my opinion, I wouldn&rsquo;t even pay for Disney. I wouldn&rsquo;t have it in the house.&rdquo;
Then Omar asked a follow-up question: How do you explain the fantasy of magic and the reality of Jesus to a kid?
Patrick suggested keeping it simple, concrete, and centered on Jesus. Show her a crucifix. Ask who Jesus is. Then explain that Jesus teaches us not to try to &ldquo;contact spirits or cast spells&rdquo; or &ldquo;conjure things,&rdquo; because that&rsquo;s what witchcraft seeks. Instead, &ldquo;We are followers of Jesus&hellip; We are to ask God for the things that we need.&rdquo;
Omar thanked Patrick and asked for prayers that he and his wife might be blessed with more children. Patrick responded warmly: &ldquo;May God grant you many happy years together and many happy, healthy children, please God.&rdquo;
<hr>
The best way to listen to the&nbsp;Best of the Week&nbsp;is on our #1 Free Catholic App. It&rsquo;s free, and always will be! To get and share the Relevant Radio app, check it out&nbsp;<a href="https://relevantradio.com/listen/get-the-app/">here</a>.

A Chicago Fire Chief’s Helmet for Pope Leo XIV and a Lesson in Grace (The Inner Life)

The Best of the Week

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