Modern-Day Golden Calves: Are We Worshipping Riches & WiFi? (The Inner Life with Patrick Conley)

So, The Inner Life with Patrick Conley just served up a spiritual reality check with Fr. John LoCoco.    Let’s break down what they talked about. You can listen to the whole hour here!     What’s an Idol Today, Anyway?   It’s not a statue of a cow in your basement. 🐮🚫   Fr. LoCoco throws it way back to the Israelites and the golden calf, reminding us that idolatry isn’t about ditching God entirely, it’s about saying:   🗣️ “Yeah, God’s great… but I also need [insert favorite distraction here].”   So anytime we put our security, comfort, or identity in anything besides God... we’ve just made a little modern-day idol. 🧎‍♂️📱💸     🔍 How to Spot the Sneaky Idols in Your Life:   Father explains some red flags 🚩 that you might be sliding into idolatry:   -You're lowkey panicking when you're without your phone. 📱🙃   -You feel "off" if something disrupts your perfectly color-coded calendar. 🗓️😤   -You lose peace if your Amazon package is late by, like, 20 minutes. 📦🕐   Modern idols don’t look like statues... they look like:   -Our phones 📲   -Our schedules    -Our desire to control every little thing 🕹️   -Even our own will 🙇‍♂️   Basically, anything that makes you go “I can’t live without ___” might be an idol in disguise.     🧠 The Root of Idolatry? Anxiety & Control   Fr. John points out that idols are born from anxiety: like the Israelites panicking when Moses took too long. We start grasping for stuff when we don’t fully trust God’s timing or plan.   🙋‍♂️ Ever check your phone 83 times during a grocery trip? He gets it. He’s been there. He even started leaving his phone at home like it’s 1995... and he survived.     ⏳ Time = Worship   Want to find your idols? Check your screen time report. 😬 Father says the cold-hard truth: “What we give our time to, we give our hearts to.”   -Spend 2 hours scrolling and 2 minutes praying? That’s a spiritual math problem worth solving. 📉🙏     😱 Materialism, Mammon & That Amazon Addiction   One of the biggest idols today? Consumerism.   -We want fast.   -We want easy.   -We want it NOW. 🛒⚡   Fr. LoCoco calls out our “Prime Delivery Panic” and microwave-level patience.  Because we don’t just consume… we let what we consume start consuming us.   🧵 He encourages us to “do things the slow, hard, holy way.” Bake the bread. Build the thing. Find God in the process, not the package.     💪 Practical Ways to Fight Modern Idols:   -🚫 Try leaving your phone behind, on purpose.   -🛑 Delay gratification just to remind yourself that you can.   -Practice some healthy discomfort. Lent is a prime time (ha) to root out idols.   -🙏 Make prayer your first response, not your backup plan.     🎙️ Listener Spotlight: Phyllis’s Testimony = 💯   Phyllis called in, sharing how unemployment shook her faith. At first, she trusted God. As the job hunt dragged on, anxiety crept in. When she finally got a job, she felt relief but also guilt for feeling secure in something other than God.   Fr. John clapped back with encouragement:   💡 “Struggling isn’t failure; it’s part of the fight for faith.”     Yes. Just staying in the spiritual ring counts as a win. 👏👊     TL;DR: Are You Worshipping Without Realizing It?   Ask yourself:   -What do I turn to for comfort before God?   -What would totally wreck me if it was taken away?   -Am I reflecting God’s glory... or just my own Pinterest board?   👀 If you’re unsure, Lent is your golden opportunity (not calf 🐄) to check yourself.     “You become like what you worship.” 💭     So… don’t become your Amazon cart, your Instagram grid, or your daily planner. Become like Jesus. That’s the goal. ✨     Need a modern idol detox? Try a little prayer, penance, and holy patience. God's not asking for a piece of your pie... He wants the whole pie. 🥧💖   Let’s give it to Him.      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.