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.
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