Podcasting with Paul Fahey, Christina Semmens, and Jose Manuel de Urquidi

Quick Summary 

Are podcasts reshaping how Catholics engage with their faith? In this episode of Religion to Reality, we explore the explosive growth of Catholic podcasting and what it means for modern faith formation. From survivors finding their voice to Latino communities building networks, discover why this medium is uniquely positioned to meet people where they are—both spiritually and literally.

In this Episode, We Explore:

On the Nature of Catholic Media and Church Authority (00:00 – 08:00)

• “Anyone who’s baptized is the church” – Paul Fahey challenges traditional boundaries of who creates “official” Catholic content
• Why the institutional church struggles with oversight in the podcast space
• The tension between empowering lay voices and preventing spiritual harm through misinformation

Measuring What Really Matters Beyond Downloads (11:00 – 17:00)

• “If one person’s heart has been touched, you’ve done your task and mission” – Christina Semmens on redefining podcast success
• How the head-heart-hands-feet framework applies to both creating and consuming content
• Why discernment, not downloads, should drive your content decisions

From Fishing in Ponds to Sailing the Ocean (20:00 – 29:00)

• Jose Manuel de Urquidi’s wake-up call: “We’re all fishing in the same small pond while the ocean is right there”
• How John Paul II prophetically identified the internet as the “new Roman Forum” back in 2002
• Why podcasts can create deep encounters with God despite being one-way communication 

Meet Our Guests

Paul Fahey – Host of Third Space podcast, limited licensed professional counselor, retreat leader, and catechist who focuses on survivors of church-related abuse. Paul stumbled into podcasting a decade ago and found it uniquely suited to catechesis through dialogue rather than static writing.

Christina Semmens – Host of Say Yes to Holiness With 230+ episodes under her belt, Christina brings a framework of head-heart-hands-feet to integrated Catholic living. Her podcast emerged from her book work and has become a continuous discernment journey.

Jose Manuel de Urquidi – Founder of the Juan Diego Network Leading a podcast network dedicated to Latino Catholics with shows covering everything from church history to children’s stories. His mission: evangelize, form, and entertain—preferably all three at once.

Memorable Quotes 

01:00 – “I can listen to a podcast while driving, running, doing dishes, mowing the lawn” – Why convenience matters for busy Catholics

05:00 – The fundamental question: What even counts as “the church” in new media?

07:00 – “There’s a lot of bad Catholic content out there that misrepresents God” – The dark side of unregulated faith content

12:00 – The head-heart-hands-feet framework for integrated spiritual assessment

15:00 – Why passion and joy matter more than metrics in discernment

18:00 – “What unsuccessful podcasts don’t want you to know: it was really just for us all along”

23:00 – The critical realization: Are we preaching to the choir while ignoring the ocean?

26:00 – Why St. Ignatius’s book-driven conversion is no different than what a podcast can do

28:00 – The internet as culture, not just communication tool

Resources Mentioned

Podcasts Referenced

• On Being with Krista Tippett
• Third Space (Paul Fahey)
• The Telepathy Tapes (autism communication)
• The Heart’s Desire and Social Change (Fr. Dan Groody, Notre Dame)
• The Attentive Heart Podcast (Fr. John Gribowich, Sunday to Sunday)
• The Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz

Theological Concepts & Frameworks

• Head-Heart-Hands-Feet spiritual assessment model (from Dr. Bob Masson’s “The Charmed Circle”)
• Movable square meter (your personal sphere of influence)
• Digital evangelization and the “new Roman Forum”
• Seeds of the Verbum (finding Gospel seeds in culture)
• Discipleship funnel model

Podcasts

• Third Space Podcast: wherepeteris.com
• Say Yes to Holiness: sayyestoholiness.com
• Juan Diego Network: juandiegonetwork.com

Papal Documents on Digital Media

• John Paul II’s 2002 World Communications Day message (internet as “new Roman Forum”)
• Pope Benedict XVI’s 2009 World Communicatiions Day message (internet as the “digital continent”)
• Pope Benedict XVI’s 2011 World Communications Day message (on digital authenticity)
• Pope Francis’s 2016 morning meditation on the “culture of encounter”

Next Episode Preview 

In our next episode, we’re diving into what the data tells us about community—why it matters and how it shapes discipleship in measurable ways. 

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