Navigating Faith, Science, and Identity w/ Rachel Recchia

The 2026 Super Bowl sets the stage for a candid conversation between Ben Higgins and Rachel. Forget the Bachelor drama—this episode is all about real talk: faith, identity, and finding purpose amid chaos. Rachel shares her Catholic upbringing, shifts in belief, and the role science plays in her worldview. Together, they explore the struggle for meaning, how to reset in uncertain times, and the importance of silence. Dive deep with Ben and Rachel as they unpack life beyond the headlines—no filters, just honest reflections. Subscribe and listen for more soul-searching conversations.

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Setting the Scene at Super Bowl
00:30 Foundation and Faith Discussion
01:05 Rachel’s Catholic Upbringing
01:24 Navigating Faith and Belief
01:45 Challenges with Catholicism
02:10 Searching for Something Greater
02:32 Science vs. Spirituality
02:55 Straying From Organized Faith
03:20 Rituals and Resetting
03:54 Manifesting, Meditating, and Prayer
04:15 Navigating Public Chaos
04:43 Feeling Lost and Seeking Clarity
04:54 Returning to Self
05:27 The Power of Silence
05:48 Seeking Guidance and Hope
06:08 Closing Thoughts and Farewell

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to If you Can Hear Me, a space where
culture meets the soul. I'm Ben Higgins. You may know
me and many of my guests from Culture and Headlines,
but this podcast is about going beyond the surface into
something deeper. Today we're on location at the twenty twenty
six Super Bowl, connecting with some friends for a brief
conversation about identity, faith and purpose.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Let's get into it, Rachel, Thanks for jumping on.

Speaker 3 (00:28):
Thank you for having me, Ben.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
I'm so excited for you.

Speaker 4 (00:31):
This is super fun for me. The whole idea is
to get to know people better. It is a faith
based show, and I know faith means so many different
things to so many people.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
The show's title is called If you Can hear Me? Rachel.

Speaker 4 (00:45):
We have a limit amount of time before Radio Row
shuts down, and we're going to close this thing down tonight.
But I want to ask a question to you that
I've never been able to ask because we've always been
talking about people dating and what's happening in the bachelor world.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
But what keeps you going in life? Like what is
your foundation built on?

Speaker 1 (01:06):
Well?

Speaker 3 (01:06):
I grew up Catholic, so I feel like that was
always something growing up. But since I've gotten older, I'm
a little bit less involved in the religion. But I
would say that would probably be like the core of
like if I believed in something would be Catholicism.

Speaker 4 (01:24):
But I mean you've also i think, spoken openly like
you're very much like feeling an emotion and the energies
around you, like you're very much in that you know
world too.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
You grew up in the Catholic Church. Mm hmm, it's
no longer prevalent in your life. Is there like a
reason that you can remember?

Speaker 3 (01:45):
Well, I mean, I feel like there's so many things
it's hard, I think for me to wrap my mind
around everything that it stands for. I think it's no
question that, like it's not always getting the best rap.
And my mom used to always say, like growing up,
She's like, well, you can pick like certain things and
leave out certain things. But I feel like just as
I've gotten older and like deciding what I believe in,

(02:06):
it didn't always like align if that makes sense, you know.

Speaker 4 (02:10):
But I mean, as we get older, I think one
of the questions that continues just to sit on my
brain all the time is like I have this like
desire for something greater than myself, A hope for something
greater than myself, something greater than myself that cares and
loves me. Do you find yourself, especially as you're you know,
getting older, crying out for the same things I mean.

Speaker 3 (02:33):
I do. I think also I have always been a
little bit more like science minded as well, like I
was in an engineering field, like in college, So I
think I always try to look at things also from
that point of view. I know this like or not
the answers you want to hear.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
No, these are exactly the answers are.

Speaker 3 (02:52):
But I know I want to like sit here and be.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
Like, no, I want you to be honest.

Speaker 3 (02:55):
I think just growing up and struggling with it on
my own and then also being educated in a science field,
I've always just kind of like straight further and further away.
But that's not to say that like when I got
older it would be different because my mom, like my
family is still like Italian Catholic Saint Anthony. I have
a statue of Saint Anthony in my house still. But yeah, no,

(03:18):
it's definitely a little bit different as I got older.

Speaker 2 (03:20):
Do you take I mean to like reset yourself, right?

Speaker 4 (03:24):
I spend a ton of time in silence, I pray
somebody that maybe you know, has a background of faith
and still appreciates the idea that maybe there is something
greater than us out there. What do you do to
kind of I guess what I call prayer? What do
you call it?

Speaker 3 (03:44):
I mean, I definitely think I need to do more
of it.

Speaker 4 (03:46):
I like, this is not like a This is not
just a guilt trip you. This is a question of
what in your life? Where are you at, Rachel? What
is going on in your world?

Speaker 3 (03:54):
I know, I think it's all like for me, I
don't know. Just like the term prayer, manifesting, meditating, I
need to do more of it. I really don't have
that in my life right now. I know I probably
need something, but I feel like I don't know.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
We all need something.

Speaker 4 (04:13):
Yeah, as we kind of wrap up here, obviously, the
last few years have been crazy for you. Your public you know,
image has grown. People know you, they're following your story.
It gets more chaotic, obviously, we don't. Yeah, you're in
a You're trying to date and find a forever partner.

(04:38):
I know those seasons for me personally were deep moments
of God. I need something here, like I'm lost. I
don't know how to you know, navigate any of this.
How are you navigating it?

Speaker 2 (04:51):
Not well?

Speaker 3 (04:51):
Clearly would say that, Yeah, I don't know. I definitely
feel like I am in a period probably similar to
where I was right before I came on the Bachelor,
where it's kind of like what now and everything does
feel so up in the air. But I think I
don't know.

Speaker 2 (05:10):
I probably need to come.

Speaker 3 (05:11):
Back to myself more. And I feel like once I
come back to myself, that part of my life will
come together as well. I think it's hard for me
to have that part when I still have work to do.

Speaker 4 (05:22):
Well, yes, you know what, do me one favor. Okay,
you're an incredible human.

Speaker 2 (05:27):
You are too. You don't need to say this back.

Speaker 4 (05:29):
So I tell my wife when I give her a compliment,
she always comes back with a compment.

Speaker 2 (05:32):
That's not the point.

Speaker 4 (05:34):
Spend some time in silence, just like, take some time
for yourself, go on a walk, don't have music in
just listen to where your heart's at, what's going on,
because I guarantee you it's going to be a beautiful
image that you get.

Speaker 2 (05:48):
You need to.

Speaker 4 (05:50):
Get back into the silence and to the moments where, maybe,
just possibly, God will speak pretty clearly to you again.

Speaker 2 (05:59):
Hope I believe it. Well, if you believe it must
be true, it's not. Rachel. Thanks for jumping on if
you can hear me, Thanks for having me beun Hey, friends,
thanks for listening or watching.

Speaker 4 (06:12):
Would you take a second, follow, subscribe, and drop a comment.

Speaker 2 (06:17):
It really helps