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Fr. Anthony has evangelized Taylor into a wrestling fan and now he and his entire household are watching. This leads to a pro wrestling themed conversation where we decide which of our Catholic heroes would be the best wrestlers and talk through their potential story lines. It's a very fun conversation that we hope you enjoy :)
Taylor is in a new stage of parenting with a JUNIOR HIGH STUDENT and kids at two different campuses for the first time. We know a few of you have been through this and...HOW DO YOU DO IT!?!?! Kathryn shares some tips, tricks, encouragement and tough love with Taylor on the things that have worked best for her, especially in new seasons of parenting. To close out the show, Taylor shares one of the biggest things that Catholics LOVE that is actually currently annoying him.
Taylor is back at Fr. Anthony's house for a few days so they sat down to record a podcast about paganism, inculturation, Taylor's new therapy routine and asking the age old question: Is Taylor a jerk? There's a new story from a recent flight where Taylor might have done the right thing but he also might not have. YOU DECIDE!
Taylor is joined by members of the Epiphany parish youth mission trip to discuss their trip & experiences on the reservation. Taylor led worship for a mission trip on Native land outside of Albuquerque and it was an incredible blessing! He is joined by participants from the trip to discuss their experiences on the reservation & how it has impacted their faith.
Stories galore in this fun episode! Taylor gets a new, random, old man disease, Fr. Anthony almost killed someone & Taylor was smack dab in the middle of Hurricane Beryl!
Taylor shares three stories today about God showing up in some of the strangest places & one story about how Christians can just be the dumbest sometimes lol. We hope you enjoy this conversation about finding God in the strangest places, the most obvious places and the strange reactions when it happens.
KATHRYN WHITAKER CALLED FOR AN EMERGENCY EPISODE! The Texas A&M Aggie Baseball team has had QUITE the saga over the past few weeks and she has THOUGHTS! It's a story of triumph, failure, loyalty, dishonor, anger and so much more! We hope you enjoy our conversation on this hot stove issue of the summer (with fancy connections to Church issues as a bonus.)
Taylor shares some funny insights he had into the storm themed readings from this past Sunday. GOD DOESN'T CARE ABOUT YOUR STORM!!! ...but he does care about you! He also shares about a breakthrough he's had in how he's thinking about his career in regards to duplication of mission. This came after a meeting with a Vatican official(FANCY!)
Kathryn celebrates a monumental birthday, is part of a record breaking concert & Taylor has his deepest spiritual insight of the year! Quite the episode!
Live from Pittsburgh! Taylor suggests seven Catholic things and asks Father Anthony whether they are more helpful for evangelization or more of a hinderance. Also, Taylor has a new scenario where we explore the grey area of Catholic morality: being stranded at sea.
Shaun McAfee cohosts as they share stories about their body failing them in their old age. They also play the Catholic Mashup in the triumphant return of the fan favorite game. Shaun shares about the Pope's new document on Marian Apparitions.
Taylor shares about a cool "crossover Mass" that the local Catholic school does and then yells about the music at Mass. He has a new rant for Fr. Anthony who tries to help him out with this issue and a strange superstition Taylor has about prayer. Is anyone else as crazy as this?!?!
Taylor is back for a solo show after a few weeks hiatus from the podcast. It's been a crazy few weeks and he shares what's been going on, how crazy things have been, some thoughts on how the show will evolve in the future & more. Join Taylor as he tries to find the answers through a lot of tough situations.
Taylor shares his epic fails over the last couple of weeks while Kathryn discusses her upcoming trip to Germany & the importance of mentorship.
Allison does something to Taylor that is one of his biggest pet peeves so he calls her out on it! Taylor shares some good news about his track team utilizing a fun play on words. Finally, they play a new TikTok game that is fun, even though Allison talks gibberish through most of it. Enjoy!
A total eclipse is as rare as an incredible episode of this show. Both happened this week! Taylor & Fr. Anthony discuss this week’s big event, Fr. Anthony’s silly injury & Taylor’s insight from his lived experience that might disagree with popular theology.
Guest cohost Ryan O'Hara joins Taylor to discuss honing the craft of sharing the Gospel, they test their skills in our "Freestyle Preaching" game and Ryan shares his journey of becoming a foster parent.
Taylor & Kathryn reflecting on the Holiest of Weeks on the Church calendar, explaining why we became Catholic & stick with it after all this time.
Taylor has a laundry list of things currently driving him into fits of rage. Allison does her best to help him through it. As the Lenten season begins to wrap up, join us in our suffering. Misery loves company! They laugh through it and Allison shares her classic fiery preaching skills to guide us through times when anger wells up.
LENT IS HAPPENING! The suffering continues in a true comedy of errors for today's two hosts. They commiserate about the last couple weeks & then play a brand new game to try and stave off despair. They close the show with a deep discussion about what transubstantiation actually does.
We're doing a Forte Flashback this week, highlighting our cohost Kathryn Whitaker's first two appearances on the podcast as a guest. These conversations were the seeds planted that eventually led to her joining us on a monthly basis.
Taylor & Kathryn do a Lenten check-in, discuss their differing views on the Gen Z Bible trend on social media & Taylor shares about how his best night ever at a blackjack table relates to Heaven, Hell & our spiritual lives.
Taylor shares about traveling to North Carolina for the GOF wedding, having a great time with dozens of internet friends he met in person for the first time & some new fancy food that made him realize he's an idiot. This leads to Allison sharing about her own wedding & some hilarious stories of her kids in Mass.
Fr. Anthony has convinced Taylor to watch wrestling for the second time, and this time it's a family affair! They also discuss "priest voice" and do some rare voice acting!
Taylor & Chris Bartlett share their favorite wholesome tv shows, play a Super Bowl inspired version of "Read My Lips" & dive into the massively popular talk from Msgr. Shea at the FOCUS Conference.
Taylor shares a crazy story of how God's providence came in the clutch! He & Kathryn discuss their shared love for Jason Kelce & Kathryn talks about he big house purge project and it's implications on family life & our spiritual lives.
This is the kindest and holiest episode we've done in a WHILE! Taylor & Allison rediscover the Five Love Languages with some new insight they haven't seen before that apply to all the relationships in our lives. They also say very kind things about a lot of people in their lives while discussing how it takes an entire community for us to see all the attributes of God.
Taylor is back home from Ireland & shares a plethora of stories from his travels with Fr. Anthony. From wild travel stories, to being a fish out of water in another country, to experiencing TWO new cultures to explaining why he was there in the first place, Taylor has a ton to share. These stories have humor, faith insight & more. We hope you enjoy this storytelling episode of the show!
Live From Ireland! Taylor traveled to Dublin to speak at the Awake Ireland Conference hosted by the Syro-Malabar Youth Movement. Syro-Malabar is one of the rites within the Catholic Church. In this episode, Taylor talks about the history of the rite, it's roots in India, how it differs from the Latin rite & much more. Join Taylor, Ebin Baby & Fr. Binoj to learn about our Syro-Malabar brothers and sisters' faith tradition.
Happy New Year! Keith from Grassroot Catholic is back to discuss piety & devotion. He & Taylor also discuss their Christmas celebrations, including quite possibly the worst Mass experience Taylor has ever had! Fr. Peter Pomposello joins Taylor to teach us about the role of priests in the military.
Merry Christmas from all of us to all of you! The gang is all hear with our yearly guest, comedian Aaron Weber. All three cohosts join in the celebrations to discuss what we love & hate about this season, if Mary knew & questioning some holiday traditions.
Taylor & Kathryn discuss how there are multiple pathways to holiness within Catholicism and somehow how spiritual growth equates to phone upgrades. They also discuss their opinions on the college football playoffs, Jimbo Fisher’s firing, fairness & leadership.
Allison walked the red carpet for "The Shift" premiere in LA. She & Taylor shares what their ruminating on during their Advent & they debate the cancellation of comedian Matt Rife.
Taylor has some confessions to make! Two extremely repressed (for good reason) memories just resurfaced & he wanted to share them with you & Fr. Anthony. They debate which of them are cooler & what coolness has to do with living out our faith. They also talk about how old our Church is, some of the things about it that have made it stand the test of time that might also be the same reasons we get frustrated with it. Fr. Anthony shares some good ol' fancy Catholic words that Taylor (and you!) have to guess what they mean.
Taylor is joined by his friend & co-worker Sarah Allen this week. Sarah shares what it's like to work with Taylor, how it's different than the first time & gives a glimpse into life behind the scenes here. Sarah also got married earlier this year (yay!). She shares the cool story of how she met her husband, how the early months of marriage have gone & Taylor's role at her wedding. They also discuss people getting married later, the lack of young people going on dates & young Catholic ladies longing for marriage.
Happy Thanksgiving! Taylor was reminded that it is hard to be negative and thankful at the same time so recalling what we are grateful for is a great remedy. He & Kathryn share what they are thankful for & also keep the Thanksgiving spirit alive but talking about minding your own business, especially when you don't have all the facts.
Taylor asks Allison Sullivan if he's too young to have a mid-life crisis because he would like to. They talk about what's been going on and how to find a way out of it. They also play a silly game to lighten the mood. Taylor is also joined by Keith of The Cordial Catholic to chat about being more welcoming to non-Catholics & assisting with their formation.
Learning a spiritual growth plan from Teenage Jesus, hearing personal growth quips from the great Zig Ziglar & Fr. Anthony eats spicy stuff while trying to answer Bible Trivia and respond to Taylor's hot takes.
This episode was recorded on the Eve of the Nativity of the Taylor. He & Liv reflect on his "Jesus year". The celebrations continue as Taylor shares the excitement of his sister's wedding this past weekend & the joy of family gatherings. They also discuss some breakthroughs they have both made in their personal & spiritual lives, including a bizarre realization about Zechariah & Mary.
Taylor shares two awkward stories and asks Kathryn if he is the villain in them. Kathryn speaks on stewardship & catches herself in an Aggie & parenting conundrum.
Taylor explains that he's an idiot that keeps making the wrong choice with cohost Shaun McAfee. They discuss how getting old and pride aren't mixing well & the lessons he still needs to learn. They also share the shocking revelation that the Catechism has passages on struggling in prayer. Who knew!?!?
Allison joins Taylor as he shares about something most people keep pretty close to their chest: money. He shares that money has been a constant stressor for over a decade and Allison thinks he's not alone. They discuss financial stressors, the pit of comparison & what role money plays in on spiritual lives. Allison also helps Taylor prep two new talks on the Vine & Branches and Martha & Mary.
Taylor & Liv discuss battling Main Character Energy in our spiritual lives and relationships. They also have some alliterative suggestions for finding a way out of dryness in prayer.
Taylor & Kathryn discuss the importance of continual change in the spiritual life. Taylor also shares a story of a grown man shaming some teenagers and how rage welled up in Taylor when he saw it. It opens up a conversation about how shame has no place in the Christian life.
Shaun is back to discuss being Catholic in the workplace & sacramentals. Living out our faith in a public sector job has been a frequently requested topic for us so we found a gov't employee to help us out lol. And Shaun tries to convince Taylor that sacramentals are more important than he may initially think.
Taylor & Allison both share about their vastly different summers. Allison took on a new mission while Taylor dealt with something he never thought he would have to. They also discuss what we can still learn from Moses 4000 years later about choosing the right thing even if it's not the easy thing & share a moving story about how positive reinforcements can truly work wonders.
Fr. Anthony tries to make a WWE fan out of Taylor with mixed results. They play a new Catholic word association game that reveals maybe a little too much & Taylor makes some wild claims about Jesus again including about the Lord’s qualifications, liturgy preferences, views on healing ministry, Catholic conferences and more!
The Johnny Manziel documentary just came out. Kathryn is a fan of Johnny. Taylor can't stand him! They discuss a plethora of topics surrounding this Texas A&M College Football star, his rise, fall & how we are left to sort through the wreckage.
Taylor & Chris chat about topics they tend to shy away from when giving talks, the reasons behind it and whether they should expand their horizons or stick to the stuff they know? (queue High School Musical) They also give each other a run for their money in Freestyle Preaching & discuss Spiritual Nostalgia with the help of the song "Old Church Basement."
Our 350th Episode Live from Fr. Anthony's Rectory! They discuss a fancy candlelit Mass that Taylor attended & Fr. Anthony's parish. They have a conversation about fancy Churches, prayer entrapment & the grace of ordination. They also have a long awaited conversation about the morality of the zombie apocalypse! What would you do!?!?
Liv Harrison makes her triumphant return to the show to chat about her sabbatical year, Oppenheimer & Taylor texted with Chat GPT Jesus!
Kathryn & Taylor discuss how to break slumps in faith & talk about how they're the same/different than they were as kids & play the faith version of the alphabet game.
Father is back from vacation feeling great! He shares how Jesus' burden is light(even when it feels heavy) & answers questions about when priests are In Persona Christi, especially during Mass.
Allison took the spiritual gifts assessment and reveals her results which leads to a good conversation on finding our place in the Church community. She also keeps Taylor on his toes by asking some of her favorite "21 questions." Nick Senz joins the show to compare NBA legends to Catholic Saints in a fun way to learn more great saint stories.
Kathryn prepares for three kids in college & she and Taylor share their very different workout routines & summers.
Fr. Will Rooney rejoins Taylor in the studio to discuss his new assignment as a first time pastor. They look back at the great year he spent at St.Joe's and what he learned to prepare him to be a pastor.
Allison is back from her Footsteps of St. Paul Pilgrimage with lots to share & Taylor talks about how Christians need to be better in public.
Taylor & Fr. Anthony discuss fatherhood in preparation for Father's Day & Taylor shares one of his weirdest stories as a dad. They also discuss the morality of video games & talk about the book "Get Your Life Back" by John Eldredge.
Taylor is back from vacation rejuvenated, Kathryn had multiple kids graduate & they share tips for engaged couples.
Taylor shares how he now has TWO kids with broken arms in his house, dealing with tough times as a Catholic & Allison Sullivan talks about the value of a good marriage.
Taylor & Fr. Anthony discuss the Jericho story like you've never heard before, Malcolm Gladwell failing forward and play Fancy Catholic trivia!
Our happiest episode in months! Taylor's Track Girls are State Champions! And his son's arm is (miraculously?) healed! Allison has HUGE news as well!
Taylor is joined by Kathryn Whitaker in studio as they talk about the high highs and the low lows of the last couple of weeks. They also discuss the importance of being a "practicing" Catholic and how that may mean a shift in focus on how we view our spiritual journeys.
Fr. Anthony & Taylor discuss what we should be focusing on during this extended Easter season, the questions of if the benefits of indulgences are worth the confusion & the morality of addiction.
Allison Sullivan joins Taylor Schroll as he shares about how a recent reflection on the Creation story really broke his brain in regards to the balance between confidence and humility. They also discuss how Catholics should think about legacy, what we learn from St. Joseph's inadequacy & how we can bring peace into any situation.
Kathryn Whitaker returns to share about her amazing trip to the Holy Land! Kathryn & Taylor also talk about how God is present to us even in places that we may not always expect him. Have a blessed Holy Week!
Taylor's associate pastor, Fr. Will Rooney, joins the show to chat about pastorally making changes to a parish and the Mass & the strangeness of slippery slope arguments.
Taylor has questions about some weird Church rules and some strange morality questions for Fr. Anthony. Father also shares about his recent trip to Canada and shares some reflections on the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Taylor & Allison discuss movies from before Taylor was born, self-talk and how both negative & positive reinforcement can be helpful. Allison also shares about her recent trip to Patricia Heaton's house(!) for a gathering of Catholic pro-life ladies.
Taylor shares a beautiful story from a Deacon ordination he added that also had a funny ending. They also discuss the importance of repetition & a few reflections on the life of Jesus.
We talk with a Catholic sketch comedian about his work and the importance of humor in faith & our day to day lives. Steven and I met on Twitter and I really enjoy his sketches about faith, family and catholic life.
We hosted a men's retreat in Southern Louisiana and it was an awesome experience! We share graces & play a hot takes game in a live episode :)
Taylor & Fr. Anthony discuss healing prayer, intinction and Fr. Anthony's favorite topic: LAY PEOPLE! And they start off the show in a way no other Catholic podcast has ever done before! Enjoy :)
Taylor & Kathryn share their favorite ways to pray (We guarantee you've never heard Kathryn's answer!) They discuss Lectio Divina which is a great way to pray with scripture and share a reflection on Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well.
Taylor & Allison discuss self-worth & dealing with burnout. They are also joined by Lauren Costabile to talk about her work with Hearts of Joy which provides the love, care and life-saving surgeries that children with Down Syndrome need around the world.
Taylor Schroll flies solo this week and shares two of his favorite reflections on this past weekend's Gospel: the Beatitudes.
Our topics include Prayer Ministry, our "type", hedges of Protection, hot takes on English vs. Latin, the Gospel writers in Heaven, getting bored with our faith, a brand new hilarious game, the morality of DoorDashing from Hooters, coincidence or God & Catholic pronunciations!
Live from Austin, Texas! Today's episode was recording at Kathryn Whitaker's home in the capital of the great country of Texas! She recently returned from a family trip to Italy and shares all about her experiences in the heartland of our faith. We also test her mettle at our favorite game "Freestyle Preaching" and Taylor shares his thoughts on conspiracy theories and the Turing Test.
Taylor & Allison discuss their differing approaches to dealing with haters online, Allison’s recent ADHD diagnosis and they share their ideas for spiritual growth in 2023.
Happy New Year! I'm terrible at looking back at the past and seeing all the good things God did in my life. I'm usually focused on the present or working towards building a better future that I forget to be thankful for what has already happened. That is why every year, we do a "State of the Forte" as our first episode of the new year to see all the cool things we experienced together.
Comedian Aaron Weber is back with Taylor & Fr. Anthony to share a hilarious moral dilemma he found himself in. Taylor & Fr. Anthony also share some Christmas insights & Father has to answer spur of the moment theology questions in our new "plane theology" segment.
Kathryn joins Taylor in studio to share some exciting news! They talk about the gift of positivity & the Church's mandate to evangelize. Kathryn also helps Taylor write an upcoming talk he is giving on cancel culture.
From all of us at Forte Catholic, we wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas!
Allison Sullivan joins Taylor as he shares how podcasting has broken him in two ways: one during Mass and the other in normal conversations. They also discuss their thoughts on soccer, the World Cup, spelling bees and dealing with anxiety.
Taylor shares some fun stories about being mistaken for an elderly woman and how he handled losing a contest in elementary school. He also chats with Fr. Anthony about forsaking sin. They also introduce a new segment called "plane theology" where Taylor asks the good priest theology questions with no warning.
Taylor & Jon share some of their funniest ministry moments, their favorite things to preach about and play one of our favorite games: freestyle preaching!
Chris Bartlett is our guest cohost and he talks with Taylor about an event they both get fired from lol. He also brings a new game where he gives Taylor marvel heroes and asks how they would use their talents to benefit the Church. Will Hickl of Novum Records joins the show to share about their Christmas album. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Taylor & Allison discuss how expectations can really ruin experiences and pick each other's best and worst virtues. Fun! Meghan Adams joins the show to chat about Catholic's role in being good stewards of the environment.
Taylor & Fr. Anthony discuss what sacrilege is and a recent song that may be the most sacrilegious yet! They also discuss the surprising origins of the term "yolo" & play our favorite saints game with November feast days! Enjoy :)
Jon Blevins cohosts as Taylor shares his mixed feelings on music by a former Catholic, now atheist being played at Mass. They also discuss how Jesus can simultaneously be the seemingly contradictory Lion and the Lamb and what that means for us. We're also joined by special guest Fr. Dave Dwyer to discuss his impressive media career and the launch of his new book on the Mass.
There are a lot of "firsts" in this episode! First episode with Taylor in his new recording set up. First time guest cohost Peter Schmidt has been on the show and first time for Catholic comics creator Andy Shaggy Korty! Check out the episode where we tackle creating online community, comics and how attached we all are to money.
Taylor & Allison discuss how their list of enemies continues to get longer. How did this happen? What is wrong with us? And how do we deal with this internally while struggling to forgive. They also chat about the recent Marvel show "She-Hulk." The show as a blast and highlighted some great issues in a manner that was quite enjoyable.
Taylor asks Fr. Anthony why he and his brother priests act in persona Christi and not in persona Fathery/Spirity/Trinity. He also makes Fr. Anthony play the Catholic hymns edition of Finish the Lyrics. Finally, they discuss how the Church could be more welcoming to gay Catholics and better help them on their journey of discipleship.
Taylor tries to prove to Jon that his barber is lying to him. He has questions about a famous St. Francis story, a change in the Mass that makes very little sense & talking through parish life.
Fr. Joseph-Anthony Kress O.P. has been a guest on the show many times but this is his first time in the cohost chair. They discuss how we are all more equipped to minister to people than we may expect, how Taylor avoids social media bans & how sometimes people are just trying way to hard and need to chill. We hope you enjoy this week's episode!
Taylor shares a bit of his struggle while Allison shares the joys of her Orca Isle adventures! Then they have a deep discussion about some of Taylor's internal struggles about things that he should be thrilled about but is instead frustrated/conflicted. He has mixed feelings about converts, highlighted by the recent news of Shia LaBeouf becoming Catholic.
Taylor & Fr. Anthony announce that they are leading a pilgrimage to Rome! They discuss the trip, how Taylor is now a cult leader(in a video game at least), and a hodgepodge of topics including pipe organs, maydays & the alphabet.
A HUGE personal win for Taylor this week that he and Liv chat about. She gives us update on her dad's health, they discuss the woman at the well & remembering answered prayers.
Allison Sullivan cohosts as Taylor shares a big life transition, his trip to lovely Kansas and a bit about taking risks paying off. They discuss the temperaments, a modern day Jesus food miracle, change and copycats. Enjoy! :)
Taylor & Jon discuss their recent happy moments from parenting, how they deal with life's regrets and the difference between mountains & hills and what that has to do with the Church.
Fr. Anthony Sciarappa & Taylor Schroll discuss the best hate mail the show has ever received, a very odd Mass experience Taylor had and they play their "Is That a Sin" game!
Chris returns as our resident former bullied child to answer Taylor's question about if Taylor has become the bully. There's a fine line between standing up for yourself against bullies and bullying others in return. They also discuss Chris' fancy new role as President of Ablaze Ministries & the age old debate of whether Catholic school kids need youth group to stay Catholic.