Forte Catholic Podcast: Making Catholicism Fun Again

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 & eight other guys spent the weekend in a beautiful lake house in southern Louisiana and had a great time! We spent the weekend in prayer, fellowship, drinks, great food, a trip to the beach and some great game time! We decided to record an episode at the lake house together with a whole cast of characters. In today's episode, you'll hear some of the things that the Lord was doing in the hearts and minds of the men on the retreat and also get to join in our fun as we play "Mezzo/Piano/Forte", our hot takes about Catholicism game. We hope you enjoy this episode! If you'd like more info about our retreats, head to https://www.fortecatholic.com/retreats Subscribe/Rate Never miss out on the craziness of each episode by hitting the subscribe button RIGHT NOW! Help other people find the show by taking a few moments to leave a review in your podcasting app. Thanks! Yo

Fr. Anthony and Taylor start the podcast in a brand new way that you could have never seen coming! Taylor shares a story about a new Church he went to that distributed Communion in a different way than he is used to which led to some awkwardness, questions and ultimately a great experience. Taylor also approaches Fr. Anthony with a dilemma about not wanting to pray bold prayers. He was recently in a couple of situations where people wanted him to pray for big healings or miracles and he just couldn't for some reason. Was it prudence? Fear? Both? Fr. Anthony has some great advice! Finally, they discuss Fr. Anthony's favorite topic: LAY PEOPLE! Taylor has some questions about how lay people's role of priest, prophet and king should play out in a parish/diocese that has ordained men also being priest, prophet and king. Where is the line between what God has called me to do and still being respectful of the structure God put in place in the hierarchy of the Church? We really enjoyed recording this episode and hop

Taylor & Kathryn share stories from their recent retreat/conference weekends and talk a bit about prayer. Taylor has been asking people he respects and looks up to how they pray for years and Kathryn gives the most surprising answer yet! They also discuss Lectio Divina, which is a way of praying with Scripture that Taylor has found particularly helpful. They lay out how it works and discuss some of the fruits of prayer, in particular with the Gospel story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Subscribe/Rate Never miss out on the craziness of each episode by hitting the subscribe button RIGHT NOW! Help other people find the show by taking a few moments to leave a review in your podcasting app. Thanks! YouTube Check out the show and other exclusive videos on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/fortecatholic Connect

Taylor & Allison recap her recent retreat and discuss how they view themselves. Our self-worth is an important thing to balance and Taylor is surprised by Allison's answer to an important question. They also discuss burnout and how to get out of the cycle/systems that lead to us losing drive and the joy that comes from our routine tasks. They're also joined by Lauren Costabile to discuss her work with Hearts of Joy: an organization designed to help children with Down Syndrome receive the surgeries, love and care that they need. For more information check out https://heartsofjoyinternational.com/ Subscribe/Rate Never miss out on the craziness of each episode by hitting the subscribe button RIGHT NOW! Help other people find the show by taking a few moments to leave a review in your podcasting app. Thanks! YouTube Check out the show and other exclusive videos on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/fortecatholic Connect

Taylor Schroll flies solo this week and shares two of his favorite reflections on this past weekend's Gospel: the Beatitudes. The first is from the homily at his parish given by Fr. Brian Eilers contrasting the themes from Jesus' famous sermon on the mount with how the world tells us to live. The second is from a song called "Confession" by the Poor Kings. The lead singer was Taylor's HS youth minister and its a beautiful modern reflection on these ancients truths. We hope you enjoy today's episode! Please subscribe, like and share with a friend :) Subscribe/Rate Never miss out on the craziness of each episode by hitting the subscribe button RIGHT NOW! Help other people find the show by taking a few moments to leave a review in your podcasting app. Thanks! YouTube Check out the show and other exclusive videos on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/fortecatholic Connect

Typically we tackle 2-3 primary topics on an episode. This week we're trying to see how many topics we can jam into this episode, so we GUARANTEE there's something for everyone. 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 Yes, we discuss all of that in this hour long show and we hope it brightens your day as much as it brightened our to record! Subscribe/Rate Never miss out on the craziness of each episode by hitting the subscribe button RIGHT NOW! Help other people find the show by taking a few moments to leave a review in your podcasting app. Thanks! YouTube Check out the show and other exclusive videos on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/fortecatholic Connect

Live from Austin, Texas! Today's episode was recording at Kathryn Whitaker's home in the capital of the great country of Texas! Kathryn 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. We hope you enjoy this week's episode! Subscribe/Rate Never miss out on the craziness of each episode by hitting the subscribe button RIGHT NOW! Help other people find the show by taking a few moments to leave a review in your podcasting app. Thanks! YouTube Check out the show and other exclusive videos on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/fortecatholic Connect

Allison & Taylor chat about their holiday break and Allison's recent ADHD diagnosis. They also talk about dealing with haters online & the mix of comedy & responsibility online. This all stems from a recent video Allison made on TikTok that made waves. Our hosts share their differing approaches to how to deal with hatred online. They also discuss a new initiative at their parish and how it can be used as a good barometer for all of us to focus on spiritual growth in the new year. Subscribe/Rate Never miss out on the craziness of each episode by hitting the subscribe button RIGHT NOW! Help other people find the show by taking a few moments to leave a review in your podcasting app. Thanks! YouTube Check out the show and other exclusive videos on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/fortecatholic Connect

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. In today's episode, Taylor looks at the highlights of the show from the past year, counts down our top ten episodes, our top ten moments and shares how the show has grown. We also review the additions to our YouTube channel in 2022 and the rest of the work we did through producing other great Catholic podcasts and our events. Taylor also takes a few moments to address the passing of one of his heroes Pope Benedict XVI and his thoughts on the Damar Hamlin situation from this week's Monday Night Football. We hope you enjoy looking back at the past year with us. Blessings on your new year! Subscribe/Rate Never miss out on the craz

Aaron Weber, Father Anthony and Taylor unite for their annual Christmas episode! They debate a theory about comedy that Father Anthony has and Aaron shares the funniest moral dilemma he found himself in that we've ever heard! Check out Aaron's comedy at http://aaronwebercomedy.com/. In the rest of the episode, Taylor & Fr. Anthony touch base on how their Advent went, share some Christmas insights and Taylor shares about a funny announcement made before Mass at his parish. To close the show, they do their new segment "Plane Theology" where Taylor puts Fr. Anthony on the spot with theology questions he got no prep time for. This week's topics include if the Apostles were baptized, if demons can hear our thoughts and if Mary knew. Merry Christmas y'all from the Forte Catholic family! Subscribe/Rate Never miss out on the craziness of each episode by hitting the subscribe button RIGHT NOW! Help other people find the show by taking a few moments to leave a review in your podcasting app. Thanks! YouTube Check out th

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! Subscribe/Rate Never miss out on the craziness of each episode by hitting the subscribe button RIGHT NOW! Help other people find the show by taking a few moments to leave a review in your podcasting app. Thanks! YouTube Check out the show and other exclusive videos on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/fortecatholic Connect

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 during the World Cup, a difficult story from a spelling bee(didn't see that one coming) and some overall thoughts on dealing with anxiety and seasonal depression. We're not therapists but we hope you and enjoy our honest conversation with the signature Forte Catholic laughter through the pain ;) Subscribe/Rate Never miss out on the craziness of each episode by hitting the subscribe button RIGHT NOW! Help other people find the show and #MakeCatholicismFunAgain by taking a few moments to leave a review in your podcasting app. Thanks! YouTube Check out the show and other exclusive videos on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/fortecatholic Connect

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. As Catholics, we know the importance of confessing our sins but a lot of us have gotten complacent in our call to forsake our sins. We also introduce a new segment called "Plane Theology." Popes have been writing encyclicals for years after careful research and revisions. But in modern times, our leaders are often asked questions on the spot like in interviews or on planes. So Taylor asks Fr. Anthony a series of theology questions he's been wondering about recently with absolutely no prep for the good priest. The topics include Jerusalem, infant baptism and hiccups. Enjoy! Subscribe/Rate Never miss out on the craziness of each episode by hitting the subscribe button RIGHT NOW! Help other people find the show and #MakeCatholicismFunAgain by taking a few moments to leave a review in your podcasting app. Thanks! YouTube Check out th

Jon Blevins cohosts as Taylor shares stories from a fun ministry trip to Seattle. The stories involve funniest ministry moments, worst biblical pronunciations & Catholics invading non-denominational camps. They also play one of our favorite games: freestyle preaching. They give each other three random words that they have to include in a 60 second sermon which lead to some great points and good laughs. Finally, they share some of the "best nuggets" from their real preaching at retreats, youth nights, or conferences. They have both been sharing the Gospel for years and share their favorite insights to speak about. Subscribe/Rate Never miss out on the craziness of each episode by hitting the subscribe button RIGHT NOW! Help other people find the show and #MakeCatholicismFunAgain by taking a few moments to leave a review in your podcasting app. Thanks! YouTube Check out the show and other exclusive videos on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/fortecatholic Connect

Chris Bartlett is our guest cohost and he talks with Taylor about an event they both get fired from lol. Chris also brings a new game where he gives Taylor marvel heroes and asks how they would use their talents to benefit the Church. It's a blast! Will Hickl joins the show to share about his Catholic record label Novum Records and to share some of their Christmas album. As this is our Thanksgiving episode, we know many people start decorating for Christmas sometime this week, including listening to Christmas music so we have a great selection of Advent/Christmas songs to help you prepare the way for Jesus over the next month. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Forte Catholic! Subscribe/Rate Never miss out on the craziness of each episode by hitting the subscribe button RIGHT NOW! Help other people find the show and #MakeCatholicismFunAgain by taking a few moments to leave a review in your podcasting app. Thanks! YouTube Check out the show and other exclusive videos on our YouTube channel: https://www.yout

Allison Sullivan & Taylor Schroll discuss how expectations can really ruin an experience. They discuss this in regards to movies, video games and people, but it also applies to how we interact with God and the Church. They also go through St. Josemaria Escriva's book "The Way" for tips on the virtues they are best and worst at. It was fun to choose themes we thought the other could work on ;) Our guest this week is Meghan Adams. She is an environmental engineer who is passionate about the Lord's call for us to be good stewards of the earth He has given us. She and Taylor discuss why Catholics should care about the environment, Pope Francis' focus on it in his latest writings and what normal Catholics can do in their daily life to better take care of our shared home. Follow Meghan @red10meg on Instagram and Twitter. Subscribe/Rate Never miss out on the craziness of each episode by hitting the subscribe button RIGHT NOW! Help other people find the show and #MakeCatholicismFunAgain by taking a few moments to lea

Taylor Schroll & Fr. Anthony Sciarappa have a conversation about holy and unholy things. They discuss what sacrilege is, Taylor tries to toe the line. They also share that a recent hit song might possibly be the most sacrilegious pop song EVER! Next, they discuss the SURPRISING origins of the term "Yolo" and how it actually lines up with the Christian notion of remembering that we only have one life and should be acting accordingly. Finally, they play the "imitate, intercess or ignore" game with saints who's feast days are in October and November. Laugh along as we learn about saints in the silliest of ways. Enjoy! Subscribe/Rate Never miss out on the craziness of each episode by hitting the subscribe button RIGHT NOW! Help other people find the show and #MakeCatholicismFunAgain by taking a few moments to leave a review in your podcasting app. Thanks! YouTube Check out the show and other exclusive videos on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/fortecatholic Connect

Jon Blevins cohosts as Taylor shares his mixed feelings on music by a former Catholic, now atheist being played at Mass. It was initially frustrating but then ended in hope. 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 today by very special guest Fr. Dave Dwyer of the "Busted Halo Show" on Sirius XM's "The Catholic Channel." Taylor has looked up to Fr. Dave for years and Fr. Dave's show has been a huge influence on Taylor's approach to Catholic media. After years of working in media, including stints at MTV & Comedy Central, Fr. Dave has written his first book "Mass Class." He answers some of our most pressing questions about the Mass as well as some of the strangest he's received through the years. Listen to Fr. Dave's show on "The Catholic Channel", check out the podcast wherever you enjoy pods and get his new book today. (https://www.paulistpress.com/Products/0666-0/mass-class.aspx). Subscribe/Rate Never miss o

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! Taylor introduces Peter and they talk about the online Catholic young adult community he's been able to create through Game of Favorites (on Twitch.tv/ptony). Taylor also has a confession to make about last week's show that made him feel VERY dumb. Andy Shaggy Korty is our guest this week and he shares about his new idea "Nov Arts Ordo." Andy is an incredible comics creator who's plan is to invite other creators to make something each day in November that is connected to the saints. Connect with Andy on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter @andyshaggykorty. Peter closes out the show with a topic he wanted to focus on: poverty. They discuss how whether we are rich, poor or anywhere in between, we can all still struggle with our connection to money. Subscribe/Rate Never miss out on the craziness of ea

Taylor shares a personal & professional announcement with Allison to kick off the show and then they discuss how they have accumulated enemies at an alarming rate since the pandemmy started. Taylor gets introspective and asks why he has so many enemies, if he needs to change everything, how to deal with enemies internally and struggling to forgive them. Allison gives her wise counsel as always. They also discuss the recent She-Hulk Marvel series and how it was such a great show and really gave great insight into the differences between men and women by showing the differences between the Hulk & She-Hulk. They have a conversation about the show and highlight some of their favorite moments highlighting women's issues, anger, and friendship. Subscribe/Rate Never miss out on the craziness of each episode by hitting the subscribe button RIGHT NOW! Help other people find the show and #MakeCatholicismFunAgain by taking a few moments to leave a review in your podcasting app. Thanks! YouTube Check out the show and oth