Forte Catholic

Fr. Anthony recently gave communion for 45 minutes straight at a Mass because he didn't have help. This drove Taylor crazy and makes him share a recent change to how he goes about life. He's tired of worrying about stepping on people's toes and he's just going to step up instead. (Not like in the movie Step Up though. He can't dance) Then Fr. Anthony shares about two life changes he wants to make...

Taylor & Liv spent the day together and then recorded this episode in her studio! They give an update on their lives, Taylor has a quick update on a conversation from last episode and they talk about wrestling with God. They also talk about where the title "Paraclete" for the Holy Spirit came from and what that means today. Finally, they discuss decision fatigue, christian over-discernment and...

Allison is back! She talks with Taylor about where she's been, mental health and they both talk about some surprises they've had to deal with recently. Taylor complains(typical) and shares some insight into doing things contrary to how he usually does things and it turned a terrible day into an incredible day! Finally, they discuss their favorite words to pray with. Enjoy! Subscribe/Rate Never mis...

Taylor & Jon haven't talked in a while so they kick off the show by catching up on each other's lives with stories about life, work, sports. Next, Taylor shares a story he recently heard in a homily that he's heard many times before, but this time he has some questions about it. It involved following Catholic rules(or not), respect for the Sacraments and martyrdom. Prepare for potential contro...

David Bates of the Pints with Jack podcast guest cohosts with Taylor as they share their insight from Holy Week and this Easter Season. They also discuss two things right up David's alley: CS Lewis & Byzantine Catholicism. They dive into Lewis' book "The Four Loves" and Taylor pesters him with questions about why he is different than him. It's quite fun. Enjouy! Subscribe/Rate Never miss out o...

We're back! After taking a week off due to Taylor having the plague, he and Fr. Anthony Sciarappa kick off our Holy Week episode by discussing healing. There are many stories of healing in the Scriptures but do they still happen today? Should we be asking for miraculous healings? What happens if we ask for healing and it doesn't come? They dive into a discussion on these deep issues. In the next s...

Taylor went to Jon's house for his annual March Madness party and they recorded a podcast together. This is their first ever recording in person and it was a blast! They chatted about the weekend: hanging out with 50 dudes & having Mass in Jon's house. They kept the sports theme going with comparing an elusive baseball stat with our spiritual life. And they played an intense round of our saint...

Liv Harrison cohosts as Taylor shares about his recent trip to see multiple doctors. It wasn't the greatest day but he saw a lot of silly, and some serious, connections to his faith life during his day with the docs. He also asked a one doctor a question prompted by Liv and he didn't get the answer he was expecting. Then, they discuss if this podcast's hosts have had any character development thro...

Whoops! It's a different Sciarappa! Nick cohosts this week as he shares some spicy takes and the joys of being a new father. Then, they play Freestyle Preaching! This is our game where each host has to give a 60 second sermon including three random words given to them by the other host. It's a blast! Finally, Taylor shares some of his insights from a talk he gave about the Dry Bones at a parish mi...

Jon "Bearded" Blevins cohosts as Taylor shares how he almost died in order to hang out with Jon. Then they discuss Amazon Prime's hit show "Wheel of Time" and how it connects to Redemptive Suffering this Lent. In the second segment, Taylor tries the Catholic Mashup game with Jon. We combine clues for a Catholic hero and a pop culture star and see if the cohost can guess the name by the clues for e...

Taylor has a lot of off-the-wall questions for Fr. Anthony Sciarappa. How do celibate priests feel about married priests? Why do Catholics have to be so weird sometimes(ex. misspell normal words)? And finally, Taylor tries to trap Fr. Anthony in a question about Heaven. Fun! They also introduce a brand new game that you'll either love or hate called "Read my Lips." They take turns explaining basic...

The show starts on a bit of a somber note this week. Taylor recently attended a funeral and shares a bit about the experience, grieving the loss of someone and the difficulties many people face with mental health. In the second segment, they discuss the (often hidden) gem of Lectio Divina. This ancient way of praying with Scripture has helped many people grow in tremendous ways in their spiritual...

Kathryn Whitaker is in town and joins Taylor to talk about his trip to LA and her recent experience of extreme hospitality at Church. They also play Imitate, Intercess or Ignore where they each give the other three saints and they have to pick which one they want to be like, which they will ask for prayers and which they will ignore! Lent is right around the corner so Fr. Innocent Montgomery joins...

Usually it's Jon bringing the hot takes but Taylor has some things to get off his chest this week. Spicy! They kick it off with a conversation about the phrase "If you're bored at Mass, you'll be bored in Heaven." It's a common phrase from people in ministry and online personalities but Taylor doesn't agree with it anymore and he explains why. Next, they discuss how strange the idea of auxiliary b...

Fr. Anthony cohosts an episode with a lot of vindication to be had throughout. Taylor feels vindicated by some cool connections to Forte Catholic on the internet this week. He also feels vindicated by making Fr. Anthony play a new game he isn't good at. Payback for all the games Fr. Anthony has made Taylor look dumb in. Finally, Fr. Anthony gets vindication for looking dumb in said game by giving...

Liv Harrison cohosts this episode recorded in her studio in Houston. She & Taylor discuss the price of admission for a meaningful life: proving that science are our faith are telling us very similar things in this regard. Next, they list off their favorite shows of 2021 as recommendations and the shows they are most anticipating this year! Finally, they discuss new and old nicknames for our Lo...

Jon said this was his favorite episode in a while! Taylor kicks off the show with how he's been thinking deeply about the internet and how we take it for granted. It really is incredible the things we can do with it and we never really give it a second thought. Next, they discuss the parish program growing in popularity, Alpha. Taylor's parish is starting it this week and Jon has led it a few time...

Allison Sullivan cohosts what is guaranteed to be one of our best two shows of 2022 thus far! One of the bedrocks of this show is Scripture and we realized we haven't focused on it in a while so this whole episode is focused on the Bible. We kick it off with a new insight into typology of Baptism in the Old Testament that Taylor never knew about for 30+ years and that made him feel dumb. They also...

Fr. Anthony cohosts our first show of 2022! Taylor shares the yearly "State of the Forte" with how the show did the previous year, top ten episodes and more! J.P. Quinn helps us kick off the year with some insanity with his hot takes segment "Forte, Mezzo, Piano" where he shares his takes & the hosts yell at him and tell him he's crazy. To close the show, Fr. Anthony invents a new Christmas th...

Liv Harrison cohosts our final show of 2021. Taylor & Liv share their two roses and a thorn after looking back on 2021 and discover the most popular slang word and inventions of the year they were born, graduating high school and getting married. It's fun to look back and see how far we have come! Tommy Tighe rejoins the show to discuss his newest book on Catholicism and mental health: St. Dym...

Jon Blevins cohosts two segments of our Christmas special. He and Taylor hung out in person this week for only the second time ever. They chat about that & Jon's strange request. Taylor also shares his thoughts on being entertaining vs. being engaging and what that means for the Church. Next, Fr. Anthony and Aaron Weber join Taylor on the show for what has become an annual Christmas tradition!...

In the first segment, Allison and Taylor were supposed to catch up about her recent trip and Taylor getting out of jury duty. But instead, THEY READ THE RECEIPTS on an argument they had via text and have a fun time deciding who was in the wrong and what they learned about each other. Next, to calm down a bit, they discuss a lot connections between Eve and Mary you may have missed. Finally, the dis...

Taylor shares some Italian stories with the Italian priest and then kicks off the show with news involving him and his new role at home parish that may surprise some of you. He also shares a question that he recently heard with Fr. Anthony for his thoughts: "Is it as important to read Vatican II as Scripture." An interesting discussion ensues. Next, Fr. Anthony has a question. "Do good talks actua...

We hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving and are having a lovely first week of Advent! Taylor starts the show sharing about a funny thing that happened for Thanksgiving and his adventures at his baby sister's wedding. Liv shares about her recent Hawaii vacation, while Taylor admits he had FOMO during the trip. He also shares a moral dilemma he experienced at IHOP. Finally, they discuss a modern day...

Taylor starts the show by getting after Jon for not sharing two big announcements with him. He then shares two new things in his life: one of which is hilarious and the other frustrating. They both share their experiences of being home with their kids without their wives and how different those two experiences were. And finally, they close the show with a segment of "cold takes." Some people like...