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! Taylor is first joined by Allison Sullivan to share their favorite & least favorite parts about the Christmas season.

Then, Fr. Anthony & Aaron Weber join in for the second segment. Having Aaron as our Christmas guest is a yearly tradition since 2018! This year, we discuss holiday traditions, Aaron's Comedy Central special this year, & Father Anthony's pastoral heart. Check out more from Aaron at https://aaronwebercomedy.com/

Kathryn Whitaker joins Taylor for the final segment as they debate "Mary Did You Know?" Choosing a side on whether she knew or not has become a yearly Catholic online tradition & Taylor & Kathryn are on opposite sides of the debate. They hash it out and hope to sway you to their side.

Thank you so much for listening! We love you guys! Merry Christmas!

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All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Episode art by Sarah Allen

Special Guest: Aaron Weber.

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Kathryn Whitaker cohosts our final episode of Advent. She & Taylor talk about how there are multiple pathways to holiness within Catholicism. This has been accepted for generations (i.e. different religious orders) but these days people find what works for them and want to impose it on everyone else.

Taylor shares one of his strangest quirks and discusses how iPhone upgrades mirror his spiritual life. How do we deal with spiritual growth?

To close the show, Kathryn has some hot takes on the College Football Playoff committee's decision & Texas A&M's historic firing of Jimbo Fisher. This connects to our moral life as we discuss fairness, excess, leadership & more.

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All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Episode art by Sarah Allen

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Allison has been hyping up The Shift film for about a year now and was invited to walk the red carpet at the premiere! FANCY! She shares about that experience she shared with her son & discusses Christian art in the public sphere.

Allison also wrote a new talk for Advent and shares some of the highlights from that. Taylor shares what he has been pondering throughout this season of preparation and Allison is shocked by how insightful it was. Taylor was both hurt & happy with this outcome.

Finally, they end the show sharing their differing opinions on Matt Rife's new special. He has been called to be "cancelled" over some of his jokes. Allison agrees, Taylor thinks it might be taking it a bit too far. They talk about where comedy & morality mix & when they clearly don't.

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All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Episode art by Sarah Allen

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Taylor has some confessions to make! Two extremely repressed (for good reason) memories just resurfaced and he wanted to share them with you & Fr. Anthony. They both involve musical performances from Jr High/High School. Fr. Anthony is TRULY shocked by one of them!

They also debate which of them are cooler. After hearing stories about both of their childhoods, they discuss "coolness" and what makes someone cool in childhood & how it may be different than in adulthood. They also discuss what our faith has to do with "coolness" and a revelation Taylor had that shouldn't be a revelation.

Finally, they 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.

This was a really fun episode to record and we hope that you enjoy it! :)

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All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Episode art by Sarah Allen

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Taylor is joined by his friend & co-worker Sarah Allen this week. She started working with Forte Catholic earlier this year helping edit podcasts. This is now their second time working together so 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.

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All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Editing & Episode art by Sarah Allen

Special Guest: Sarah Allen.

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Happy Thanksgiving from our crew to yours! We hope this episode gives you some laughs while you're avoiding your in-laws ;)

There has been some negativity floating around the past few weeks so we decided to combat it with some thanksgiving! Of course it was perfect timing with the holiday this week, but Taylor was also 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 the things in their personal lives, families, church, work and more that they are most thankful for this year.

In keeping with the theme of Thanksgiving, we had to talk about arguing and people not minding their own business ;) Kathryn shares a ridiculous comment she received that definitely crossed the line. She shares the story & what bothered her about it. She & Taylor talk about how we should all mind our own business a little more, especially when we don't have all the facts. Like mama always said, if you aint got nuthin nice to say then don't say nuthin!

We hope y'all all have a beautiful Thanksgiving! We are so grateful you listen to our show. :) Blessings on you and yours this week!

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All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Episode art by Sarah Allen

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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.

Watch Taylor talk about the RCIA process on the Cordial Catholic Podcast: https://youtu.be/mtYi70AfWu0?si=iRTAjpG5JwOULP-7

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All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Episode art by Sarah Allen

Special Guest: Cordial Catholic.

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Fr. Anthony is back to discuss the lost years of Jesus with Taylor. There is ONE verse that covers the majority of Jesus' life from when He is a teen until His public ministry. We talk about what this verse means for our own spiritual growth & some Father gives some practical tips.

They also discuss one of Taylor's leadership heroes, Zig Ziglar. He played a large role in Taylor's formation in college so they discuss some of his most famous quotes.

Then finally, the moment you've all been waiting for...Fr. Anthony does the hot ones challenge. While he eats progressively hotter hot sauces, Taylor asks him questions about fire in the Bible & gets his thoughts on some Catholic hot takes.

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All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Episode art by Sarah Allen

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This episode was recorded on the Eve of the Nativity of the Taylor. He & Liv reflect on the ups & downs of his "Jesus year" as his birthday drew near. The celebrations continue as Taylor shares the excitement of his sister's wedding this past weekend, the joy of family gatherings & reflecting on the past.

They also discuss some breakthroughs they have both made in their personal and spiritual lives, including a bizzarre realization Taylor had about Zechariah & Mary where he argues that either God likes his favorite girls more than his favorite boys OR the Archangel Gabriel learned a valuable lesson! We hope you enjoy this off the rails final segment! :)

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All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Episode art by Sarah Allen

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Taylor was put in a couple scenarios that we so awkward and we wasn't sure if he was the jerk or if it was the people who put him in those situations. So he turns to Kathryn for wisdom and guidance after sharing the stories.

They also discuss how Taylor is currently in a never-ending Mass, Taylor calls Kathryn out on one of her beloved Aggie traditions & they work through some feedback they received from a priest who listens to the show. Kathryn closes the show by sharing about the importance of being good stewards of the gifts God has given us.

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All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Episode art by Sarah Allen

Support Forte Catholic