Podcast now available on Google Play and Stitcher!

Great news! The Forte Catholic Podcast is now available on every major podcasting service! 

It has been available on Soundcloud and iTunes from the beginning but now(to the joy of Android users) it is available on Google Play and Stitcher! 

Click your favorite podcasting service below to subscribe to the show. Please do me a favor and like and rate the show in the app and share it on your social media feeds if you enjoy it. You rock!

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Ministry Madness Results

The results are in! After two weeks of public voting(4921 votes from 170 individuals), discussing it on the podcast, and a lot of fun conversations along the way, the Ministry Madness Bracket has concluded.

Your top ten finishers as voted by you the fan are....
10. Sister Miriam James
9. Righteous B
8. Jackie Francois Angel
7. Oscar "II X" Rivera
6. Matt Fradd
5. Justin Fatica
4. Allison Sullivan
3. Alex Gotay
2. Ike Ndolo

AND THE WINNER IS........FR. MIKE SCHMITZ! Congrats to you padre and to all of our contenders!

If you missed the fun, you can check out the three podcasts where we introduced the contest and discussed all of the matchups here.
Episode 27-Introduction
Episode 28-Key Matchup Analysis
Episode 29-Results!

If you would like to see how everyone else did, feel free to browse the full results below or on Brackify.

Life After the "Conference High"

On my most recent appearance on the Beyond the Pew video series from Ablaze Ministries, I talk about how to help kids continue to "fan the flame of faith" after attending a youth conference. Conferences have a special place in my heart as I had my conversion at a youth conference the summer after my 8th grade year. Many young people struggle to continuing growing in their faith in the weeks and months following an encounter with Christ at a conference.

In this video, I give some tips and guidance on how parents can assist their kids in cultivating a deep faith after the "conference high" goes away.

This video first appeared on beyondthepew.org/after-the-youth-conference 

Ministry Madness Bracket 2017

The first ever Ministry Madness bracket is here! Have you ever wondered who would win in a boxing championship among Catholic ministry leaders from across the United States? I sure have. While it will most likely not ever going to happen in real life, we can always vote on who would win if it did.

Below is the bracket(If it is not loading click here). The winner is decided by you the voter. THIS IS NOT A POPULARITY CONTEST. This is literally picking who would win in a legal boxing match. The results and winner will be aired and discussed live on the Forte Catholic Radio Show on April 25th so you have two weeks to vote, share with your friends and argue in the comments. 

For more information about the bracket and an in depth look at the matchups, including some interviews with contenders, tune in to the this episode of the Forte Catholic podcast while you fill out your bracket.

If you enjoy the show or the bracket, I would love if you would consider heading over to the newly created Forte Catholic Patreon page. This is a great way to join the Forte Catholic community, support the work of the ministry, and get some cool rewards for doing so! 

Bracket Descriptions:
Top Left Division-Youth Ministers
Bottom Left Division-Clergy/Media/Apologists
Top Right Division-Musicians
Bottom Right Division-Women in Ministry

Sign up at the bottom of the page to get an email when the results are final. Have fun!

Why I Love Stations of the Cross(guest appearance)

In my most recent appearance on Ablaze Ministries parent resource "Beyond the Pew," I speak about why I love the stations of the cross and how they can help you and your family pray and grow together this Lent. Check out the video and to pray with the reflections I talk about in the it, click here.

This video first appeared on beyondthepew.org/stations-of-the-cross

A Day In the Life Of A Religious Sister

Howdy! I would like to introduce you to Sister Christina Marie Neumann. She is a Franciscan sister from Grand Forks, North Dakota who serves at St. Anne's Guest Home and is an active blogger at Our Franciscan Fiat. She has written a guest post below about what a day in her life looks like. I thought it fit perfectly with our discussion about discerning vocations on the most recent episode of the Forte Catholic podcast. Enjoy!

-Taylor

Sr. Christina Marie Neumann, OSF

My alarm went off and my feet hit the floor. Time to get up! I had a busy morning ahead of me and wanted to get a jump start with my morning holy hour. Plus, I had a little work to do!  

I must confess….some days, it is easier than others to get up when the alarm buzzes, but at other times, that SNOOZE button is way too accessible!  

Grabbing my coat and putting it on, out the door I went into the brisk March air. In short order, I had greeted the nurse and the night staff at our assisted living facility, and was on my way into Chapel. After attending to a couple minor preparations (I serve as sacristan), I settled into a pew for my cherished time of prayer. An acquaintance recently commented that I get to “go on a date every time I go to adoration.” I have come to treasure these quiet visits with my Beloved.  

As a religious sister, I am privileged to live out in a special way a verse from the Song of Songs (6:3): “I am my beloved’s and he is mine.” Our directives ask us to set aside an hour each day for these special “dates,” or visits with our Beloved.  

We are also privileged to have Jesus present with us through the Blessed Sacrament in our homes (convents). When I was planning the move to St. Anne’s, I was asked if I had a preference as to which room I would prefer. A big drawing card for me was proximity to the chapel. My room is just down the hall from Jesus!! That is amazing and wonderful! One thing I miss when I go home to visit my family is that closeness to Jesus’ physical presence; you might say I’m spoiled. ;)

After breakfast, I set up for daily Mass.  I also had time for a little miscellaneous work and personal business. When Mass was over and I had put everything away, I hurried to the reception desk for brief receptionist duty before Bible Study, which I lead weekly for our residents. As part of this morning’s session, we also sang Christian songs and acted out a couple of gospel stories.  

Shortly after this, I was due back at the reception desk.  During this time of giving a half hour lunch break, I got a little embroidery done as well as computer work. After lunch, I had a number of “loose ends” to tie up, including counting money and changing soap in the dispenser.  

One part of my apostolic service which I find to be most beautiful, is caring for our residents. I try to engage them, and make their days more enjoyable. We are all called to serve Jesus in each other. This afternoon, I had one of our residents assist me with sorting the money. It gave her something to do which she enjoys. At other times, we’ve even made cookies together.  

In the midst of all this, we found out that someone was needed to collect laundry. There had been a misunderstanding and no one had made it in yet for the shift. I was assured that there would not be much to pick up since it had just been done. Boy, were they wrong! By the time I got done collecting the men’s laundry, my cart was heaped high with clothing! I did all I could do to keep it all in!  

Soon now, I’ll have supper with my other Sisters here, after which we’ll head back into chapel to have Evening Prayer together. The evening, for me, will conclude with a few hours at the reception desk.

In writing this reflection, my mind went back to a folk-song we sang at this morning’s Bible Study.  It's words proclaim: “I have decided to follow Jesus…no turning back.” In good times and bad, I am so grateful to Our Lord for calling me to this life. I have decided to follow Jesus, relying upon His grace each day.

For more from Sister Christina about her vocation, check out her post "Following the Lamb day by day."

Holy and Healthy Friendships(Guest Appearance)

In the latest episode of Beyond the Pew, a resource for parents from Ablaze Ministries, I talk about the importance of young people having healthy and holy friendships. My hope is that this video will equip you with the tools to guide your children to have the best friendships possible. 

Comment below with the best tips you have for leading your children in the area of friendships.

Becoming a Holy Family: Jesus in our Midst Keynote Session

I was honored to give the opening keynote at the first annual REC-C Family Retreat. The theme is becoming a holy family, Jesus in our midst. I dive into 10 stories in the history of salvation to see what we can learn about growing closer to God from families in the Bible and early Church.

Note: This session was geared towards adults. Two sections may not be good for children(i.e. I talk about certain Christmas and Easter parenting secrets and about a story in Scripture that children may not be ready to hear).

Praying With Your Kids In The Car (Guest Video Appearance)

Beyond the Pew is weekly video resource for parents from youth ministry leaders at Ablaze Ministries. This week I talk about praying in the car with your kids on the way to school to start the day off with the word of God. Check it out!

Keynote Speaker at Red-C Radio Family Retreat

I am excited to announce that I will be a keynote speaker and worship leader at the first ever Family Retreat in the Bryan-College Station area hosted by Red-C Radio. 

It will be a weekend for the whole family with talks, breakout sessions, prayer and more for all ages. I will be speaking on Friday evening about the characteristic "holy families" from Scripture and Church history and what we should be looking to emulate. On Saturday, I will close out the retreat on with a session on how to bring all that we learned over the weekend into our daily lives. I will also look to Ephesians 5 for a final lesson on how to stay strong as a couple when things get tough. I will also be leading worship throughout the weekend.

I am happy to be joining Marcel LeJeune as fellow keynote speaker and a handful of other great breakout session speakers like Matt and Weslei Rice, Sarah and James Adams, Alyssa Trutter and Angie Byrd.

It is not too late to sign up! Click here for more information and to register. Only $25 for the whole family! 

Do You Trust Me? (Guest Post)

Way back in 2015, I wrote a blog on what we can learn about trusting the Lord by combining the Scriptures with the Disney movie Aladdin. I wrote this for Ablaze Ministries before I had this website so I thought I would share it with you now. Click here to read it on the Ablaze website.

Top 10 Blogs and Podcasts of 2016

2016 was a crazy year! I think everyone is ready for 2017 to start but I wanted to look back at the good that happened in 2016 first and thank you all for your support of Forte Catholic this past year.

Below are the rankings of the most read blogs and listened to podcasts of the year. It has been great seeing the response to this year's content and I hope that it has blessed you. It sure has been fun for me! Praying for all who read this to have a great start to 2017!

In Christ,
Taylor Schroll

Top 5 Blogs of 2016

5. A Muslim on TV Made Me A Better Catholic
Read on to see how my Netflix binge watch session of "Lost" helped me realize I needed to change the way I pray. 

4. The Lying Minister Epidemic. 
I began my journey in ministry in 2008. I was often taught, either explicitly or by example of ministry leaders, to always bring your A-game to ministry, no matter what. Never show any weakness. Always look happy. Always make it look like you have it all figured out so that others will look at your perfect life and be inspired to live holy lives. There are two problems with that. First, who doesn't have any weaknesses, is always happy and lives a perfect life? Second, why are we lying to people, including ourselves?

3. Two-Face the Christian
This blog addresses how many people view Christians as being "two-faced;" living one way at Church and another everywhere else. Read more to see what a recent video game I played and an experience in college taught me about how to deal with this issue.

2. Stations of the Cross
These are the Stations of the Cross written with modern reflections for both youth and adults. They have been used for college students, youth groups, parish wide events and most recently in Ablaze Ministries 10 Day Spiritual Workout. Feel free to use them in your personal prayer, with your family or at your parish.

1. Pokemon Go
Pokemon Go took the world by storm in 2016 and is not only fun and brilliantly nostalgic but if used well, it can help us improve physically, mentally and in evangelization. 

Top 5 Podcasts of 2016

5. Episode 7-Healing
We know our nation is in need of healing so that is our topic today! Join for a discussion on Jesus' healings and what they mean for us. Also, a great interview with infectious disease Doctor Seth Sullivan about how he sees God working in his job.

4. Episode 1-Spiritual Warfare
The first Forte Catholic Show Live On-Air! Tune in as we kick off the show with a night about Spiritual Warfare. We will discuss my crazy week of travel, what spiritual warfare is, and how we can fight back! This week's interview is with Jennifer Stavinoha, a missionary who has a great story about spiritual warfare and encouragement for the spiritual battles we often find ourselves in.

3. Episode 4-My Birthday Episode
The the live show from RED-C Radio on my birthday was a lot of fun with some interaction from the audience. I spoke about the recent conference I went to and shared what I learned about the importance of questions, interviewed a fellow missionary Matthew Bachali about the great experience we had of Christian brotherhood and how we can carry that back in to our day to day lives.

2. Pilot Episode-Mercy
This pilot episode is focused on mercy as I introduce myself and share how God has shown His mercy to me in big ways. I also interview Dylan Browning about his recent trip to World Youth Day in Poland.

1. Episode 10-Jimmy Akin
I can't believe I got to interview this giant in apologetics! Tune in to hear the interview with Jimmy Akin about his faith journey and new book as well as a discussion about my trip to the National Catholic Conference of Youth Ministers.

Even So Come

The big joke among musicians during Advent is that there is only one song we can play.....O Come O Come Emmanuel. While it is only partially true, it is the one song everyone associates with the Advent season. O Come O Come is one of my favorite songs of the year but I did set out to find a new song that could be my "Advent Song of the Year" and I found it. 

"Even So Come" by Kristian Stanfill and the Passion Worship Band became an instant favorite of mine in this season. The lyrics are beautiful(I have provided them below) and it is a great song to pray with and is frankly enjoyable to play. 

I wanted to share with you my cover of the song in this last week of Advent so that it may be an encouragement to you in these closing days of the Advent season. For a more in depth look at the lyrics and why I love the song so much, you can check out my recent podcast where we listen to the song and dissect it. 

I am praying that everyone who reads and listens to this may have a blessed Christmas. Enjoy!

All of creation
All of the earth
Make straight a highway
A path for the Lord
Jesus is coming soon

Call back the sinner
Wake up the saint
Let every nation shout of Your fame
Jesus is coming soon

Like a bride waiting for her groom
We'll be a Church ready for You
Every heart longing for our King
We sing
Even so come
Lord Jesus, come

There will be justice
All will be new
Your name forever
Faithful and true
Jesus is coming soon

So we wait
We wait for You
God, we wait
You're coming soon

Welcome To Advent (guest appearance)

Advent is here! I was asked to share my thoughts on one of my favorite liturgical seasons of the year on Beyond the Pew, a parent resource from Ablaze Ministries. 

I pray that you have a great Advent filled with hope, joy and growth in your relationship with Christ!

This video first appeared on http://beyondthepew.org/welcome-to-advent

Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDY-7Z4oTO_CsSEV0Y7PGlA 

The Psalms

My favorite part of preparing the music for Mass every week is writing the music for the Psalm. The musical setting is always different and allows me to pray with the words of the Psalms in a new way each Mass.

It is fun to be creative and "sing to the Lord a new song"(Ps 96:1) by taking the ageless words of Scripture and allowing my mood and creativity to bring to life each week. As many of you know, David wrote most of the Psalms. He was the King of creativity and drew on his life situations in his writing. I often try to imagine what it would be like listening to him play and sing each Psalm for the first time. 

The Psalms are one of my favorite books of the Bible to pray with. There are some that are joyful, some that are laments and others in between. They truly capture the human experience. No matter how I am feeling when I come to church that day, I always know that the psalm can speak to the depths of my heart.

Below are some of my favorite verses from the Psalms about music and a video of the most recent Psalm I sang for Mass on Nov 17th. Enjoy :)

Psalm 95:1 "O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!"

Ps 71:23 "My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to thee; my soul also, which thou hast rescued."

Ps 150:1-6 "1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his exceeding greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with timbrel and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!"

"Make a loud noise and rejoice and sing praise."
Psalm 98:4

All Saints, All Day!

On November 1st, the Catholic Church celebrates all Saints Day! This often raises questions on why Catholics talk about saints, learn from them or ask them for prayer. 

I addressed these questions in a Beyond the Pew video, a series from Ablaze Ministries, with a quick five minute video introducing the topic of saints and how we are to answer the call to become saints.

This video first appeared on http://beyondthepew.org/

If you want more content on saints, you can also listen to the podcast of my radio show on All Saints Day with an hour's worth of saint discussion here. Happy All Saints Day Y'all!

I made the paper!

This is so cool! I received a text today that I was on the front page of the Catholic Globe, the Sioux City Diocese newspaper. It is a fun article about the Youth Conference I spoke and led worship for. It tickles me that the picture I am in is bigger than Al Roker ;) 

You can check out the full article here.

High Above It All

Things are going crazy

Our nation and world are in so much pain with huge, polarizing issues like the refugee crisis, racial tension and our presidential debate. At times, it can seem as though so much is going wrong that we slip into despair, not knowing what we can do to help the situation or even how to react. 

For quite some time now, I have been wanting to post about the racial tensions going on in our country today, but couldn't figure out what to say. Many good friends and great bloggers have done a great job talking about it but I have been at a loss for words.

I saw quite a deal of racism in my small town growing up and it has always infuriated me and it pains me to see it creeping back up again. It seems as though every day, I see another african-american man or a police officer being killed or mistreated. The whole thing saddens me. It also baffles me. After all of the progress we made as a country in racial unity over the past many years, it seems that recently we have begun to digress. I don't know how and I don't know why. I have seen numbers and statistics thrown out from either side of the debate about who is or isn't to blame and don't know what I can do to help the situation. But I think ultimately, all we can do is love those around us and work on unity with all people, starting in our families, neighborhoods, churches and schools. We have to start somewhere, but it still hurts.

Peace in the storm

There is only one thing that gets me through crazy times: realizing that God has led His people through many crazy times. The song below, High Above It All by For All Seasons, has been a cornerstone for me over the past year. I first heard it at the National Youth Workers Convention last year and it keeps popping back up. I want to walk through some of these lyrics and explain how they have helped me through times when I don't understand what is going on and don't know what to do. It has applied to my life with the situations like the vicious presidential debate, saddening racial tensions, etc. but it has also helped me through personal trials and confusion about what is going on in my own life.

The song starts like this...

"I've come to seek your face, I long for you. You are my hiding place, my safe refuge. I find my hope in You. Your peace it carries me through."

God is our safe refuge amidst all turmoil and strife. He calls us to him because we cannot walk through this crazy world without Him. We need his presence and can only receive true strength and peace from Him. 

Then the chorus hits...

"Waters roar and mountains fall, You remain high above it all. You are high above it all. Kingdoms rage and nations shake but you remain high above it all. You are high above it all, Almighty God"

When the "waters are roaring" in our life, God is bigger. When everything around us in falling apart, God is holding us together. When nations and communities are rocked and weakened, God is still strong and there for us. This is such a great reminder that God stays the same through all the change and nothing that happens in this world can take anything away from Him or from His love for His people. God is bigger and completely in charge and I must trust Him when things seem to be out of control from my human perspective.

Then finally, the bridge...

There is triumph in Your presence, healing in Your peace.
So I will lift my voice, proclaiming victory!

God is the only thing that is going to ultimately solve all of the struggle and hurt in the world. He knows human suffering. He Himself came down from Heaven to become one of us, to suffer with and for us on the cross, but also to claim victory over sin, death, and hurt. He offers you and I that healing, peace and victory. We can receive it in His presence, no matter what is going on around us.

I pray that as you move throughout the rest of your day, with all the craziness in our world and the busyness in your life, that you will find what you are looking for and what you need in the Lord's presence today. When everything is falling apart and bringing you down, God is above it all and wants to lift you up.

FOR ALL SEASONS - "LIVE SESSIONS, VOL 2" Buy Now: (https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/live-sessions-vol.-2/id1118445907)

Written by: Josh Farro & Sam Tinnesz (FAS original) Videography: Michael Charlson Mixed by: Jared Fox Mastered by: Drew Lavyne

Confession and Adoration

Here is a talk I gave on Sept 17, 2016 for the St. Joseph's Confirmation Retreat leading in to confession and adoration. It was an amazing retreat experience and I was very happy to be a part of it! 

Listen in as I teach on confession, share the story of my first confession and compare and contrast our relationship with Jesus and our relationship with famous celebrities.

Was Jesus weak? (guest appearance)

Here is today's video from "Beyond the Pew" where I make a monthly appearance. This month's series is on common misconceptions of Jesus. In this video, I tackle the misconception that Jesus was weak in comparison to the "modern strong man". I hope you enjoy it.