The LIVingroom with Liv Harrison

What Does the Catholic Church Actually Expect from Gay Catholics?

🎙️ He came out, left the Church, got a dream from God he tried to ignore, and now he works full-time for a ministry that helped bring him home. Manny Gonzalez is a Catholic campus minister turned mission development director at Eden Invitation, an apostolate for LGBT+ disciples pursuing the Lord in alignment with Church teaching. In this episode, Manny walks through his full story — the years of suppression, the combustion, the ultimatum he gave Jesus on his knees in his bedroom — and what it actually looks like to carry a cross you didn't ask for. They also dig into conversion therapy narratives, the "father wound" assumptions Catholics throw around, what the Church gets dangerously wrong about belonging, and the belong → believe → behave framework that should flip how we think about evangelization. This one's for you if you love someone navigating this — or if you've ever said something well-meaning that landed like a brick. The LIVing Room with Liv Harrison — pull up a chair. Guest Bio: Manny Gonzalez is a Catholic speaker, content creator, and mission development director at Eden Invitation, a lay apostolate for LGBT+ disciples pursuing faithful discipleship in alignment with Church teaching. He holds a master's degree in catechetics from Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he also served as a campus minister for three years. Now based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Manny works on community growth and mission partnerships for Eden Invitation while using his platform to share his story and speak hope to disciples navigating similar experiences. He is a self-described dramatic Hispanic man who once gave God an ultimatum on his knees — and credits what happened next as the turning point of his life. In This Episode 00:00 Technical Chaos, Pet Birds, and Getting This Thing Rolling 04:10 Manny's New Life in Minnesota (One Month In) 05:45 Six Months Unemployed After Franciscan — The Real Talk 10:30 Breaking Performance Mentality and Learning Who God Actually Is 13:00 21-Year-Old Manny vs. 27-Year-Old Manny 17:50 The Both/And: You Can Be Grateful AND Say "This Sucks" 19:00 Saints Were Messy Too — Why Grit Is the Point 22:00 Manny's Conversion Story: Growing Up Catholic, Coming Out, Leaving the Church 30:00 October 2018: The Ultimatum on His Knees 33:30 Eden Invitation — What It Is and Why Manny Joined Their Staff 36:00 "I Could Have a Girlfriend and Still Go to Hell" — Dismantling the Wrong Goal 38:30 What the Church Actually Teaches on Chastity (And What It Doesn't Mean) 40:30 Conversion Therapy, Father Wounds, and the Dumb Stuff We Say to People 43:00 Liv Gets Real About Her Own Cross — Weight, Suffering, and What "Rid Of" Actually Costs 47:00 How to Be a Better Ally Without Becoming the Savior Nobody Asked For 50:30 Belong, Believe, Behave — The Framework That Should Change Your Parish 53:30 How Can We Pray for You, Manny? 55:45 Goodbyes and "We're Definitely Road-Trip Friends" ⚡ Subscribe on YouTube! ⚡ Visit Liv on the web at: https://www.thelivharrison.com/ ⚡ Follow Liv on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelivharrison/ ⚡ Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and more! ⚡ Subscribe to Liv's newsletter: https://bit.ly/livnewsletter #thelivingroom #livharrison #catholicshow #catholicyoutube #catholicpodcast #wherefaithfeelshuman

Building a Catholic Media Company and Going to Therapy in His 40s, This Is Edmundo Reyes

🎙️ He got on a bus at 17 with no faith, no plan, and honestly — hoping to meet a girl. He got off it a completely different person. That one weekend in Monterrey set the next three decades in motion: a career switch from economics to communications, a conviction that the Church deserved better storytelling, and the founding of Digital Continent — the creative powerhouse behind some of Catholic media's most recognizable productions, including Seeking Beauty on EWTN. But building something great on the outside doesn't mean everything is okay on the inside. In this episode of The LIVing Room, Liv Harrison sits down with Edmundo Reyes for the conversation behind the résumé — the 14 months that quietly took everything apart and put it back together differently. Therapy for the first time at 48. This one is for anyone who has been building, serving, and showing up — and suspects there's still something God is trying to get to underneath all of it. Guest Bio: Edmundo Reyes is the founder and creative director of Digital Continent, a Catholic media and production collective that partners with organizations and individuals to bring mission-driven content to life. His work spans high-profile Catholic media productions, most notably Seeking Beauty, a series currently airing on EWTN that he counts among Digital Continent's proudest achievements. He and his wife Melanie live in Michigan where they have grown a beautiful family over the last 24 years. In This Episode 00:00 Cold open: the retreat, the therapy, the spiritual director  01:30 Welcome, marriage jokes, and how Liv keeps getting Edmundo's story wrong  05:30 Meet Melanie's husband — and the man behind Digital Continent  07:00 Not an agency — a collective of dreamers and builders  09:30 Liv calls him a creative architect — and he nearly cries  12:00 Why great creative work looks effortless — and what that actually costs  13:30 Your team is not a contract — they're brothers and sisters in Christ  16:30 Growing up Catholic in Mexico — faith as a subject, not a relationship  18:30 17 years old, friendless, and talked into a retreat he didn't want to go to  19:30 Arms crossed in the back row — his first encounter with charismatic Catholics  21:30 The retreat leaders wrote him off as a lost cause — then God showed up  23:00 "What if this is actually true?" — the leap of faith that changed everything  24:30 From economics to communications — why the Church needed better storytellers  27:00 God's dodgeball team — and raising his hand to be picked  30:00 He said yes before he knew what he was good at — and that's how he found out  31:30 How is your prayer life different now? — the question that opens everything  32:30 Walking 46 miles on Holy Week because his ego takes two hours to quiet down  34:30 He used to see himself as St. Francis. Now he sees Pontius Pilate.  36:00 The Jesuit spiritual director who stopped him mid-sentence  37:30 Two things he finally learned: the depth of his sin and the depth of God's love  40:30 Gen X, Mexican, male — and finally in therapy at 48 42:30 The JP2 Institute healing work — and crying in a reflection he didn't expect  44:00 Healing shows you the wounds. Therapy explains why you kept reopening them.  46:00 How can we pray for you? — closing a chapter of healing, entering one of giving  47:30 Hurt people hurt people — but healed people heal people  48:00 Seeking Beauty on EWTN — where to find it and why you should watch it #livharrison#catholicshow #catholicyoutube #catholicpodcast #thelivingroom

Papal History, Wild Pope Facts & Inside Intel on Pope Leo XIV with Matt from The Popecast

🇻🇦He named all four of his sons after Popes — Leo, Gregory, Nicholas, and John Paul — and he's a contractor who fixes toilets by day. Matt from The Popecast joins Liv in The LIVing Room for one of the most surprisingly moving conversations about papal history, faith, and what it actually feels like to "meet God on the way down." Matt opens up about his first marriage, a quick annulment, and how sitting in a Starbucks writing six and a half single-spaced pages finally gave him peace beyond understanding. They also dig into the Pope who accidentally kicked off the Reformation with a pet elephant, why Pope Leo XIV's Lutheran best friends still call him "Bob," and what the loneliness epidemic looks like from the front seat of a contractor's truck. This one's for you if you've ever loved the Church but felt like the mess of your life didn't quite fit the story. Guest Bio: Matt is the creator of The Popecast, a podcast and Instagram account dedicated to papal history with a mission to remind people that the chaos of today is nothing new in the life of the Church. He launched the podcast in 2018 after writing a daily email series on the full history of the papacy, and his Instagram following has grown larger than his podcast audience — a fact he finds equal parts ironic and delightful. By day, Matt runs a small remodeling company in the Diocese of Spokane; by night, he digs into 2,000 years of Church history. He and his wife are expecting their fourth child, whose name — John Paul — was never really in question. In This Episode: 00:00 Mystery Face Reveal: Matt Finally Shows Up on the Internet  01:20 What Is The Popecast? Papal History, Instagram, and One Man's Anxiety Cure  03:30 The Hiatus, Pope Francis Dying, and Getting Back in the Game  04:00 Father Rich from Duluth and the World's Largest Private Papal Collection   05:00 How Marilys and the Conclave Put Matt on Liv's Radar  06:00 "Aggressively Normal Catholicism" — Matt's Approach to Faith Online  07:30 Faith Journey: Growing Up Catholic in Montana, Carroll College, and FOCUS  09:00 The 2013 SEEK Conference That Changed Everything  09:45 "I Met God on the Way Up, Got to Know Him on the Way Down"  10:30 The First Marriage, the Divorce, and What Nobody Talks About at Mass  12:00 Pope Francis, the Annulment Process, and Why Matt Defends It  15:30 Starbucks, Six and a Half Pages, and Peace Beyond All Understanding  18:00 Contractor by Day, Pope Nerd by Night — What Self-Employment Actually Looks Like  20:00 Digital Life vs. Real Life: What the Loneliness Epidemic Looks Like from a Truck 22:00 The Widow with the Alzheimer's Husband and the Cup of Coffee That Matters  24:30 Historian of Real Life — Teaching Kids to Reverence Old People and Old Things  25:30 Meet the Kids: Leo, Gregory, Nicholas, and Baby John Paul  27:30 Pope Leo XIV, "Bob," and His Lutheran Best Friends Who Called It 46 Years Ago  31:30 The Wildest Pope Facts: A Pet Elephant and Death by Eel  35:00 The Pope Who Founded Western Civilization: Gregory the Great Explained 40:00 Five Popes at the Mac and Cheese Dinner Table  46:30 How Can We Pray for You? Matt's Request and Closing Prayer ⚡ Subscribe on YouTube! ⚡ Visit Liv on the web at: https://www.thelivharrison.com/ ⚡ Follow Liv on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelivharrison/ ⚡ Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and more! ⚡ Subscribe to Liv's newsletter: https://bit.ly/livnewsletter #livharrison #thelivingroom #catholicshow #catholicyoutube #catholicpodcast

Louisiana Catholic Mom to CNN Vaticanista. This is Katie McGrady.

🎙️ She called it. In 2005, as a high schooler, Katie McGrady emailed her principal requesting they air the papal conclave on school TVs — and she correctly predicted Benedict XVI. Fast forward to 2026, and she was front row in Rome on a CNN panel when white smoke rose over the Sistine Chapel. No theology PhD required — just a lifelong obsession, a microphone, and a Cajun accent. In this episode of The LIVing Room, Liv Harrison sits down with Katie to unpack the Catholic revival happening right now (those 139% conversion spikes aren't a fluke), why Gen Z is actually turning toward the Church, what it really means that we have an American Pope — and what parishes have to get right before this moment slips through their fingers. This one's for you if you love the Church and want to actually understand what's happening inside it right now. Guest Bio: Katie McGrady is a Catholic media personality and radio host based in Lake Charles, Louisiana, known for her work as a Vatican commentator and her on-air presence in Catholic broadcasting. She serves as a regular contributor for CNN and hosts a show on SiriusXM, where she has covered papal transitions including the elections of Benedict XVI and Leo XIV, the latter of which she reported on live from Rome. She and her husband Tommy co-host *Family Mass Prep* on the Hallow app and she recently launched a segment called *Call In the Converts* on The Katie McGrady Show. A lifelong Louisiana native, Katie has chosen to root her broadcasting career in her small hometown while maintaining connections to major media markets in New York and beyond. In This Episode 00:00 Colors Done, Taxes Paid, and One Toilet Flush for NASA 02:20 The American Girl Book, an 8-Year-Old, and Impending Doom 05:15 Karma, Kids, and Bluey at Easter Mass 07:00 Two Catholic Kids and the NFP Judgment Olympics 09:30 Europe, Legoland, and the Grace of the Family of Four 11:45 Matt Maher, Spontaneous Concerts, and the Joy of a Small Family 13:30 Why Katie McGrady Has Not Left Lake Charles 16:00 Her Sister Entered the Convent — And She's It for Her Parents 18:20 Missing Ryan Gosling at SiriusXM (And Getting Andy Weir Instead) 20:00 "I've Been Vatican Influencing Since High School" — The Origin Story 22:30 Predicting Benedict XVI as a Teenager, and Getting the Call from CNN 24:45 Was She Surprised It Was an American Pope? 26:00 "He's Not Conflicting — He's Contrasting": Breaking Down Pope Leo XIV 28:30 The Catholic Revival Is Real — Here Are the Numbers 31:00 What Parishes Have to Do Before This Moment Slips Away 33:30 Hallow, Call In the Converts, and the Digital-to-Parish Pipeline 36:00 Bob from Chicago Is Still WhatsApp-ing People 38:30 AI, Human Wisdom, and the Moon Crater Named After Someone's Late Wife 42:30 Prayers for Big Transitions — and Sister LP Who Kept Her Initials 44:00 Big Cajun Hug Goodbye ⚡ Subscribe on YouTube! ⚡ Visit Liv on the web at: https://www.thelivharrison.com/ ⚡ Follow Liv on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelivharrison/ ⚡ Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and more! ⚡ Subscribe to Liv's newsletter: https://bit.ly/livnewsletter #livharrison #catholicshow #catholicyoutube #catholicpodcast #thelivingroom

Fitz for Fitzgerald: The Kid Who Got a Miracle Liver and Started Going Viral

🥒 He got diagnosed with one of the rarest childhood liver cancers in the world — only 1 to 3 kids a year — and two months after his liver transplant, he's walking 1.5 miles a day and going viral for it. Fitz (short for Fitzgerald, age 9) joins Liv Harrison in The LIVing Room for a conversation that will wreck you in the best way. They talk about what it's like to grow up in the hospital, how dark humor becomes a survival tool, and the miracle that happened on a runway when a better liver showed up right before the wrong one took off. If you're a parent, a caregiver, or anyone who's forgotten how to be brave — this one's for you. Guest Bio: Fitz (George Fitzgerald) is a 9-year-old content creator and positivity advocate from Houston, Texas. Diagnosed with a rare liver cancer affecting only 1–3 children per year, Fitz received a liver transplant and began documenting his journey online immediately after his diagnosis, quickly going viral. He now runs "Positive Pickle," a daily video series spreading encouragement and joy to viewers of all ages. His family and Liv's family are longtime best friends. Chapter Markers 00:00 Green Donuts, Dr. Pepper, and the Guest Liv's Known Since the Womb 01:00 "My Name Is Fitz for Fitzgerald" — And Why That Became His Intro  02:00 The Hospital Is Basically His Second Home  03:00 Disney World, a Buffet, and Throwing Up Three Times Before the Characters Came  05:30 Dad Covered the Plate and Moved It — A Dad Move for the Ages  06:30 The ER, a Wrong Diagnosis, and Texas Children's Downtown  07:30 The Tumor Was Growing Like a Bomb — and They Had to Take the Whole Liver Out  08:30 Corn Dogs, Pink Throw Up, and Thinking He Just Had a Tummy Bug  09:30 McDonald's, Barely Three Chicken Nuggets, and a Stomach Like a Rock  11:00 Dark Humor as a Coping Strategy: "If You're Not Laughing, You're Crying"  12:00 Dr. Pepper With Aunt Liv and the Recap So Far  13:00 Yes or No on the Transplant — And the Miracle That Happened on a Runway  15:00 Two Months Post-Transplant, Walking 1.5 Miles a Day  16:30 How Fitz Stays Close to God Through All of This  18:00 Why He Started Making Videos — and What "Positive Pickle" Even Means  19:30 The Letter From a 20-Year Survivor and the Person Who Started Walking Again  21:00 Positive Tacos, Positive Potatoes, and the Future Career Plan  22:30 What to Say to a Kid Who Just Got a Cancer Diagnosis  23:30 It's Okay to Not Be Okay — "Ups and Downs Connect the Puzzle Pieces"  25:00 How to Pray for Fitz: Platelets, His Arm, and "Love the Liver"