"Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matt. 16:25).
This week we're joined by Fr. Carter Griffin, rector of the St. John Paul II Seminary in the Archdiocese of Washington, and Alvaro de Vicente, headmaster of The Heights School, to examine "discernment." It's become a Catholic buzzword, applied (or sometimes, perhaps, misapplied) to a number of life situations. Here, Fr. Carter and Alvaro discuss the methods and limits of vocational discernment—and the moral courage of commitment.
Chapters:
3:45 Christian discernment
6:09 Misuses of the word "discernment"
9:39 Whether we can wrongly discern vocation
14:46 Choice paralysis
20:25 Submit to the process
25:48 Dating and marriage
29:55 Mentors and spiritual directors
33:21 Principles for discerning well
39:38 "Throw your life away"?!
46:17 The need for prayer
52:36 Crisis of vocations or crisis of faith?
59:59 Church choice and church-hopping
Links:
"The Catholic Church Has a Manpower Problem", 22 September 2025, WSJ
2026 Men's Discernment Retreat for the Archdiocese of Washington
2026 Men's Discernment Retreat for the Diocese of Arlington
Forming Families, Forming Saints by Fr. Carter Griffin
Forming Fathers: Seminary Wisdom for Every Priest by Fr. Carter Griffin
Cross-Examined: Catholic Responses to the World's Questions by Fr. Carter Griffin
Why Celibacy? Reclaiming the Fatherhood of the Priest by Fr. Carter Griffin
Also on the Forum:
You're the Man for the Job: The Vocation of Fatherhood featuring Alvaro de Vicente
Fostering Vocations in a Digital Age featuring Fr. Carter Griffin
Featured Opportunities:
The Art of Teaching Boys Conference at The Heights School (May 6-8, 2026)
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