Vocational Discernment

The fifth workshop in the formation program teaches discerners about how God is at work during this time of discernment, along with practical advice on how to discern God’s will in different situations. Prior to talking with you, your discerner will send you a copy of their task responses and you will be able to view the questions they are answering. If you would like to view the videos they watched, you can access the full discerner workshops by selecting the “Vocations Outreach Discerner Formation” track on your Catechetical Institute dashboard.

---

Workshop Overview

Some of the main points from the workshop are:

• God wants us to be holy: everything in discernment must be interpreted in light of this.

• God uses our desires, hopes, and dreams to help us know what we were created for.

• Discernment always happens between two goods.

• We can tell something is God’s will if it brings us a deep and lasting peace.

• In discernment, we need to focus on deepening our relationship with God, as it is in this growing intimacy that we can know God’s will for us.

• God often speaks to us in similar ways, so by reflecting on how God has spoken to us in the past we can become more attentive to His voice.

• When discerning consecrated life, early on it is important to discern whether God is calling us to a celibate life.