#12427 How Can a Man Discern His Call to the Priesthood? Parenting and Gifts - Fr. Marc Gandolfo

Catholic Answers Live

Catholic Answers

Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 23 October 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

“How can a man discern his call to the priesthood?” This episode explores this vital question while also addressing how parents can discuss the priesthood with their children. Additionally, we touch on helping kids identify their gifts and supporting a child’s discernment between motherhood and religious life.

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Questions Covered:

02:00 – How Can a Man Learn If He is Called to the Priesthood?
24:18 – Parent of 5 kids, how does he speak to his kids about the priesthood, he is concerned about stories of Priests that have gotten in trouble and put the priesthood in a bad light.
32:30 – He is 41, had been in seminary early in life, he stepped out, but is now feeling the calling again, how can he discern significantly if he should reenter. He feels too old and broken to answer the call?
37:02 – She is middleschool teacher and is wondering if there is good “gifts” assessment she can give to her kids to help them discern their gifts?
42:59 – His son is in first year at seminary, he would like to share their story of his upbringing and their experience as parents watching him discern.
48:13 – As a parent how does one help their child discern especially if they are feeling strong call to motherhood but now feeling a slight tug toward being a nun?

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Catholic Answers Live. I am Cy Kellett, your host. Great show for you today. Second Hour, Tim Staples,
0:21.0	is going to be here, and we're going to do something that we have found is just delightful to do with Tim Staples. Turn them loose on the non-Christians. If you're not a Christian, second hour is for you. We'll ask you, why aren't you Christian? And if you're not a Christian and you're willing to talk to a Catholic apologist about your decision not to be
0:39.8	Christian, then we'd love to have you here, 8883-1-8-7-8-84. First hour is God calling you. That's the
0:47.5	question for this hour. And our good friend, Father Mark Gandalfo, is here. He's a priest of the
0:51.9	diocese of San Diego and director of, I'm going to say it wrong, vocations director. Is that correct? I mean, basically, yes, that is the colloquial title, but officially director of priestly vocations. Director of priestly vocations. Father Mark Gandalfo, thank you for coming back. It's nice to have you here again. I was excited to be welcomed back. I was worried that my first time wouldn't have gone so well that I wouldn't be asked back, you know? You know what? After that first one where you were here, we all got together and we said, he'll get better if we do it again. So does that make you feel better about the whole thing? I think so. Yeah, I think so. Okay. I did get a couple notes, so that was really good. Yeah, I got a couple of helpful notes on my presentation last time. So I think this will be even better this time. Who gave you know? It wasn't the bishop wasn't. No, no, no, no, the bishop did not give me notes. No. I didn't give you notes. No, no, it wasn't you either side. No, I got a note to speak closer to the microphone.
1:44.8	Yes.
1:45.3	Oh, I get that same note all the time. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, I know what you're talking about about getting notes. It was Darren then. Yeah. It was for sure, Darren. It was definitely Darren. Okay. Yeah, he has this thing about talking into the microphone, not saying, um, all the time. He's very strict.
2:01.3	He's very strict.
2:02.4	Very strict.
2:02.4	Yes, very strict.
2:03.2	All right.
2:03.8	So I... talking into the microphone, not saying um all the time. He's, he's very strict. He's very strict.
2:01.9	Very strict. All right. So I bet you get this question a lot, but I'm going to ask it for all
2:07.7	young people listening there. And I was about to say to you before we started the show and then the
2:12.1	music started and I didn't say it. I think, and I'm, maybe this is not controversial, but maybe I'm
2:16.7	just old and coming to this conclusion.
2:19.5	There are a lot of people in the world, especially young people, who don't realize how happy they would be in a religious vocation.
2:27.2	They just don't, it doesn't even occur to them how happy that would make them.
2:31.3	Maybe it's in a monastery or a convent.
2:36.6	Maybe it's as a diocesan or religious priest. But they would be, not that they would be like, you know, living a life
2:44.2	of pain and drudgery that's, you know, a heroic rejection of the light and beauty that they gave up.
2:52.9	But they would actually have fun and they would have a great time.
	...

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