Discernment Books

Suggested Books for Discerning Your Vocation

For Basic Discernment:

Discerning the Will of God: An Ignatian Guide to Christian Decision Making
Timothy M. Gallagher

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius: Based on Studies in the Language of the Autograph
Ignatius of Loyola & Louis J. Puhl

What Does God Want?  A Practical Guide to Making Decisions
Michael T.O.R. Scanlan & James Manney

How to Listen When God is Speaking: A Guide for Modern-Day Catholics
Fr. Mitch ​​​​Pacwa

For Priesthood Discernment:

To Save a Thousand Souls: A Guide for Discerning a Vocation to Diocesan Priesthood
Fr. Brett A. Brannen

The Priest Is Not His Own
Fulton Sheen

Many Are Called: Rediscovering the Glory of the Priesthood
Scott Hahn

Men of Brave Heart: The Virtue of Courage in the Priestly Life
Archbishop Jose H. Gomez

Gift and Mystery: On the Fifteenth Anniversary of My Priestly Ordination
Saint Pope John Paul II.

Consecrated/Religious Life:

Virginity: A Positive Approach to Celibacy for the Sake of the Kingdom of Heaven
Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap.

…And You Are Christ’s: The Charism of Virginity and the Celibate Life
Thomas Dubay, S.M. 

The Foundations of Religious Life
Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious.

On the Consecrated Life
Saint Pope John Paul II

For a Scriptural Based Discernment:

Sacred Scripture - Special focus on the Gospels

To Whom Shall We Go?  Lessons from the Apostle Peter
Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan

For a Dense, Theology of Discernment:

The Christian State of Life
Hans Urs von Balthasar & Mary Frances. T McCarthy

Paths of Love: The Discernment of Vocation
Joseph Bolin

Authenticity: A Theology of Discernment
Thomas S.M. Dubay