Discerning Marriage

This couple discerned marriage across the Atlantic Ocean! It’s safe to say, they are pros at long distance dating. In this episode, Elizabeth chats with Will and Rebekah Hickl about their experience of long distance discernment as they share practical wisdom for other couples dating long distance. On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s...

Elizabeth Busby chats with Damon Owens about navigating conflict, habits of healthy communication, and how to have difficult conversations with your significant other. On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s will for you, and if you already know that you’re called to marriage, we want to help you bring glory to God in your vocation. You&...

People often look back on being young and going out on dates with nostalgic fondness, but the reality is the process of discerning your vocation can be really difficult and painful! The good news is, this is an opportunity for you to grow in holiness. On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s will for you, and if you already know that you’...

Elizabeth Busby chats with Katie Schmitt about how she discerned marriage her high school sweetheart, Daniel. On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s will for you, and if you already know that you’re called to marriage, we want to help you bring glory to God in your vocation. You're missing the view! Watch this episode on YouTube Get...

Elizabeth Busby chats with Catholic marriage therapist, Regina Boyd, to discuss the research proven keys to a successful, happy marriage. On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s will for you, and if you already know that you’re called to marriage, we want to help you bring glory to God in your vocation. You're missing the view! Watch...

Valentine's Day can be such a difficult day when you're single, and I want you to know that you're seen and known and loved in that space. So I've invited Liv Harrison back onto the podcast to talk with yall about the longing that you may feel today and what to do with it. We also tell some lovely Vday stories shared by my Instagram followers that will fill you with hope and laught...

I don't know about you, but I love New Years resolutions...but very rarely am I able to keep them up all year! In case this is your situation, too, I've invited Steve Motyl, a Catholic relationship and lifestyle coach, to give us some tips to make good resolutions and stick to them. Cheers to a great 2022, yall! On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discove...

Merry Christmas!!! In honor of my favorite feast day, I invited Christopher West to talk with us about Mary and Joseph's marriage and what that marriage in particular has to do with Jesus's BIRTHday, that holy night around the manger! This was a really fun conversation; I hope you love it! On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s...

Surrender to his will and God's timing is the beginning to every good discernment - this is so true, but at the same time, so difficult! I'm joined by Stacey Sumereau to discuss this important topic and some tips for implementing it into your life! On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s will for you, and if you already know that...

If you're a sexual abuse survivor, dating and or in deep desire of changing generational patters, listen in! Kiki Rocha talks about her coaching mission that is anchored by her own story of much brokenness— incestual sexual abuse by her father, cheating, divorce, single parent mother, among other wounds. She believes women, due to the epidemic of fatherlessness, are seeing themselves, their se...

On this episode, Maggie shares her unique journey toward marriage with her now husband of ten years and father to her three children, Jacob. This couple knows suffering. Before they were even engaged, they faced Maggie's cancer diagnosis, as well as Jacob's own health scares that led to them both having spent time at each other's hospital bedside. Once the physical healing came, the ne...

Jeanette Clark, classmate with Christopher West in her Master's of Theological Studies degree from the JPII Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family and wife of the Executive Director of the TOB Institute, got married in her late 20s after a cross country move and a breakup with her future husband. Join us as we discuss her full discernment story! On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we acc...

All brides and grooms want their wedding day to be special and beautiful, but did you know that this can actually be a way to glorify God with your relationship?? Join me as I talk with Stephanie Calis {of Spoken Bride Ministry!} about how to press deeply into your desire for a beautiful wedding day and how that can be a powerful witness to your guests! We also talk about her wedding planning book...

The ache of longing to be in your vocation can be agonizing. Amazingly, Pope St. John Paul II pressed into this theme in his discussions on what he calls original solitude. Renown Theology of the Body expert Bill Donaghy joins me as we discuss what original solitude is and why it matters to you! On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s wi...

Getting married and staying married takes an incredible amount of courage, particularly in this day and age that is so hostile to such a union. Elizabeth is joined by renowned TOB experts Damon and Melanie Owens to talk about what it takes to live a courageous marriage and what you can do now, as you’re discerning marriage, to set yourself up for success. On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we acc...

Liv Harrison and I continue our conversation from Episode 19 right where we left off. We discuss an approach to breakups that can be helpful to process and heal from the loss of the relationship. On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s will for you, and if you already know that you’re called to marriage, we want to help you bring glory t...

Dr. Greg Bottaro shares his incredible story of discerning out of formation for the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and into a marriage with his bride! And the turning point of his discernment that happened while watching The Truman Show. Yes, for real! This story is awesome! I can’t wait for you to hear it!! On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marri...

One of the topics that I often get emails and IG messages about is online dating. This method of meeting people is increasingly utilized as a way to connect with people outside of your immediate community, and thousands of people have met their spouse online (including one of our closest couple friends!!). I wanted to have a podcast episode to be able to direct interested people to, so I’ve invite...

Sometimes people will have a supernatural prayer experience where God gives them the assurance of who their spouse is going to be: “I just knew it was her!” Often, though, God works through a person’s reason and free will and allows them to choose whom they want to marry. This episode’s discernment story is an example of the latter. Christina Jaloway spent her 20s longing for her spouse and didn’t...

For starters, this episode is for both men and women! 🙂 Back in the 1990s, St John Paul II wrote a Letter To Women, breaking open the beauty of femininity and completely busting the myth that women are less than men. On this episode, I’m joined by Liv Harrison to discuss a critical topic that St JPII discussed in that letter: the feminine genius. Both men and women need to understand the dignity...

Join me for this season 1 finale episode where I answer listener questions about the timing of transitioning to engagement, breakups, what to do when there is pornography in your relationship, and questions to ask each other in the pre-engagement phase! On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s will for you, and if you already know that yo...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year...but it can also be the most painful time of the year for some people. This is true for people who have recently ended a relationship, because one of the most underrated sufferings in our current culture is that of breakups. It can be so tempting to just tell someone whom you see going through a breakup to just “move on” / “there are other fish in the sea”...

As our hearts turn toward Bethlehem and we prepare for the coming of Christ, I want to continue our conversation on what marriage is and what to do to prepare your heart to enter into the sacrament. I’m joined once again by Jeanette Clark to break open St. Paul’s beautiful and sometimes confusing passage in Ephesians chapter 5 about the relationship between husbands and wives. Jeanette’s gentlenes...

Hands down the most helpful clinical resources I have found to help married couples come out of the Gottman Institute. Drs John and Julie Gottman have a research based theory on why marriages succeed or fail, and it is called the Sound Relationship House. Learning these seven “floors” and two foundational “pillars” is invaluable for people discerning marriage as they seek to build a solid foundati...

Fr. Blake Britton was born and raised in the Diocese of Orlando, Fla., the oldest of four children. After studying opera at an arts school and the Orlando Opera Company, he applied for the seminary at the age of 18 and earned both a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy as well as a master’s degree in Divinity. He is fluent in English and Spanish and well-studied in classical Latin and biblical Greek. H...