123 episodes
Battle-Proof Your Relationship + Afraid You’ll Marry the Wrong Person? + Submission Is Not Status
20/10/2026 | 54 mins.What if the biggest obstacle to discerning marriage isn’t finding the right person, but learning to trust God?In this conversation, Father Chris Alar and Elizabeth talk about Divine Mercy, past sexual sin and bondage, fear of choosing the wrong spouse, scrupulosity, spiritual direction, and how God works through the decisions we make. Father Chris also shares powerful lessons from St. Faustina’s Diary about spiritual warfare, temptation, forgiveness, sacrifice, and trust. They unpack what love actually requires in marriage, including the difference between masculine leadership and domination, feminine receptivity and submission, and why both husband and wife are called to sacrifice.If you’re dating, discerning marriage, or struggling to trust God with your future, this conversation is for you.Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Deluxe Burgundy Leather: https://shopmercy.org/diary-of-saint-maria-faustina-kowalska-deluxe-burgundy-leather.htmlDivine Mercy Plus: https://divinemercyplus.org/
Ignite Hope Discerning Marriage Retreat Info
📸 Elizabeth’s Instagram
👩❤️👨 If you’re seriously dating and thinking about getting engaged, check out our Next Step course to help discern if you’re both ready for engagement.
Theology of the Body Institute Resources:
🛍️ Store- What should dating actually look like if you’re discerning marriage? Elizabeth breaks down the six stages she recommends: singleness, friendship, dating, committed relationship, pre-engagement, and engagement. She explains when to become exclusive, why multiple first dates can be appropriate, when physical intimacy should enter the picture, and why commitment shouldn’t be taken lightly. She also explores why your single season matters, the importance of healing and community, and why the hardest conversations should happen before engagement. Finally, Elizabeth explains how intentional pre-engagement discernment can change your engagement and help you enter marriage having already asked the questions that matter most.
Ignite Hope Discerning Marriage Retreat Info
Next Step: A Course for Discerning Marriage
Discerning Marriage x Emily Chapman
📸 Elizabeth’s Instagram
👩❤️👨 If you’re seriously dating and thinking about getting engaged, check out our Next Step course to help discern if you’re both ready for engagement.
Theology of the Body Institute Resources:
🛍️ Store Why You Self-Sabotage Relationships + Why Therapy Matters Before Marriage + Healing Porn Wounds
22/09/2026 | 52 mins.What if the patterns sabotaging your relationships began long before you met the person you want to marry? Dr. Gerry Crete shares how trauma, attachment styles, and unresolved wounds can shape the people we pursue, the relationships we struggle to sustain, and even the ways we turn to pornography or other behaviors for comfort. Elizabeth and Dr. Crete also unpack Internal Family Systems and its compatibility with Catholic faith. They discuss healing before marriage, recognizing self-sabotage, learning to love imperfect people, and using prayer and therapy to move toward secure attachment with Christ and others.
Souls & Hearts: https://www.soulsandhearts.com/
Pateris Agape: https://www.youtube.com/@PaterasAgape
Ignite Hope Discerning Marriage Retreat Info
📸 Elizabeth’s Instagram
👩❤️👨 If you’re seriously dating and thinking about getting engaged, check out our Next Step course to help discern if you’re both ready for engagement.
Theology of the Body Institute Resources:
🛍️ StoreAnticipating Infertility + The Abundant Fruit of Our Infertility + “Just Adopt” Isn’t That Simple
08/09/2026 | 53 mins.Lance and Nicole have been married for 30 years, but their story of marriage and family didn't unfold the way they expected. They open up about infertility, miscarriage, grief, and the temptation to become bitter when the future you've imagined disappears. They also challenge the common advice to simply “adopt” and explain why adoption and infertility require very different discernment. Along the way, they share how suffering unexpectedly led to deep relationships with spiritual sons and daughters, including priests and young people they helped accompany through life. This is a conversation about loss, trust, parenthood, marriage, and discovering what God can bring from suffering.Nicole's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolerodriguezoffical/
Ignite Hope Discerning Marriage Retreat Info
📸 Elizabeth’s Instagram
👩❤️👨 If you’re seriously dating and thinking about getting engaged, check out our Next Step course to help discern if you’re both ready for engagement.
Theology of the Body Institute Resources:
🔥 3 FREE sessions of our flagship course on the TOB
💬 Text TOB to (404) 647-7682
⚡️ Support us & get access to leading TOB formation
📚 Course schedule
🏔️ Pilgrimages
🛍️ StoreRaising Kids Who Choose Faith + Let Them Rebel at Home + Stop Parenting From Fear
25/08/2026 | 1h 6 mins.How do you raise children who don’t just inherit your faith, but actually choose it for themselves? Angèle and André Regnier share what they learned raising five children while building a Catholic movement for university students. We talk about why parents should model prayer instead of simply demanding it, what to do when your children don’t want to pray, why the people your kids admire can shape them more than you realize, and how to intentionally create that influence. We also explore respecting teenagers, giving children real freedom, teaching them to make decisions, responding to suffering, and why parents should stop parenting from fear of the world.Angèle and André's book:
Ignite Hope Discerning Marriage Retreat Info
📸 Elizabeth’s Instagram
👩❤️👨 If you’re seriously dating and thinking about getting engaged, check out our Next Step course to help discern if you’re both ready for engagement.
Theology of the Body Institute Resources:
🔥 3 FREE sessions of our flagship course on the TOB
💬 Text TOB to (404) 647-7682
⚡️ Support us & get access to leading TOB formation
📚 Course schedule
🏔️ Pilgrimages
🛍️ Store
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About Discerning Marriage
Discerning Marriage is a weekly podcast hosted by Elizabeth Busby, MTS, MS, LMFT. Regardless of your state in life, you can begin preparing for marriage right now. Whether you are single, dating, seriously dating, engaged, on a break, or grieving a breakup, you can make use of this time for fruitful growth toward becoming a healthy and holy spouse. Intentional discernment of marriage starts today, even if you haven't given or received an engagement ring.
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