How do you know if it's God speaking to you, or the enemy, or just your own voice in your head?
This Sunday, Catholic churches around the world are reading John 10, one of my favorite passages in all of Scripture - about the Good Shepherd who calls his sheep by name and leads them to life abundant. But to follow that voice, you have to be able to recognize it.
In this reflection, I'm breaking down 5 practical, St. Ignatius-inspired ways to discern the voice of God from the voice of the enemy and sharing a few powerful stories, including a miraculous healing at Lourdes and a moving journal entry from my wife's conversion at World Youth Day 1993, when she heard the voice of her shepherd and could never unhear it.
"I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." - John 10:10
Louis Martin & Zélie Guérin Martin were not missionaries to distant lands.
They were not martyrs.
They did not found religious orders.
They ran a watch shop.
They made lace.
They changed diapers.
They worried about money.
They lived in ordinary France.
And they became extraordinary in love.
Saints Louis Martin & Zélie Guérin Martin
did not begin with a grand romance.
Louis wanted to become a monk.
Zélie wanted to become a nun.
Both were refused.
So they married, not out of fiery passion, but obedience. At first, they even agreed to live as brother & sister..
A priest intervened.
Marriage, he told them, was their vocation.
And so they gave themselves fully to it.
Their life was not easy.
Zélie ran a demanding lace business from home, often working late into the night. Louis left his watchmaking trade to support her enterprise & manage the household. They buried four children in infancy. They worried about money. They faced illness.
They argued.
They misunderstood each other.
They learned to forgive.
Holiness did not fall on their home like perfume. It was built in dishes washed, letters written, accounts balanced, tears shared at small graves.
They prayed together. They went to daily Mass when they could. They went to confession. They fasted. They gave generously to the poor.
But their sanctity was not made of extraordinary visions.
It was made of endurance.
When Zélie was diagnosed with breast cancer, she did not receive a miracle.
When cancer began to consume her body, she did not rage. She suffered intensely. The pain was real. The fear was real. But so was her faith.
“I am not afraid of death,” she wrote. “On the contrary, I look forward to it.”
Louis watched the woman he loved fade in pain. He held her through it.
After her death, Louis raised their five surviving daughters alone.
One by one, they entered religious life.
The youngest was a fragile, sensitive girl named Thérèse of Lisieux.
You may know her as “The Little Flower.”
Her “little way” of doing small things with great love did not appear from nowhere.
It was learned at her parents’ table.
Years later, Louis himself would suffer strokes & mental deterioration.
He was humiliated by weakness. The once-capable father became dependent.
He offered that suffering, too.
They were canonized together in 2015.
Not because they were perfect.
But because they proved something radical:
Marriage can be a path to heroic sanctity.
Ordinary work can become prayers.
Grief can become an offering.
If your home feels chaotic…
If your love feels tested…
If your prayers feel small…
Remember this couple.
They did not escape suffering.
They sanctified it.
And in doing so, they became the first husband & wife the Church raised to the altars, side by side.
Saints Louis Martin & Zélie Guérin Martin,
Pray for Us!🇻🇦
I’m calling everyone to stop and pray for our nation tomorrow, Wednesday, January 14, at noon, wherever you are. I’ll be sharing more with @TPerkins on Washington Watch tonight at 5:30 p.m. ET. Here’s a link to watch: https://t.co/quLnFXXiNp
I am in tears. Vice President JD Vance is carrying Charlie Kirk bringing him home on Air Force Two
Charlie Kirk is a true hero to America
I will never forget this 🙏
In an increasingly digital society, where technology brings distant people closer together, yet often creates distances between those who are physically close, sport proves a valuable and concrete means of bringing individuals together, providing a healthier sense of the body, of space, effort and real time. It helps to preserve a healthy contact with nature and with real life, where genuine love is experienced.