How do you go about finding your purpose when life feels like a series of decisions made without a clear direction. That is the question I explored with Dr. Peter Howard, a theologian with a doctorate from the Angelicum in Rome and the mind behind the Fulton Sheen Institute, who has spent thirty years building his entire life around a single retreat that changed everything for him. Peter shares the remarkable story of Fulton Sheen tearing up a life changing opportunity because his spiritual director told him God had something else in mind, and what that moment teaches us about trusting God even when the path forward looks uncertain. We also get into how he and his wife Chantal are raising seven kids to seek their own calling instead of rushing into the wrong one, why he believes we are living through what Sheen called the final battle of an era, and the daily discipline that has held his family together through their hardest seasons. If you have ever felt lost about what you are meant to do with your life, I think this conversation will give you a lot to sit with. I would love to hear what stands out to you in the comments, and if this episode speaks to you, please subscribe and share it with someone who needs to hear it.

This episode is about finding your purpose from a Catholic theological perspective, looking at what it actually means to discern your calling rather than simply falling into a path by default. Peter and I talk about knowing God's will for your life in both big decisions and everyday moments, and what it looks like to live with purpose even when the future feels uncertain. We also touch on Fulton Sheen's own story of finding his calling in faith, and how that same posture of trust can shape how we raise our children and make decisions in our own lives.

Find more from Peter:
Website: https://fultonsheeninstitute.com/
Catholic Finishing School: https://catholicfinishingschool.com/
Show Me Your Scars (the book): https://fultonsheenmovement.com/show-me-your-scars
Beatification Pilgrimage: https://fultonsheenmovement.com/pilgrimage-register
America's Saint Conference: https://fultonsheenconference.com/
Mass Tickets: https://www.celebratesheen.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fulton.sheen.movement
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fultonsheeninstitute
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fultonsheenmovement

Connect with me:
My website: https://tammympeterson.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tammy.m.peterson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TammyPetersonPodcast
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tammypetersonpodcast
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tammy1Peterson
Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/TammyPetersonPodcast

— Chapters —
00:00 - Opening the Conversation and Introducing Dr. Peter Howard
01:30 - Homeschooling Seven Kids and Letting Their Daughter Take a Gap Year
05:23 - Discerning Your Calling Instead of Defaulting Into a Path
07:36 - Show Me Your Scars and the Meaning of Saint Thomas's Doubt
13:22 - Why Suffering Is Uniquely Redemptive in the Catholic Faith
17:19 - His Doctorate in Theology and Studying in Rome
18:41 - Why He Calls Fulton Sheen a Modern Day Saint Thomas Aquinas
22:40 - The Beatification and Why Sheen Is the Saint for This Moment
24:23 - The Cassette Tape on a Retreat That Changed His Life
26:08 - AI, Social Media, and the Battle for This Era
30:49 - This Is the Final Invention: AI as the Ultimate Counterfeit
34:36 - 1858: Darwin, Marx, and Our Lady's Answer to the Modern Age
39:58 - The Danger of Busyness and Why Communists Feared Retreats
42:43 - Fulton Sheen's Daily Holy Hour Explained
50:54 - Tammy's Own Morning Prayer Routine
58:22 - Purpose, AI, and Universal Basic Income
59:21 - His Two Books on Our Blessed Mother and Fulton Sheen as America's Saint
1:01:55 - Why His Feast Day Ties to Our Lady of Guadalupe
1:03:51 - The Letter He Tore Up: Fulton Sheen's Moment of Heroic Trust