They Call, We Answer: A Vocation Director’s Roadmap | Fr. Mark Garrett | Episode #265

Fr. Mark Garrett joins BeatiDudes Paul Kolker, Nick Bezner, and Jeff Schiefelbein for a moving, funny, and deeply Catholic conversation about hearing God’s call and answering it with courage.

Fr. Mark shares life on the road as a nomadic vocation director, offering Mass across the Diocese of Dallas, inviting young men to discern with the Church, and showing up when people suffer. The episode centers on the power of the sacraments: anointing the sick during COVID, blessing workplaces on short notice, and the heart-stopping beauty of fully initiating a newborn into the Church before her short life returned to the Father. Sorrow and joy coexist, and grace is real.

Highlights

• “Five inches of whoosh” and the Tiny Table full of Tiny Saints.

• Fr. Mark’s mileage: More than 20k miles in under a year, visiting 50+ parishes. This is ministry on the move.

• Dallas Catholic boom: youth rooms full, weeknight faith formation, and communities on fire.

• Vocations 101: The Church discerns with you. You start with your story, not a guarantee.

• COVID-anointing in real time: when they call, a priest answers, and you prioritize presence over protocols.

• A newborn fully initiated (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist) and a funeral filled with real joy.

• Confession etiquette: help Father help you. Timing matters, mercy does too.

• Quasi-parishes explained (and why canonical details actually serve people).

• Why sacraments matter: not wishful thinking. God truly acts, and grace is given.

• Blessings in the wild: offices, hallways, and holy water at the ready.