“They would ask me, ‘What can I do to discern the priesthood?’ and I’d say, ‘Well, there’s not really a shortcut,’” he said. “It takes six months. Make a rule of life, because holiness is the way that you’re going to discern God’s will for you.”

Father Gerhart would advise them to live out holiness through prayer, the sacraments, study and service in virtue. He would also guide them to take four actions: undertaking a dating fast, having a spiritual director, going on a retreat and visiting a seminary. But as excited as they were to get started, few had done so when he checked in with them a month later.

Realizing that men considering the priesthood needed something to literally walk them day by day through the discernment process, Father Gerhart compiled 180 days of resources into a Google document he called “Discernment 180.”

“Discernment 180 takes all of the normal things that everyone recommends and just puts it in one intentional period of discernment over six months,” he said.

Almost immediately, he began seeing results. Instead of discovering men at a standstill, they would excitedly report what day they were on in Discernment 180.

For two years, “D180” lived as a Google document. Then, in August 2023, Vianney Vocations, a publisher of vocation resources, released it in book form. Now, there are two editions — one for men discerning the priesthood and another for women discerning religious life.

Publishing D180 has allowed other diocesan vocation offices to access Father Gerhart’s discernment guide. To date, more than 3,000 copies have been sold, and dioceses as far away as Australia are using it to help men and women discern God’s call for them.

Like the original resource, the book includes two parts — the rule of life and action items. “It’s more like a cookbook than it is like an informational book,” Father Gerhart said. “It’s something that you do, not that you read.”

For instance, in the first 90 days of the program, following the rule of life entails:

Prayer: Committing to silent, contemplative prayer as well as praying an hour of the Liturgy of the Hours and night prayer.

Sacrament: Attending Mass on Sunday and one other day each week and going to confession at least once a month.

Study: Reading To Save a Thousand Souls by Father Brett Brannen (for men) and Discerning Religious Life by Mother Clare Matthiass (for women).

Service: Being an altar server (men) as well as serving in a parish ministry (men and women).

Virtue: Growing in self-control through a bodily fast, such as a digital fast from social media, television and the internet.

“I could give the first 90 days to anyone because it’s really just the pursuit of holiness as a foundation,” Father Gerhart said.

For men and women discerning if they’re being called to the priesthood or religious life, the next 90 days also incorporates the four action items and more.

Father Gerhart is proud that Discernment 180 is helping people figure out where they are being called, and either peacefully walking through the door or closing it. But he has also been amazed at how often those who use it for discernment recommend it to their friends because of how it has strengthened their relationship with Christ.

“That’s really the best compliment that could be given,” he said. “Because more than a particular result that I’m trying to make happen through Discernment 180, I just want people to know God’s will and follow where he leads.”