Vincent de Paul’s method of discernment had three parts: an openness to God’s will, an evaluation of reasons for or against an action, and a consultation with wise persons, usually superiors or directors. Hugh O’Donnell defines discernment as a process by which the Spirit calls us to use our freedom to act in a certain way. He defines it as “a choice, not between good and evil, but between two or more goods.”

– from the Abstract to the article “Vincentian Discernment,” by Fr. Hugh O’Donnell, C.M., Vincentian Heritage Journal