Fr Gavan Jennings

The bed at the heart of the Odyssey

Penelope’s test of the marriage bed is more than an exhibition of guile: it is the beating heart of the Odyssey

Immigration, rights and responsibilities

As political arguments over immigration become ever more polarised, the Catechism of the Catholic Church offers a strikingly balanced account of the rights and duties of nations, governments and migrants themselves

El Greco and the true transformation of beauty

The elongated figures of El Greco’s Pentecost reflect a deeply Christian vision of the body transformed not by cosmetics or discipline, but by the life of the Spirit

Why the fantasy of escape cannot replace home

Homer’s tale of the Lotus Eaters speaks powerfully to a culture increasingly tempted to exchange reality, love and home for comforting illusion

The Resurrection of the Body

The Church teaches the resurrection of the body, yet its meaning is often left unexplored in practical terms

The Isenheim Altarpiece and the consolation of Christ’s suffering

Grünewald’s wounded Christ was made to console those ravaged by illness and to direct them towards the promise of resurrection

The Iran conflict and the Church’s criteria for a just war

The Church’s just war tradition offers a framework for judging the legitimacy of military action amid the turmoil following the strikes on Iran

What Alberto Ravagnani’s exit from the priesthood gets wrong about celibacy

The public departure of a young Italian priest has revived old debates about celibacy, but the Church’s teaching rests on a deeper vision of self-giving love

Caravaggio's the taking of Christ: a masterpiece shaped by violence

Caravaggio’s The Taking of Christ is shaped by violence: in the life of its creator, in the brutal arrest it depicts, and in the turbulent Irish history through which the painting eventually came to light

St Thomas Aquinas and TikTok

What St Thomas Aquinas can teach us about attention, distraction and the digital age

Back to porridge: the grace of Ordinary Time

As Christmas gives way to Ordinary Time, the Church offers no soft landing. Yet beneath the porridge of everyday life lies the slow, hidden work of grace

A year in reading: my ‘most’ books of 2025

In a series of “most…” categories, Fr Gavan Jennings walks readers through his most memorable reads of 2025

How Our Lady of Guadalupe sparked the largest conversion in history

A miracle on a hilltop, stars on a tilma, and millions baptised: how Our Lady of Guadalupe spoke to an entire civilisation and changed history forever

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