Meditations
Meditations is a weekly podcast with Fr Gavan Jennings produced by Called to More. Each week you can expect a meditation to pray with and to use as a seed for continued prayer — on the life of Jesus, his Church and how we can attain sanctity. New episodes every Monday at 6pm GMT.
Episodes
50 episodes
Ep. 49 | Be a Friend Worth Having
This episode highlights the essence of true friendship as a mutual commitment, exploring how virtues like amiability, cheerfulness, and refinement make us more lovable and relationships more fulfilling. Drawing from the Bible and wisdom of sain...
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Season 1
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Episode 49
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6:30
Ep. 48 | Friendship is a Choice, Not a Feeling
This reflection explores the essence of true friendship as a decision of the will, not fleeting emotions. Father explains Aristotle’s view of virtuous friendship and draws parallels to marriage, highlighting the need for commitment, freedom, an...
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Season 1
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Episode 48
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7:13
Ep. 47 | Aristotle & True Friendship
In this episode, Father Gavan explores Aristotle’s profound reflections on friendship. Delving into pleasure, utility, and virtue-based relationships, he reveals the depth of true friendship: seeking the good of another. With references to marr...
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Season 1
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Episode 47
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7:34
Ep. 46 | The Mother Who Reigns with Grace
What does it mean to call Mary Queen? This reflection unpacks the Feast of the Queenship of Mary, showing how her humble “yes” brought her not only motherhood, but heavenly queenship. Her crown is not of domination but of love, and she reigns n...
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Season 1
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Episode 46
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7:18
Ep. 45 | Christ Didn’t Leave You Behind
How can Jesus leave and still be near? This reflection on the Ascension reveals that Christ’s departure wasn’t an absence but a deeper presence. Drawing from Scripture and the insights of Pope Benedict XVI, it explores how Jesus remains with us...
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Season 1
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Episode 45
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7:52
Ep. 44 | The Surprising Joy of St Philip Neri
What does holiness look like in hard times? This reflection explores the joyful humility of St Philip Neri—a saint who transformed the Church not with power but with laughter. In the midst of chaos and corruption, he offered Rome a radiant, hum...
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Season 1
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Episode 44
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8:49
Ep. 43 | Is Your Faith Just for Sundays?
This episode explores how integrating faith with daily life brings us closer to God’s holiness. Father Gavan warns against separating faith from work, family, or social life, and highlights our role as co-creators with God. Embracing this unity...
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Season 1
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Episode 43
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7:47
Ep. 42 | The (Deepest) Call of a Christian
The transformation into Christlikeness is the central theme of this meditation. Through the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, and the purification of our souls, we are called to participate in God’s holiness. By detaching from sin and imita...
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Season 1
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Episode 42
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7:35
Ep. 41 | Are You Really Free?
The gift of human freedom is unique and mysterious. Unlike creatures bound by nature, we choose our path, for good or ill. Fr. Gavan explains how law and virtue guide our freedom, showing us the way to true flourishing and union with God. Disco...
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Season 1
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Episode 41
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8:25
Ep. 40 | The Lies That Keep You Stuck
Truth guides us to God, yet ignorance blinds us. Father Gavan delves into how idolatry forms when truth is absent and how divine revelation not only informs but transforms us. Encounter the living God, the One who fulfills every heart’s desire....
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Season 1
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Episode 40
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7:42
Ep. 39 | Stop Searching, You’ve Already Found It
This reflection explores the insatiable human longing for fulfillment, often misdirected towards finite pleasures, as only God can satisfy our hearts. Through St. Augustine’s transformation, we learn that our restless hearts find peace only in ...
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Season 1
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Episode 39
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7:20
Ep. 38 | The Deepest Desire of Your Soul
How can humanity’s longing for beauty and fulfilment be satisfied? This reflection explores the “infinite hole” in our hearts, a yearning for God Himself. Material wealth and worldly pleasures fall short, yet God’s infinite love fulfils our dee...
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Season 1
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Episode 38
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7:31
Ep. 37 | The World Was Made for You
This reflection delves into the concept of creation as God’s primordial gift of love. It explores how God’s infinite joy manifests as an abundance of gifts, from our very existence to the beauty of creation.🔴 ABOUT US
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Season 1
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Episode 37
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8:06
Ep. 36 | Can We Truly Know God?
How can we truly understand God’s holiness? In this episode, we explore God’s infinite holiness, as revealed in Scripture, and how it reflects His love. 🔴 ABOUT USCalled to More is a Catholic not-for-profit med...
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Season 1
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Episode 36
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7:27
Ep. 35 | What It Means to "Put on Christ"
The New Testament talks a lot about "putting on Christ" — but what does that mean? Is it just a bad translation, or is there something we can learn from this phrase? Fr Gavan explains.🔴 ABOUT USCalled to More is a Catholic...
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5:36
Ep. 34 | Actions Have Consequences (& Leave Lasting Marks)
We are either growing or declining in virtue — never stagnant. (In fact, stagnation may imply a decline.) So, what are you? Well, look at your actions, especially the habitual ones. Is virtue something that comes naturally, or are there vices y...
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Season 1
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Episode 34
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6:48
Ep. 33 | Pursue the Good Because It's Good (Use Your Conscience)
The dynamics of holiness: how do we become holy in practice? When a person is elevated in Baptism, when they receive sanctifying grace, they are not automatically holy or, indeed, automatically guaranteed Heaven. Faith without works is dead. By...
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Season 1
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Episode 33
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7:31
Ep. 32 | Is Your Faith Too Platonic?
Today we are looking at the human person as the subject of holiness (as opposed to animals or plants) — what makes it possible for us to become saints? Why are we elevated, transformed to children of God? What in our essence does that — and wha...
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Season 1
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Episode 32
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8:13
Ep. 31 | This Is Your Call to Holiness
If God calls Himself holy, is it possible for us to also be holy? Are we split into those who are merely saved, and those who are actually saintly? Fr Gavan talks about how holiness is available, for you and for me, if we strive for it....
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Season 1
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Episode 31
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7:40
Ep. 30 | How Do I Become More Holy?
Have you ever laughed at the idea of becoming a canonisable saint? Sure, it's hard to imagine, but as Catholics it should be our ambition. Father looks at holiness in the Bible, theology and the history of the Church — exploring what it is and ...
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Season 1
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Episode 30
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7:48
Ep. 29 | Looking at the Life of St Joseph
With the Feast of St Joseph the Worker yesterday, we look at his life, his work and how that relates to us. Joseph the father, the worker, the commuter — what did that look like? Could he cut corners, have miracles worked for him, or was he jus...
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Season 1
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Episode 29
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7:28
Ep. 28 | How to Stop Being Lazy
The seventh and final deadly sin is sloth, and it's a tricky one being a sin of omission. Not getting up at the first alarm, procrastinating on tasks, not caring about things or people. These things can be sinful or lead us to sin, and it's hel...
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Season 1
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Episode 28
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6:43
Ep. 27 | The Five Aspects of Gluttony
Overeating can make us spiritually sluggish; under-eating can lead us into the sin. How to have the right relationship with food is a surprisingly complex topic. Fr Gavan unpacks its five aspects.🔴 ABOUT USCalled to More i...
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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6:57