Creative Catholicism

In this episode of Caravaggio: Catholic Spirituality for Imperfect Catholics, Father James Grant reflects on David with the Head of Goliath and the relationship between humility, self-knowledge and true freedom. Through Caravaggio’s haunting self-portrait as Goliath, he explores our human tendency to blame others, avoid correction and place our own will above God’s, suggesting that genuine freedom begins with recognising our failures, embracing humility and allowing repentance to lead us towards new life.

In Gethsemane, Jesus enters the deepest experience of human loneliness, betrayal and abandonment. Yet his anguish is not a failure of faith—it is a profound encounter with the reality of the human condition. This episode reflects on the different forms of loneliness we experience, from the isolation that can be transformed by Christ into joy and peace, to the destructive loneliness born of selfishness and despair.

Through the stories of Gethsemane, the unnamed woman who anoints Jesus’ feet, and Judas, we are invited to consider how our own moments of failure, suffering and abandonment can become opportunities for transformation. A meditation and prayer for all who feel alone—and especially for those facing difficult decisions about life, pregnancy and hope—bring this station to a close.

In this episode of The Witch, the Priest, and the Puppet Maker, Father James Grant explores the spiritual and social dangers of placing the self at the centre of life. Drawing on the example of Nazi Germany and the moral blindness of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss, he considers how self-interest can gradually replace humility, service, truth and ultimately God. He reflects on modern Western culture’s emphasis on self-discovery and self-improvement, asking whether the pursuit of the self has truly made us freer or simply more isolated and dissatisfied. The episode concludes with a call to return to Christ’s essential teaching: to love others with humility and live lives of genuine service.

In this episode of Noticing the Unnoticed, Father James Grant explores the human tendency to fabricate, embellish and promote an idealised version of ourselves—and the challenge this creates for an authentic Catholic life. Drawing on the Mona Lisa, the healing of the ten lepers, and Jesus’ words, “I am the vine, you are the branches,” he reflects on humility, truthfulness and gratitude. True faith, he suggests, requires consistency: being the same person in every dimension of life and recognising that everything we have ultimately comes from God.

In this episode, Father James Grant explores Caravaggio’s Judith Beheading Holofernes and the artist’s understanding of faith as something passionate, costly, and deeply challenging. Caravaggio’s turbulent life and unconventional choice of models reveal a conviction that genuine faith cannot simply be a source of comfort or therapy. Instead, it demands courage, resilience, sacrifice, and a willingness to stand against the world. Father James asks whether the modern Church has become too comfortable—and challenges us to rediscover a faith that is real enough to cost us something.