The Sacramentalists

In this installment of The Sacramentalists Goes Scriptural, Fr. Wesley Walker, Fr. Creighton McElveen, and Fr. Hayden Butler dive into Acts 17:16–34 to examine St. Paul’s sermon at Mars Hill in Athens. Positioning Luke-Acts as a unified narrative of cosmic restoration and the reversal of Babel, the hosts explore how Paul’s distress over civic idolatry leads him not to fiery denunciations, but into charitable yet uncompromising philosophical engagement with Epicurean and Stoic interlocutors.The conversation unpacks the theological architecture of Paul’s address—contrasting ancient notions of localized,domestic deities with the transcendent Creator who needs no temple made by human hands. Drawing insights from Plato, Origen, St. Justin Martyr, and modern Pauline scholarship, the fathers address whether this sermon marks a departure from Romans 1 or represents the pinnacle of missional flexibility: meeting a culture in its search for the divine, quoting pagan poets, and redirecting human desire toward the revealed, resurrected Judge.Finally, the hosts offer pastoral reflections on Christian witness in our contemporary post-Christian landscape. Challenging modern pragmatic assumptions that judge ministry solely by mass immediate conversions, they emphasize the long, patient work of classical formation, reminding listeners that faithfulness often looks like tending to the small remnant that remains.

In this episode of The Sacramentalists, theologian Dr. Donald Wallenfang joins us to explore how philosophical phenomenology functions as a purely descriptive method to bracket our natural attitude and recover an immediate, lived encounter with sacramental reality. Grounding these insights in Carmelite spirituality and framing classical metaphysics as the "anchor" and phenomenology as the "sail," the discussion traverses Marion’s concept of "saturated phenomena," Edith Stein’s notion of empathy, Ratzinger’s Trinitarian anthropology, and Chauvet’s balance of objective grace and subjective participation. Ultimately, the conversation illuminates the paradox of the Eucharist, where divine presence can feel like an apparent shortage, requiring faith. By transubstantiating the ordinary elements of bread and wine, God reveals His immense reality without overwhelming human cognition. Concluding with reflections on kenotic self-emptying and the integration of faith with clinical psychology, this episode provides a rich framework for clergy, scholars, and laypeople seeking a deeper liturgical encounter. Check out Dr. Wallenfang's work on his YouTube channel, The Mendicant Philosopher, and be sure browse his books on Amazon. To support the show consider joining the Communion of Patreon Saints at patreon.com/thesacramentalists, and visit our official website at https://www.thesacramentalistspodcast.com/.

Death is an inevitable reality, but for the Christian, it is a conquered enemy. In this episode of The Sacramentalists, Fr. Hayden Butler, Fr. Creighton McElveen, and Fr. Wesley Walker explore the ancient Christian practice of memento mori—remembering our death—and how the Church’s liturgy and pastoral care guide us through the ars moriendi (the art of dying). Moving past modern culture’s death-denying tendencies and anxious escapism, the hosts discuss how the liturgical calendar, daily offices, and ascetical life train Christians to face mortality with hope rather than fear.Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Contra Mundum Clericals, crafting clergy shirts built for parish work. Get 15% off using code SACRAMENTALIST at contramundumclericals.com.Connect with us at thesacramentalists.org and join the Communion of Patreon Saints at patreon.com/thesacramentalists

Why does silence make us so uncomfortable? Frs. Wesley Walker and Creighton McElveen explore silence and solitude as a universal Christian vocation, drawing on Augustine, Mother Teresa, Levinas, St. John of the Cross, and Shusaku Endo's Silence to unpack restlessness, purgative suffering, and how solitude strips away the false self before God.Sponsored by Contra Mundum Clericals — code SACRAMENTALISTS for 15% off at https://contramundumclericals.com. Questions or topic ideas? Email [email protected]. Join the Communion of Patreon Saints for $5/month.

What's a sermon actually for? Frs. Creighton McElveen and Wesley Walker explore sacramental preaching — why the Anglo-Catholic homily is inseparable from the liturgy, what a sermon is NOT (moralism, politics, a lecture, stand-up), and a real rubric for judging whether a sermon succeeds: biblical fidelity, theological rigor, and proclaiming Christ crucified. Fr. Wesley also breaks down his actual weekly process for writing a sermon, from diagramming the collect to consulting Keble and Newman.Questions or topic ideas? Email [email protected]. Join the Communion of Patreon Saints for $5/month.