In this conversation I speak with Dr. Zachary Porcu about his book, Journey to Reality: Sacramental Life in a Secular Age, and the challenge of explaining true Christian thinking to modern people. We discuss how modern assumptions about the world make it difficult to understand ideas like sacraments, participation, and the relationship between the spiritual and material. Dr. Porcu explains why he wrote the book and how reframing basic categories—what we mean by God, religion, and reality—is often necessary before theology can make sense.

Listen to this episode on your favourite podcast platform: (Please also review the Symbolic World podcast –it makes a big difference.) - Apple podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/440-dr-zachary-porcu-journey-to-reality-de/id1386867488?i=1000754892175 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2JeS0WeXME1lMRpt4K1iDU?si=2kUA70uKSp2Lu3UG1jucUQ

Dr. Zac’s website and book: https://zacharyporcu.com/ The Roots of Everything podcast (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@TheRootsofEverything Substack: https://zacharyporcu.substack.com/

===== NEW COURSE: Plutarch: Symbolism in History with Pavel Shchelin The problem with history is that you are in it. Plutarch teaches us to read power symbolically—asking "whom does the hero serve?" to predict leadership patterns before they play out. Presenter: Pavel Shchelin Duration: 8 weeks studying the lives of Greeks and Roman Lycurgus, Alcibiades, Lysander, Pompey, Caesar, and Octavian –as living patterns, not dead men. Live classes are on Wednesdays at 4-6pm Eastern Time, starting March 18th through May 6th, 2026. Price: $180 USD, get the early bird discount of 15% off if you register by March 18th. Register now: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/plutarch-symbolism-in-history =====

SUMMIT 2026: Join us for the Symbolic World Summit 2026! Speakers include Fr. Josiah Trenham, Mary Harrington, Jonathan Pageau, Dn. Seraphim Rohlin, and others. Date: May 14-16 Place: Broadview Heights, OH Buy your tickets now and get $50 off with the early bird sale through March 26th. Don't miss out! Hope to see you there: https://symbolicworldsummit.com/

Timestamps: 00:00 - Coming up 01:03 - Intro music 01:29 - Introduction 03:54 - Jargon 05:46 - Matter and spirituality 08:49 - Re-enchantment 13:10 - What you see 22:09 - The moral and physical laws 31:01 - Occult converts 36:39 - Supernatural experiences 40:54 - What do we do? 46:46 - Meditation 49:47 - On American religion 52:16 - The rational and the esoteric

🔓 Become a patron to support us and unlock exclusive monthly symbolism content: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com 🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🎧 Listen to and review The Symbolic World podcast: -Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0gI8bUwPtT3gkduHqNh6M5 -Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-symbolic-world/id1386867488

Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/