We need to rediscover this as the principal means of grace that Jesus established in his Church. But their significance has been forgotten or obscured by worldly concerns. The sacraments remain part of the life of the faithful. Do you think we need to put more effort into explaining the sacraments as the pillars of spiritual life and bring them to the attention of our modern society? You describe the sacraments as pillars of the spiritual life. Without God, we cannot live any just life, any vital life. The principles and values of moral law meet and find their reconciliation only in Christ. Without God’s word, people can think that they live an upright life, but it is illusory. This is another characteristic of spiritual life. He is our rock, and the Word of God is our firm foundation. We are justified only by Christ we depend on him. There is a characteristic of spiritual life: There is no illusion of self-sufficiency, no false sense of security. And like the Hebrews, he leads us into the desert. He turns us toward himself, by his grace. We enter into spiritual life by following Christ. How does one enter, and how does one progress in, the spiritual life? And how does this path differ from a non-spiritual life? So we need a catechism because we need to approach to God. And we all have a need to reacquaint ourselves with his profound gift, which is his love. Through his Church and the sacraments, God guides us into an ever-deeper relationship with him. In this situation, then, we require a retreat from the world, withdrawal into the desert, where we can relearn the fundamentals, the basics: monotheism, the revelation of Jesus Christ, us and God, his word, our sin, our dependence and need of his mercy. Too many would reduce our lives, the very meaning of our lives, to absolute individualism and the pursuit of fleeting pleasure. Well, God has been forgotten in modern society. That is why I decided to write Catechism of the Spiritual Life. It is the simplicity of the desert, of recognition of our dependence upon God, and encountering him and the gift of his love and his grace, by which he configured us to himself.
Every one of us must strive, continuously, to draw closer to Jesus Christ, to return to his word, and to the simplicity of the faith in his self-revelation. It is not a catechism to compete with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, but it is narrower in scope, I hope answering a profound need of our time. Your Eminence, what made you decide to write a book on the spiritual life?Īmidst the confusion of this day, outside and even inside the Church, I saw a need for a representation of some reflections on our spiritual progress in our spiritual life: progress in our personal and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Minor editing changes were made for clarity.
#CARDINAL SARAH FULL#
The full interview broadcast on EWTN’s Vaticano Nov. The on-camera interview was conducted EWTN Rome Bureau Chief Andreas Thonhauser. 7 interview in Rome, Cardinal Robert Sarah, former prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, spoke about his latest book, Catechism of the Spiritual Life, published by EWTN Publishing in October.
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