By REY FLORES
Robert Cardinal Sarah, God or Nothing: A Conversation on Faith With Nicolas Diat, paperback, 285 pages; $17.95. Order from Ignatius Press at ignatius.com or call 1-800-651-1531.
His Eminence Robert Cardinal Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, is one of the most respected cardinals in the Catholic Church today. A conversation with him via a book is a breath of fresh air and offers great hope for our Church in a time of much confusion, upheaval, and doubt.
In his new book, Cardinal Sarah shares his thoughts about many things, including his own childhood in Africa and the primitive beliefs of his tribe in Guinea, the liturgy and the postmodern world, and how the Church must address things like the attacks against life, families, and traditional marriage.
The book is one long extended autobiographical interview by writer Nicolas Diat in which he lets Cardinal Sarah tell his own story and share his thoughts.
One of the highlights I enjoyed was learning about Cardinal Sarah’s humble beginnings: His parents were converts to Catholicism, and look where that got their son! The book also brings us the stories of Sarah’s Ordination early in life and how now, at 70 years of age, he is still going strong.
The importance of family is one of Sarah’s favorite topics, as Diat does a terrific job inquiring about this throughout the book: “African family is built around a common life. For many people, money has a secondary place. My family was poor, but we were still happy and close-knit.”
As Cardinal Sarah is not one to shy away from bluntly telling the truth, this book is also chock-full of his powerful words and statements as a true soldier for Christ and the Catholic Church.
Given President Obama’s visit to Africa earlier this year when he was told by political leaders there that they do not support so-called homosexual marriage, Cardinal Sarah goes further with this. “The Church of Africa is committed in the name of the Lord Jesus to keeping unchanged the teaching of God and of the Church about the indissolubility of marriage: What God has joined, let no man put asunder.”
Another great advantage to reading Cardinal Sarah’s book is that it counters the troublesome trajectory of those such as Walter Cardinal Kasper who are saying and doing the complete opposite of what Cardinals Burke and Sarah are saying and doing.
It’s interesting that Cardinal Sarah wants to get his thoughts in with such fire, passion, and urgency, given that he also co-authored a book with several other African cardinals, including Francis Cardinal Arinze. That book is titled Christ’s New Homeland — Africa where he continues his no-nonsense mission about who Jesus Christ is and what His Church teaches, and explains that no matter what any modernists within the Church might say or do, the Church is as steadfast and unchanging as the word of God.
Also, in God or Nothing, Cardinal Sarah makes it clear that he is a strong proponent of the Traditional Latin Mass as he makes several references about its being “the Mass of the saints” and how important it is that we preserve and encourage the growth of our Catholic traditions.
In a recent interview with Aleteia, Sarah stated: “The Eucharist is not a ‘meal among mates,’ it is a sacred mystery.” He again reminds us there that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is nothing less than the closest thing to being with God here on Earth.
We need men like Cardinal Sarah in the Church and we need to read this book, especially because of the Synod on the Family. As I said earlier, this tome offers a great hope for the Church and her mission in this fallen world where she is constantly attacked from outside and within.
Please learn more about and order Cardinal Sarah’s book by visiting www.Ignatius.com.
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(Rey Flores is a Catholic speaker and writer. Email Rey Flores at reyfloresusa@gmail.com.)
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