I saw recently that Cardinal Robert Sarah has given an important homily on the importance of the sacred. Can you tell me something of what he said?
The cardinal gave the homily on 26 July 2025 at the 400th anniversary commemoration of the apparitions of St Anne at Sainte-Anne-d’Auray in France. His homily was truly memorable.
Speaking of the false vision of religion in the West, he said: “Too often in the West, religion is presented as an activity in the service of human well-being. Religion is equated with humanitarian efforts, acts of charity, the welcoming of migrants and the homeless, the promotion of universal fraternity and peace in the world. Spirituality is viewed as a form of personal development, meant to offer some comfort to modern man absorbed in his usual political and economic pursuits. Even if these matters are important, this vision of religion is false. Religion is not a matter of food or humanitarian action.
“We see clearly how, in lands of comfort, wealth, and abundance, man destroys himself, self-destructs, because he forgets God and thinks only of his riches and earthly well-being. What saves the world is the bread of God. Man must be nourished with the bread of God–and the bread of God is Christ himself. What will save the world is man kneeling before God, to adore and to serve him. God is not at our service. It is we who are at his service.”
The cardinal went on to stress the importance of silent adoration: “We were created to praise and adore God. It is in the adoration of God that we discover our true dignity, the ultimate reason for our existence. It is on his knees before God that man discovers his true greatness and nobility. And if we do not adore God, we will end by adoring ourselves.” He said that to adore and glorify God “is the highest expression of our gratitude to him and the most beautiful response our life can offer to the extraordinary love he bears us. To adore God, one must set oneself apart–in silence.”
As regards the role of churches he said: “There are sacred places, places set apart for God, chosen by God–these places must not be profaned by any activity other than prayer, silence, and the liturgy. Our churches are not theatres, nor concert halls, nor venues for cultural or recreational events. The church is the house of God. It is reserved for him alone. We enter it with reverence and veneration, properly clothed, because we tremble before the greatness of God. We do not tremble out of fear, but out of reverence, awe, and wonder… Sacred places do not belong to us; they belong to God. The purpose of the liturgy is the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful, and sacred music is a privileged means to foster the active and fully conscious participation of the faithful in the sacred celebration of the Christian mysteries.”
The cardinal went on to consider the sacred place of the soul: “Your baptised soul is a sacred place–do not profane it by giving it over to disordered passions and to the spirit of the world; do not profane it by stealing from God the first place. If the church of your soul lies in ruins, then listen to God’s call. It is time to rebuild it–and to rebuild it upon the rock, the solid foundation upon which we must build our life and our hope.
“Yes, it is time to rebuild the church of your soul. It is time for you to go to confession: confess the sins you have committed in word or in deed, by night or by day; confess now, in this favorable time, and on the day of salvation receive the heavenly treasure. ‘Above all, watch over your soul,’ says St Cyril of Jerusalem. It is time to care for it by setting aside each day a real time of deep and silent prayer. It is time to cast out the idols of money, of screens, of easy and vulgar seduction. God wants your heart. God wants your soul.”
God also wants our body: “Let us not profane our body. Our body is the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells within us. Let us not destroy this temple, for the temple of God is sacred–and that temple is us. God entrusted it to us so that we might care for it and adore him in silence. God wills it. God wills you.”
