The Day Is Now Far Spent

In these days of grave, and even unprecedented, confusion within the Church, the faithful nevertheless have no excuse to resort to despondency: not when we have such great leaders like Cardinal Sarah speaking the truth. Follow him and men like him; not unhinged bloggers and podcasters who can do nothing but foment discord and hatred and even incline their readers and listeners towards attitudes that verge on schism. In Cardinal Sarah -- and, especially, in this particular work of his -- we see a man at once on fire with both truth and love; always obedient to and respectful of his spiritual father (and our spiritual father), Pope Francis, always submitting to Pope Francis' actual Magisterium, and always eager to quote Pope Francis' teachings; but at the same time unafraid of calling out all the errors of modern society in a way we do not usually see as clearly in Pope Francis' own words, unafraid of clearing up any ambiguity that might have previously existed, and unafraid of openly disagreeing with non-Magisterial personal opinions of the Pope. Like all holy Churchmen, Cardinal Sarah's words are thoroughly orthodox and edifying, but do not cater to this or that subculture within Catholicism; both "right wing" and "left wing" Catholics will have their feathers regularly rustled by his words. His critiques of the modern era (both in the Church and the world) are spot on and are not mere tired reiterations of the same things we have been hearing for decades, but are rather imbued with new, deep insights. Some of my favorites, from this book: "We study theology while making God a mere rational hypothesis... priests and consecrated religious live in a way that is sheer worldliness.""The true Magisterium, as a supernatural function of the Mystical Body of Christ, ensured and led invisibly by the Holy Spirit, cannot be in crisis...today, however, a veritable cacophony reigns in the teachings of pastors bishops, and priests."[Praising Vatican II but lamenting the confusion that followed it, Cardinal Sarah points out:] "If the popes and the Council Fathers thought that they could confidently be open to everything positive in the modern world, it is precisely because they were certain about their identity and about their faith.""The men of the Church must be true prophets... today false prophets try to charm the people of God and put them to sleep by diluting the Gospel in ambiguous, confused language that threatens to make our faith insipid, so as to get the world's benevolent attention.""The West sometimes resembles an embittered old man. It lacks the candor of a child. Spiritually, the continents that came to know the Good News more recently are still astonished and enchanted by the beauties of God, the marvels of his action in us. The West is perhaps too accustomed to it. It no longer shivers with joy before the manger scene;it no longer weeps with gratitude before the Cross; it no longer trembles in amazement before the Blessed Sacrament... men need to be astonished in order to adore... Wisdom begins with wonder, Socrates said. The inability to wonder is the sign of a civilization that is dying.""How many western Churches serve as concert halls? People talk there as they would in an ordinary place, a common meeting room. [but] the true model is Moses before the burning bush! Let no one say that the interior attitude is the essential thing. It is neither real nor lasting unless it is manifested by external, concrete gestures.""The hearts of many Christians are divided between love of the one true God and veneration of this idol, money. In this sense they become true polytheists... I see people whose standard of living is secure and enviable worrying about the state of their bank accounts. I see some Christians becoming set in their ownership without taking care to detach themselves from their property...One can end up dying of spiritual hunger while thinking that one is full because of the abundance of material goods. The solution has to be radical." How much more I would like to quote from this profound work, but I would soon simply be typing out the whole thing in this review! So I close with some words of wisdom from the Cardinal pertaining to "What should we do?": "We must burn with love for our faith. We must not tarnish it or dilute it in worldly compromises. We must not falsify or corrupt it. It is a matter of the salvation of souls... let us stop putting the light of the faith under a bushel basket... let us dare to proclaim, to witness, to catechize! We can no longer call ourselves believers and live in practice like atheists...""Charity is not an emotion. Charity is a participation in the love with which God loves us... it is urgent and vital to ask ourselves how much time we spend before the Eucharistic Jesus present in the tabernacle. A parish in which there is no adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is a dead parish or a sick one...""...sometimes we try to create with the Lord God a familiarity that is misplaced and artificial... some Christians, with a certain snobbishness, flaunt their casualness with the sacred...""With all my heart as a Pastor, I want to invite Christians today to act. We do not have to create parties within the Church...instead, each of us can make this resolution: the falsehood of atheism will no longer pass through me." -- Professor Daniel O'Connor. Author of The Crown of History ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1686407343)

The unassuming, yet resolute Robert Cardinal Sarah continues to increase his role as one of the key figures in the Catholic Church. His amazing story is documented in his book God or Nothing (Ignatius Press 2015) where, as a boy, he turned to his mother one day saying “I want to be a priest.” From a poor family in Guinea, West Africa, he risked his life under the Marxist dictatorship of Ahmed Sékou Touré, and, in time, would undertake his current role as Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. His autobiography was followed by his exceptional commentary The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of noise (Ignatius Press 2017). The Cardinal has now published an astonishing indictment refreshingly calling the Church to a renewed relationship with Christ under the provocative title: The Day is Now Far Spent (Ignatius Press 2019). His reflective experience of the cross of Christ positions him strategically to explore the depths of Jesus Christ and to offer you and me relevant insights into our own existence in Southern California. From the vantage point of an intimate union with God, he reminds us: Without union with God, every attempt to strengthen the Church and the faith will be in vain. Without prayer, we will be clanging cymbals. We will sink to the level of media hypesters who make a lot of noise and produce nothing but wind. Prayer must become our innermost respiration. It brings us face to face with God. He addresses the scandals in the Church and our unique position as Priests and members of the Faithful to sanctify the Body of Christ, while becoming part of the solution to ever increasing attacks by the enemy of our souls. The Day is Now Far Spent is a thought provoking guidebook for the twenty first century priest. A true “voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord...” (Luke 3:4-6a). Acknowledging the current climate of cynicism in the Church, he also challenges each of us to question whether we are doing our part to make things better: “If you think that your priests and bishops are not saints, then be one for them. Do penance, fast to make reparation for their defects and their cowardice. That is the only way that anyone can bear another’s burden.” As we know, it’s very easy to evaluate a problem when we think that we are not part of it. Cardinal Sarah wants us to understand that we, in our divine call to holiness, have an urgent and essential role to play as The Day is Now Far Spent.

I was a afraid to read. I thought it was going to be something of gossip and fear. It isn't. It is a book that is moving and guiding. All priests, bishops, cardinals and every single catholic out there needs to read this book and gain a better perspective of their faith. Renew their faith and renew their spirituality - relearn that when we are before the altar, the tabernacle we are before the Lord - we are in a Holy place and we need to be more reverent, respectful and give God his glory not treat him as if we are in a place for socializing. An amazing book. So much to learn, relearn, and be strong in our faith - a great backbone in so many categories. Priests need not be afraid to speak truth!!!!

A great book by a great author. This is sanity in the world and refreshes the soul.

Very interesting & informative. Makes for very interesting conversations at our book club.

Cardinal Sarah and Nicolas Diat make a great combination in this latest book of Sarah's. To the point with not only a warning for Catholics but for all people occupying this planet today. Sarah minces no words with his dire and accurate conclusions. we see what is going on and ask ourselves how did we get to this point??? Both clergy and the man on the street have am I really living like Christ??? If we say we follow Christ, but live in the world rather than separated from it, we are deluding ourselves, and Sarah has a straight forward , honest synopsis of the issue...we lack Christ. Love his writings and have most of his books even though I consider myself to be evangelical. Enjoy, definitely not a waste of money.

Having read "God or Nothing" and "The Power of Silence" (both of which were outstanding), this is by far his best effort. I usually do not mark up books that I like, but his turns of phrase belie a very powerful intelligence. He is quite papabile himself, although I am unaware of his age. Such sainted men are the ones who typically lead the world out of its bad moments, and we live in times where the worldly "conventional culture" appears to be in the worst condition it has ever been. Man is terrifying. I have referred this book to people (with very positive reactions) and have given a copy away, something I seldom do. I just wish the book were more widely read right now. At the time I write this there are 16 comments, 14 of which are valid. This seems to indicate a low readership. This is not a cerebral book but very pointed and written for a wide audience with crystal clear clarity. It is a tremendous commentary on our times, very recent in time, besting those of the people he quotes (two of which are Pope St Paul VI and Pope St John Paul II - simply because he is current; the book was published in Feb 2019). If we had four more men of the Church of this man's sanctity and wisdom, and willingness to share this with the world, the "conventional culture" I mentioned above would be changing for the better. The media today is just horrible, but they "hold the microphone" and are the ones most heard, sadly. A great book by a great man. Seculars and religious should read this book and learn from it.

Cardinal Sarah writes in a yearning voice as he admonishes all believers to continually remember that the Church belongs to Jesus Christ. Filled with extensive quotations the text is written in an inviting style that sounds like an extended interview. The questions are springboards to uncover conversations about redirecting believers back to the ancient foundations so that we can build our lives on love and service. Highly recommended.

Muy buen libro, que nos recuerda a los católicos la importancia de la oración y de preocuparnos por mejorar nosotros mismos y luchar contra nuestros defectos más que estar fijándonos en los de los demás

One of the best books from Robert Cardinal Sarah, the torch bearer of Catholic Church, to discern this present world through the lens of infiltration and chaos happening inside the Catholic Church providing the essential strategies to combat and restore the poison of evil through the grace of God!

Grande libro!

Perfect

Just a fabulous, important, must read!