Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect Emeritus of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, has proposed five ways to deal with the spiritual problem affecting humanity.
Newsroom (24/07/2023 09:00, Gaudium Press ) During a conference at a university in Mexico City, African Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect Emeritus of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, proposed five ways to deal with the crisis of Faith in the world:
1) The Word of God
The Cardinal invited those present to prepare themselves with the Word of God to fight evil and be well disposed, quoting the Gospel of St. Matthew (4:1-11), which recalls when Our Lord Jesus Christ was led into the desert and tempted by Satan. Sarah emphasised that “our fundamental weapon in spiritual combat is the Word and therefore we must know it very well”.
2) Prayer
“Another fundamental weapon is prayer,” he said. The Cardinal urged the faithful not to stop praying, attending Holy Mass and receiving the Sacrament of Confession. “Today we urgently need to re-appropriate these divine gifts,” he added, encouraging, in addition to prayer, reflection and dialogue with God in silence.
3) Interior life
“When we withdraw into the desert of the inner life, we discern the truth that creation is at war with man, who claims to heal ecology and defend the environment, but at the same time promotes abortion, euthanasia and homosexuality,” the Guinean prelate said.
4) Silence
“In silence, we enter into the presence of God in our hearts. In silence, all the noises, distractions and even the most legitimate preoccupations related to the Cross are properly evaluated, and there the light of the Gospel appears. There, everything is offered to God, including ourselves. It is imperative today to discipline our minds and hearts by fixing our gaze on the Cross,” he said.
5) Inner struggle
The battle today and every day is in the heart and is, as St. Paul says, against the spirits of evil. The demons seek my ruin and my distance from God at all costs,” he concluded. (EPC)
Compiled by Sandra Chisholm
