In new book, Cardinal Sarah delves deeply into worship, liturgy, and sacred music

There is much debate in the Church about what is and is not appropriate in the context of the Sacred Liturgy. The so-called “liturgy wars” rage on with many battlefronts, covering many different aspects of the Mass. It is worth noting that the reason this debate is so intense is that all those involved recognize that the Mass is at the heart of the life of the Church, and thus must be treated appropriately.

One of the liturgical battlefronts is on the lines of the musical staff.

The Song of the Lamb: Sacred Music and the Heavenly Liturgy (Ignatius Press, 2025) is the latest book from Cardinal Robert Sarah, in conversation with Peter Carter, director of the Catholic Sacred Music Project. Their conversation explores the spiritually rich tradition of Catholic sacred music, delves into the widespread liturgical confusion, and offers not just a diagnosis of the problems, but a roadmap to authentic renewal, including at the parish level.

Robert Cardinal Sarah is the former prefect of the Congregation (now Dicastery) for Divine Worship at the Vatican, and is the author of many books (many of them book-length interviews), including The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise, The Day Is Now Far Spent, God or Nothing: A Conversation on Faith with Nicolas Diat, He Gave Us So Much: A Tribute to Benedict XVI, and From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy, and the Crisis of the Catholic Church.

Peter Carter recently spoke with Catholic World Report about his major interview with Cardinal Sarah, the role of beauty in evangelization, and the importance of the Sacred Liturgy.

Catholic World Report: How did the book come about? And what was the process for the interviews?

Peter Carter: I approached Cardinal Sarah in January 2023 with the idea of writing an interview book together on sacred music. I had first met Cardinal Sarah in 2017 at Sacra Liturgia Milan, and he had been encouraging in my work in sacred music. I had interviewed him in 2019 for Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast and, in 2021, I founded the Catholic Sacred Music Project, which he blessed with his patronage.

The interviews were conducted both in person and in writing, and the book is a compilation of both his spoken and written responses. As you can imagine, the conversations in person are organic and tend to jump from topic to topic in a way that does not lend itself easily to the clear, delineated, and fleshed-out arguments that are so useful and important in a written format. His written responses were very helpful in this regard.

The challenge of the editing process was to combine both the written transcripts of our discussions with his written answers in a way that was true to his word, while presenting it all in a clear and logical format for the reader.

CWR: There seems to be an increasing interest in liturgical music, the role of music in the liturgy, and what exactly the Church says about this. How do you account for that?

Carter: Beauty attracts, and I think more and more people are becoming aware that beauty has a unique and necessary role in lifting up the soul, especially in relation to the liturgy. Liturgical music is unique among the arts as it elevates the very words of the sacred liturgy with the beauty of music.

The encouraging increase of interest in liturgical music points to a real need and desire that people have to lift their hearts and minds to the praise of God. In this regard, even when one is listening to liturgical music being sung by a cantor or the choir, they are not meant to be mere spectators or “consumers” of the music, but are rather called to “lift up their hearts to the Lord” as the words of the sacred liturgy tell us. In this way, people can actively participate in the liturgy with their hearts and minds when they are listening, and also with their voices for the parts of the liturgy they are invited to sing as well.

CWR: Tell us a little about the Catholic Sacred Music Project, and how that dovetails with the topics explored in this book.

Carter: I founded the Catholic Sacred Music Project about five years ago to help train church musicians in their craft so that they might develop and use their artistic gifts for the praise of God and the good of the Church.

The main programs that we offer are summer sacred music institutes that provide specialized training for current and future leaders in the field of sacred music. We offer many programs for composers of sacred music, choral conductors, and choral singers, immersing them in the Church’s rich tradition of sacred music and helping them to grow in their artistic endeavors.

CWR: Is it important to preserve the liturgical and sacred music patrimony of the Church–Latin, chant, organ, etc.–and if so, why? What good does it do?

Carter: The Church’s tradition is alive: its vast intellectual tradition that forms us all in our pursuit of the truth, and its musical and artistic tradition forms us all in our understanding and pursuit of beauty. Beauty forms the heart and the emotions, helping us to open ourselves to the goodness and truth of God’s law and will for our lives.

However, in growing in our love for the Church’s liturgical and artistic traditions, we must encounter them, be immersed in them, and be formed by them, so that we can learn to love them with not only our hearts but also our minds and our wills! Latin, Gregorian chant, and the organ are all elements of the Church’s tradition that we must discover and be formed by, but their beauty in the liturgy is alive through their expression of prayer. In this way, the sacred music in the liturgy is always an expression of personal and artistic creativity, the unique voice of praise that people offer to God.

This is why we don’t play recordings of music in the liturgy, since for the music to have any spiritual value, it must first and foremost be an act of prayer.

CWR: Were there any points over the course of the interview where you were surprised by the cardinal’s responses? Did you learn a great deal from the interviews?

Carter: Cardinal Sarah is renowned for his deep understanding of the spiritual life, both in how this is expressed in the personal encounter with God (something he speaks in depth about in The Power of Silence) and in how our personal encounter with God is expressed in the unity of the Body of Christ, the Church, through the liturgy.

In this book, Cardinal Sarah lays out the clear definitions and principles of the liturgy and sacred music that are always refreshing to understand anew and to enter into more deeply. At the beginning of The Song of the Lamb, Cardinal Sarah discusses the Liturgy as the “work of the Trinity”–the offering of the Son to the Father. In this way, our participation in the liturgy is predicated on our participation with Christ’s sacrifice, not primarily through our offerings to God as the “work of the people”, as would be the case for worship in pagan religions.

This fundamental principle and approach to the liturgy is a unique Christian approach that not only affects how we pray and praise God but also how we share the truths of the Faith with the world. Evangelization, enculturation, and liturgical participation all must then be understood through this lens of the invitation to participate in the “work of the Trinity” through which we are called and enabled to “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48).

CWR: One sometimes hears the suggestion that we should not focus so much on liturgical “minutiae”, and should focus our energy on social ills, serving the poor, and so forth, instead. How would you respond to that?

Carter: Cardinal Sarah addresses this question directly in Chapter 13 of The Song of the Lamb! As with many of the questions I pose to him in the book, Cardinal Sarah responds with meditations on the Scriptures.

For this question, he recalls the words of Christ to Judas, who was dismayed that the expensive perfume was not sold and the money given to the poor. Christ’s response to Judas was that “The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me” (John 12:8). Cardinal Sarah then further comments in the book that “from this example, we must accept that it is only right and just to praise and worship God in a fitting manner, not with dirty or worn-out garments but by offering the best of what we have, just as the Levites did in the Old Testament, and as Abel did in the book of Genesis.”

Cardinal Sarah continues to develop this thought, as well as discusses the importance of the Church’s charitable work. However, the Church’s charitable work must flow from her encounter with Christ in the Eucharist, which is “the source and summit of the Christian life” (CCC 1324).

CWR: Is this book simply for liturgists and maybe musicians, or does it have something to say to a wider audience?

Carter: Yes, yes, and yes! The Song of the Lamb serves as a wonderful introduction to the Church’s teaching and tradition on sacred music and the liturgy, as well as providing practical advice for pastors and musicians, and deep theological meditations for liturgists and theologians. I think anyone open to learning from Cardinal Sarah’s words will be able to take away something and be edified.

CWR: What do you hope people will take away from the book?

Carter: The Song of the Lamb provides an opportunity and an invitation to anyone interested in learning about and appreciating the Church’s rich musical tradition. Whether someone already loves sacred music, feels indifferent, or is not at all familiar with it, I hope that this book will be the open door they can walk through to grow in their appreciation and love of the Church’s important and beautiful tradition of sacred music.

CWR: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Carter: Much important work has been done in recent decades communicating various aspects of the Church’s teachings and traditions, but much work remains to be done in the renewal of sacred music and the culture of the sacred liturgy.

This book is an effort to contribute to that renewal, and also an invitation to all to participate in that renewal through making sacred music a part of their spiritual lives in both their personal prayer and their participation in the sacred liturgy.

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