Cardinal Robert Sarah’s forthcoming book with Peter Carter urges return to Gregorian chant and transcendent worship to heal decades of liturgical drift.
Newsroom (20/11/2025 Gaudium Press ) Cardinal Robert Sarah, the Guinean prelate renowned for his unflinching defense of Catholic orthodoxy, will release a major new work on sacred music next year titled Song of the Lamb — Sacred Music and the Heavenly Liturgy. Co-authored with American church musician Peter Carter, the book presents a sweeping theological and pastoral case for restoring the Church’s historic musical patrimony as an antidote to what the authors describe as a decades-long erosion of transcendence in Catholic worship.
In an exclusive telephone interview with the National Catholic Register, Carter, associate director of sacred music at the Aquinas Institute in Princeton, explained that the volume originated as an extended dialogue with Cardinal Sarah and is intended to rise above the polarizing “liturgical wars” that have divided Catholics since the post-Vatican II era. “The particular relevance of this book today,” Carter said, “is that it responds to the desire and the need for beauty, sincerity, and integrity in the liturgy.”
At the heart of Song of the Lamb is the conviction that sacred music is not ornamental but constitutive: it must glorify God first and only secondarily edify the faithful. When those priorities invert, Carter argues, worship risks becoming anthropocentric. “Often the priority shifts to ‘connecting people,’ creating a welcoming atmosphere, or fostering community,” he told the Register. “These are important values in themselves, but they are not the primary purpose of the liturgy, which — as Saint Pius X reminded us — is for the worship and glory of God.”
The book traces many contemporary problems to a post-conciliar emphasis on the Mass as primarily a communal meal or assembly rather than the re-presentation of Christ’s sacrifice — a critique echoing concerns raised by Benedict XVI both before and during his pontificate. This shift, the authors contend, has encouraged celebration versus populum and an almost exclusive reliance on congregational singing, sidelining the polyphonic and chant repertoire that defined Catholic worship for centuries.
Carter is careful not to demonize modern styles outright. He readily concedes that contemporary hymns or guitar-accompanied music can nourish personal devotion. Yet he draws a sharp distinction between subjective spiritual experience and the objective criteria that must govern public liturgical prayer. “Liturgical music is not defined by personal tastes or popularity,” he stressed, “but by what is objectively beautiful and capable of uplifting the soul.” Quoting Cardinal Sarah, he urged a posture of humility: Catholics should ask the Church to form their aesthetic sensibilities rather than demand the liturgy conform to individual preferences.
A central proposal is the restoration of Gregorian chant to the “place of honor” mandated — but widely ignored — by the Second Vatican Council’s constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium. Far from viewing chant as a museum piece, Carter insisted it remains a living organism: “When we sing a ninth-century hymn or psalm today, those words are not ‘ancient’: they are new the moment they are sung, because they become a living prayer before God.”
Since the 1967 instruction Musicam Sacram, magisterial guidance on sacred music has been notably sparse. Carter described Cardinal Sarah’s intervention as “providential,” coming at a moment when many priests, bishops, and musicians feel uncertain about liturgical norms. The book, he hopes, will embolden clergy to act as true custodians of the Church’s worship and inspire musicians to immerse themselves more deeply in the tradition.
Ultimately, Carter ties musical renewal to the broader pursuit of holiness. “Christ’s command comes to mind: ‘Seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you,’” he said. “If we do this sincerely, the rest will follow.” History, he noted, shows that the Lord repeatedly renews His Church through saints — and sacred music, properly understood, can be one of the instruments He uses to set hearts ablaze today.
Song of the Lamb — Sacred Music and the Heavenly Liturgy will be launched at several public events across the United States in 2026. For many Catholics weary of liturgical mediocrity yet wary of acrimony, Cardinal Sarah and Peter Carter offer not merely critique but a positive, theologically grounded path forward: return to the Church’s priceless musical treasure, and the liturgy will once again become a true foretaste of heaven.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Infovaticana
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