Will Gregorian Chant Soon be the Rule Rather than the Exception?

The article mentions the experiment made at St. John the Beloved Catholic Church in McLean, VA, where Gregorian Chant has become a genuine attraction. In the beginning, the return to Gregorian Chant was upsetting to some of the parishioners. But recently it has started attracting more and more faithful and triggers curiosity on the side of newcomers.

For James Senson, music director at St. John the Beloved, the main reason of the growing popularity of Gregorian Chant is because  “It’s so much a part of the Church. It’s the text of the church.”

The Crux article further quotes Theological College seminarian Gabe Bouck saying that “the liturgy should speak to the glory of God,” and:

...the liturgy is the highest peak of any sort of worship experience that we will ever encounter this side of eternity. So, if I know that if there is nothing greater on this earth that I can do than to worship God, then everything that goes into that liturgy needs to be the best and the most beautiful that I can possibly bring to it.”

With the liturgical changes, many young adults and recent converts to Catholicism have witnessed the absence of the sacred in Novus Ordo Masses. Music has a special, almost primal connection to our souls and psyches.

The Origins of Gregorian Chant

Originating in the 9th century, this form of sacred music quickly spread throughout the western Church, used in a widespread form throughout churches, parishes, and religious houses of all orders.

With time came changes, modifications, and a confusing mix of forms in various geographical areas took root.

It was not until the Motu Proprio, "Tra Le Sollecitudinni" published by Pope St. Pius X in 1903, that these deviations were curtailed and musical norms were clearly defined for the Universal Church.

On these grounds Gregorian Chant has always been regarded as the supreme model for sacred music, so that it is fully legitimate to lay down the following rule: the more closely a composition for church approaches in its movement, inspiration and savor the Gregorian form, the more sacred and liturgical it becomes; and the more out of harmony it is with that supreme model, the less worthy it is of the temple.

The ancient traditional Gregorian Chant must, therefore, in a large measure be restored to the functions of public worship, and the fact must be accepted by all that an ecclesiastical function loses none of its solemnity when accompanied by this music alone.

Special efforts are to be made to restore the use of the Gregorian Chant by the people, so that the faithful may again take a more active part in the ecclesiastical offices, as was the case in ancient times.