"Listening to Gregorian Chant."
--another unnamed seminarian, on what was most influential in helping him to discern a vocation to the priesthood.
I love the idea of a young man receiving a call to the priesthood through Gregorian Chant. It's the aesthete in me. I'm newly converted to Chant myself. I've put some links to Chant websites in my 'Liturgy' sidebar, and my own computer is perpetually tuned into
'Gregorian Chant Radio' (not really 'radio'
per se, but they do have good selections).
It bears reminding, to the uninitiated, that Gregorian Chant is what Vatican II had in mind when it spoke of a renewal of sacred music in the liturgy. Not, i.e., Marty Haugen:
The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services (SC 116).
So next time your parish liturgist starts talking about implementing Vatican II in the liturgy, just ask her (a) where the choir should go, (b) which chants she'd like sung, and (c) whether she'd like the Gather Hymnals ceremonially burned or simply thrown out the window.
