“You shall not crucify good taste upon a cross of cheese” This is a very compelling post on what has been called the “sin of aesthetic pride” by Gregory Popcak. I don’t mind trotting out the usual suspects from my own experience to support the Goliard’s position. Our new parochial vicar has continued to celebrate a weekly Latin Mass though it is not an official parish Mass and won’t have a regular scheduled time as such. Dr. Jacobson, director of the Washington Capella Antiqva, has been very kind to attend and chant the introit and other parts of the Mass appropriate for a lay person, and I have to tell all of you once again that for me it is an extraordinarily reverent and sublimely transcendent offering. Christ is present in the gathering of His people, in the Scripture, in the person of the priest and most importantly in the Eucharist at any Mass but it is altogether another dimension when Mass is celebrated with chant and in particular when someone a knowlegable about chant as Dr. Jacobson is leading us in prayer. Would you describe Marty Haugen’s music as “extraordinarily reverent and sublimely transcendent?” I think not. It is only question of taste or musical elitism? No. Like the Liturgy of the Hours, the chants of the Graduale follow the liturgical calendar and are being utilized in the Mass in monasteries and other congregations around the world. They are a beautiful aspect of Catholic worship. Unfortunately they are almost totally inaccessible to most Catholics because of the way they are notated and because the English translations are not readily available. Contrast those prayers to the drivel we sing weekly and you’ll see the difference – we don’t sing about ourselves or sing as though we are God in first person in chant.