"The Heresy of Formlessness" (part 1)

                                                                             Mass of St. Gregory

I've begun reading Martin Mosebach's "The Heresy of Formlessness," in which he rues the manifest banality of the Novus Ordo and calls for restoration of the pre-conciliar Latin Mass.  Mosebach is a novelist, poet and screenwriter, but "Heresy" is Mosebach's only book available in English translation.   While I may not agree with Mosebach's prescription, I can't find much fault with his diagnosis.  Consider the following:

"Gregorian chant is not art music.  It exists to be sung in every village church and every suburban church, in spite of the fact that some of it is difficult and requires practice - and people did practice it, hearing it every Sunday all their lives.  Only later did I realize, however, that the liturgy and its music must not be regarded as an occasionally edifying or impressive concert or as a help toward meditation; no, it is something that must be practiced one's whole life long.  The obligation to go to church every Sunday should be seen in connection with the liturgy: the liturgy must permeate our lives at a level deeper than deliberation and thought; it must be something that, for us, is "taken for granted" ; otherwise it cannot have its full effect on us."

RELATED:  Evidence for the effect Gregorian Chant can have on us here.  (h/t New Liturgical Movement)