You can count on one hand the number of Novus Ordo churches in this country that feature a fully Catholic music program of any quality, consistent with the Roman rite tradition.

All you hear Catholics turning out these days are pop versions of the old Protestant anthems.

The tunes, rhythms, and messages are drawn mainly from secular culture.

When the truth is that there would be no great Western music, and certainly no decent choral repertoire, without the Catholic faith.

As for sacred polyphony, there is no reason to be afraid of it.

At St. Francis de Sales in Atlanta, we do not have an organ. We do not have rehearsals during the week. We do not have a professional choir.

But nowadays hymns are the norm, because people don't have much else to sing.

Catholic liturgical music, it would seem, is everywhere but in the Catholic Church itself.

Ironically, we live in times that are awash in authentic sacred music.

It would be difficult to discover the truth about the universe if we refused to consider anything that might be true.

Music had always been the handmaid of the Roman liturgy.

Never have so many recordings of the great Masses and motets been in wider circulation.

Once the Mass is restored to its rightful place, we will again see choirs being developed.

Participation is easily obtained with Latin chant.

Record stores have whole sections devoted to the chant.

The democratic and pedestrian character of the new Mass itself seems to invite the ditties that pass for hymns these days.

Then suddenly the Roman liturgy disappeared as we knew it.

There's nothing stupider than bursting into song for seven seconds and then falling silent again.

You can read about it all you want, but there is no substitute for just doing it.

And this speaks to the larger problem that no one wants to talk about: the restoration of the Roman rite is a precondition for a long-term fix for the problem.