Lex Cantandi Lex Orandi

In this book excerpt, from Gregorian Chant: A Barometer of Religious Fervor, by Stephen Thuis, O.S.B., we read an elaboration of what you might have already intuitively believed to be true: "We might dwell on the argument based upon the very nature of the ideas concerned, by stating that just as, according to the theological axiom, the lex credienti becomes the lex orandi, so the lex orandi should be the lex cantandi - that is, just as the rule of believing' becomes the 'rule of praying,' so the 'rule of praying should be the 'rule of singing.' This would result in the statement that that is the best form of church music which best corresponds to the lex orandi the 'rule of praying.' The next step would be to show that Gregorian Chant is the best musical expression of the prayer of the Church. But history confronts us with the fact that periods of religious fervor have been periods in which Chant flourished, and that periods of falling off in religious fervor have been accompanied by the decline of Chant. In fact, a survey of the synchronous histories of the Church and chant discloses a parallelism that is both striking and significant." The article, itself, is quite relevant for those of us who would promote the more prominent role of chant in the liturgy. Truth be told, I was also quite excited that the author made an inadvertent reference to the name of my blog.