From my site:
"Why was Mass so short this morning?"
"The first Mass of the day often doesn't include hymns."
"But aren't you supposed to have them?"
"Not really. Strictly speaking, hymns aren't part of the Mass. They're extras."
"Didn't St. Augustine say that singing is like praying twice?"
"He did, but he wasn't talking about hymns. The Church didn't have 'hymns' as we know them in his day. He was probably talking about singing — chanting — the parts of the Mass."
"Which parts?"
"For starters, the ordinaries — the Kyrie, the Agnus Dei, the Sanctus, the Gloria. Vatican II teaches us to sing those parts through chant."
"Why don't we?"
"We do, at least a little bit. St. Rose chants the ordinaries during Advent and Lent, and St. Mary does some of it too. Hopefully, we'll see even more of it in the future."
