This use of music forms part of what can be called anti-liturgy, which is all of the actions and customs of modern life which try to get a man to live mostly for himself.

All these uses of music have one thing in common: they work through the emotions. When it comes to selling, advertisers use music to create a sense of urgency or to slow one down and capture one's attention. In the case of cinema and entertainment, music is used to conjure up the right emotion for the right scene. And when it comes to an individual's particular taste, music arouses emotional responses, like nostalgia, excitement, or even pride and arrogance.

Gregorian chant, on the other hand, is markedly different.

Chant holds holds a place of profound richness in the Church's liturgical tradition, embodying centuries of sacred worship and spiritual contemplation. Its flowing, unaccompanied melodies—rooted in Scripture and sung in Latin—elevate the liturgy by fostering a prayerful atmosphere that transcends time and culture.

However, it is still worth asking: why listen to it? For what purpose? What is the goal? And this leads to another question: how should one listen to it? Background music? In order to do something better, like study better or something like that?

Chants move us to feel the right emotions when we pray throughout the year. There are chants for each part of the liturgical year, and in the different parts of the liturgical year, we should be forming our emotions to move toward God in a particular way. Joyful expectation during advent, the joy of our arriving savior at Christmas. During septuagessima and lent, sorrow that he must suffer to save us and contrition over our sins (and also fear that we might screw up our lives and not be saved.) Deep sorrow during passiontide and Good friday. Triumphal victory during Easter. Etc. There is a season for joy and a season for sorrow. A season for this and that. Chant is a way to live these seasons so that our lives begin to center around Christ, our life, our hope, our lover, friend, etc.

We should not say “oh, I don’t like that (the chants, not the performance, which can be awful.)” Rather, we should say “if this is sung well, then it expresses the emotions that I should join to this prayer during this season of the year.” Then, we should work to form ourselves to the chant, and not simply select music that pleases us.