At a (regular) visit to St. Bernard Abbey (Benedictine), I paid special attention, this time (for reasons unknown), to the literature that they pass out to all visitors. There was much to learn. This part might be of interest to some here, not so much because any of it is news, but because it is (in my opinion) expressed very succinctly and well:

Song is not individual; in it, many become one. It is fervent but not demonstrative, passionate but not performed, zealous but not loud. Each phrase of each piece, even a simple 'Amen', is a prayer.

The chanting of the Divine Office lived up to this ideal. I have not yet returned to earth...