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Views from the Choir Loft

Sacramental Grace and Intentional Discipleship

Andrew R. Motyka · September 18, 2013

HEN I WAS ON RETREAT a few weeks, ago, I picked up a book I’ve been meaning to read for over a year now. It is titled Forming Intentional Disciples by Sherry Weddell. This book on evangelization has been receiving critical acclaim from many Catholic apologists and is being seriously considered by offices of evangelization in US dioceses.

There are many reasons to praise this book, from its statistical wake-up call in the first chapter, down to the practical considerations of creating disciples of non-Catholics and Catholic parishioners alike. The first chapter is terrifying: it is an analysis of several national surveys on church attendance with special attention to Catholics. The most important observation that Weddell makes is that church attendance is directly correlated with the belief in the possibility of having a personal relationship with God. We Catholics, by and large, do not talk about Jesus, do not even know how to talk about Jesus.

I know what you’re thinking, because my thoughts were the same, at first: “This all sounds very…Protestant.” Yup. I’m ashamed to say, that’s exactly what I thought. Then Weddell wrote about grace and the sacraments. After all, the normative relationship that we Catholics have with God is through the sacraments. Wedell explains that this is not enough. An individual needs to be prepared in heart, soul, and life to receive the sacraments fruitfully. Obviously, a validly celebrated sacrament contains the grace of God regardless of its recipient. I cannot alter the fullness of grace in the Eucharist by any action. I can, however, obstruct the reception of that grace by my disposition. I need to be willing to accept the inward change that that grace brings. (Weddell’s chapter on grace is reason enough to read this book.)

While Sherry Weddell doesn’t wade into liturgical matters in this discussion, this touches on why I love the tradition of our liturgy, and more specifically, solemnity in its celebration. One of those goofy Masses that you always read about online, with strange goings-on and hideous vestments, with irreverent music and odd posture, is still a valid Mass as long as the essential matter and form of the sacrament are present. However, such liturgical noise absolutely can run interference on one’s fruitful reception of the grace already present in the sacrament. Liturgy deserves seriousness in order to celebrate and prepare for fruitful reception of the sacrament.

Just like evangelizing disciples, liturgical catechesis starts in your own parish. In her many interviews with pastors, Weddell asked most of them: what percentage of your congregation would you say is made up of intentional disciples? The answer was consistently 5 percent. This is an unacceptable level of discipleship in our Church, and we are all responsible for it through our baptism. Liturgical catechesis will come along the way; our worst problem first is introducing people to Jesus.

While I’ve read many books on faith and apologetics, this is the one that is most relevant to the Church’s struggle today. I strongly recommend that you read this book, and then go make disciples of all people.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Andrew R. Motyka

Andrew Motyka is the Archdiocesan Director of Liturgical Music and Cathedral Music for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
    EVIN ALLEN was commissioned by Sacred Music Symposium 2025 to compose a polyphonic ‘middle section’ for the GLORIA from Mass III, often denoted by its trope name: Missa Kyrie Deus sempiterne. This year, I’m traveling from Singapore to serve on the symposium faculty. I will be conducting Palestrina’s ‘Ave Maria’ as well as teaching plainsong to the men. A few days ago, I was asked to record rehearsal videos for this beautiful polyphonic extension. (See below.) This polyphonic composition fits ‘inside’ GLORIA III. That is, the congregation sings for the beginning and end, but the choir alone adds polyphony to the middle. The easiest way to understand how everything fits together is by examining this congregational insert. You may download the score, generously made available to the whole world—free of charge—by CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED:
    *  PDF Download • Gloria III ‘Middle Section’ (Kevin Allen)
    Free rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #24366. Related News • My colleague, Jeff Ostrowski, composed an organ accompaniment for this same GLORIA a few months ago. Obviously, the organist should drop out when the polyphony is being sung.
    —Corrinne May
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Yahweh” in church songs?
    My pastor asked me to write a weekly column for our parish bulletin. The one scheduled to run on 22 June 2025 is called “Three Words in a Psalm” and speaks of translating the TETRAGRAMMATON. You can read the article at this column repository. All of them are quite brief because I was asked to keep within a certain word limit.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

These prayers were not peculiar to Good Friday in the early ages (they were said on Spy Wednesday as late as the eighth century); their retention here, it is thought, was inspired by the idea that the Church should pray for all classes of men on the day that Christ died for all. Duchesne is of opinion that the “Oremus” now said in every Mass before the Offertory—which is not a prayer—remains to show where this old series of prayers was once said in all Masses.

— Catholic Encyclopedia (1909)

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
  • “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
  • PDF Download • “Text by Saint Francis of Assisi” (choral setting w/ organ: Soprano & Alto)
  • “Yahweh” in church songs?
  • “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday

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