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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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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

    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    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

Random Quote

“The Catholic Church has a dignity far surpassing that of every merely human society, for it was founded by Christ the Lord. It is altogether fitting, therefore, that the language it uses should be noble, majestic, and non-vernacular.”

— Blessed John XXIII (22 February 1962)

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