The Church desires (above all) interior participation at Mass. The Church also encourages outward participation, but I would argue that this has to be done correctly. In other words, I don’t like it when I go to Church and am “assaulted” by inappropriate, secular, non-Sacred music that lacks dignity and reflectiveness. It is unjust to expect people to participate in this type of music, or (indeed) to perform such music at Mass, even if some of the people enjoy this music. Another way to put this would be to say, “Even though the Church encourages participation at Mass, that does not justify doing music forbidden by the Church.” Going to Mass should be a dignified, prayerful, peaceful experience. I think this was the case at a recent Mass celebrated by Most Reverend Bishop Gracida. In the following video, all the music you hear was recorded LIVE. The Mass featured a beautiful three-voice Mass setting by Kevin Allen (which, we hope and pray, will soon be available in our web store). Here is a video excerpt of the Mass: