Pope St. John Paul II spoke or active participation in the liturgy when he addressed the bishops of the episcopal conference of the United States (October 9, 1998):
 
Active participation certainly means that, in gesture, word, song and service, all the members of the community take part in an act of worship, which is anything but inert or passive.  Yet active participation does not preclude the active passivity of silence, stillness and listening: indeed, it demands it.  Worshippers are not passive, for instance, when listening to the readings or the homily, or following the prayers of the celebrant, and the chants and music of the liturgy.  These are experiences of silence and stillness, but they are in their own way profoundly active.  In a culture which neither favors nor fosters meditative quiet, the art of interior listening is learned only with difficulty.  Here we see how the liturgy, though it must always be properly inculturated, must also be counter-cultural. (3)
 
Sometimes we get so wrapped up into planning, preparing and performing the liturgy, that we forget to let the liturgy happen, that is, to be more fully in touch with the movement of the Holy Spirit present and alive as we celebrate these sacred mysteries.