Yes. They’re terrified.
I say this as a guy who goes to the Old Latin Mass. When I tell people that, they look at me like I said that I’ve got a poisonous tail… and that I might strike them with it. (Take that- ha!)
Strangely, I think the thing that scares people the most is the Latin thing. I say it’s strange, because it’s the Latin that is the smallest part of the TLM to me. I don’t speak Latin, but I can read the side-by-side Missal just fine. I just read the English side and glance back-and-forth to the Latin side to make sure that I’m keeping pace with Father.
If you’ve never been, it’s hard to explain without sounding like an arrogant tweed; but the TLM is better. Yes, the Novus Ordo is valid and it’s still Jesus and (most) trads will agree with you there. But validity is a pretty low bar.
Really, if you’ve never been a lot, it’s hard to explain without sounding like an arrogant tweed. It takes some practice, some flipping through the Missal, some catechesis-- traditional Catholicism is “honors Catholicism”, it takes some learning. But the prayers are different, the roles of the servers are different, the roles of the laity are different-- it’s not just that Father’s facing the wrong direction and talking in the wrong language. It’s a totally different experience for priest and layman.
Sure, all of the elements are there… especially if you know how to look for them-- the “opening prayer” is called the “introit”, the “prayer over the gifts” is called the “secret”, though the Today’s Missal calls the “Lord have mercy” the “Kyriale”, they actualy say “Kyrie Eleison” at the Latin Mass. Though “Kyrie Eleison” is actually Greek, not Latin. But I digress. Just because the “Holy Holy Holy” is just the “Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus” doesn’t mean that we’re dealing with a simple matter of translation.
I mean, I speak a little conversational Spanish, but I don’t have any interest in going to the 9 Spanish Masses in my city. Because the Spanish Mass is just the Novus Ordo in Spanish (with a little iFiesta! thrown in)-- that is a matter of translation. The old Latin Mass is not a matter of translation, it’s a different form of the rite, it’s essentially a different liturgy. With different theological and philosophical implications for the people who pray like Catholics have prayed since Catholicism immemorial.
People who say that they don’t like the TLM because they like English-- while a valid concern-- are missing the point.
I go once every couple of months and am now more used to it. I know my parents enjoy it because the Tridentine Mass takes them back to their childhood. It takes me to a much higher level spiritually. I also feel this heightened level of spirituality when I attend the Divine Liturgy at a local Byzantine Catholic Church.