And yet more…
Latin: I also studied Latin for four years in high school. Some people here give the impression that “everything” was in Latin. It was just the Mass and sacraments (and please don’t nit pick–we’re talking “to ordinary people” here). Missals gave Latin on one page and English on the other. And if you didn’t know what “Dominus vobiscum” meant after a few years, that’s just sad, not to mention inexplicable. The same with most other prayers that were recited–Sanctus, Pater Noster, Gloria, Creed, etc. There might be an odd word here and there you wouldn’t understand, but for the most part these prayers in Latin are perfectly understandable to an ordinary English-speaking person (not to mention Spanish-speaking…). Latin was a unifying factor. Today, when you’re on vacation you’re faced with Masses in French, Italian, German, etc. Fatima: Yes, I’ve been. The nightly procession sings “Immaculate Mary” in different languages–each national group in its own language. To me, it would be much more effective–and of course show the unity of the Church–if they all sang in Latin.
My own local parish has perhaps 5-10% Africans (not African-Americans, immigrants from Africa). Today, for example, the entire choir was African, singing in their native language and dressed in the native clothes. In a sense, this is good, but in a sense it just separates them from the rest of the parish. The same with Spanish Masses–another church in the area has a Spanish Mass, which is always packed. But try to find a Spanish-speaking person at an English Mass–non-existent. Those who attend English Masses are not even aware of the large number of Hispanics in the parish. How does this help unity?
Music: Others have mentioned “active participation.” As you know, Benedict pointed out that “active participation” can be with the mind, not just the body and voice. Could you zone out during a Latin Mass? Sure. Could you zone out during a Novus Ordo (hey…Latin!) Mass? Sure. It took more “active participation” to follow the Latin Mass simply because you needed to be aware of where the priest was in the missal.
For years I have done a personal experiment: I count the 10 people closest to me when we are supposed to be singing–how many actually are? Usually the count is 0 (zero). Once in a while it’s gets up to 4 out of 10. For several years I attended a Novus Ordo Mass that sang all the songs in Latin, in Gergorian chants. The count: 10 of 10. Always. Consistently. So which one encouraged “active participation”? The point of Gregorian chant is that virtually anyone can sing it.
Change: A lot of comments here imply (or state) that people just dislike change for change’s sake. That is naive at best and insulting at worst. It assumes there are no valid reasons for disliking specific changes other than disliking change for its own sake. But there are reasons to dislike the changes. There are libraries of books devoted to the subject. I dislike many of the post-Vatican II changes. But I have specific reasons, which I have read and thought about, for my opinions. And there are some changes where I can see both positive and negative effects.
