The reason for changing from the Tridentine Latin Mass(TLM), to the Novus Ordo(NO), was not only to open more active participation of the people at Mass, but also to move the Mass closer to the original Mass of the Early Christian Church.
The NO did not remove Latin per se, but allowed for the vernacular. In the early days after Vatican II, the Bishops were allowed time for experimentation to see what worked best. The NO evolved quickly and the vernacular became predominate to the point that Latin was almost never used outside of monasteries and the Vatican.
Anyway, it's a good idea to read through "Sacrosanctum Concilium,The Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy," to get a better idea of the spirit behind Vatican II in changing over to the NO.
http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_...const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html
I grew up in the Church before Vatican II when the TLM was the ordinary. Even trained to be an altar boy, which meant memorizing by rote, the Latin responses.
Essentially, people sat in the pews and some followed along with their missals or the missalette in the pews, which were usually in very bad shape. Most people daydreamed while others prayed the Rosary. They stood and kneeled as the nuns taught and those who didn't go to Catholic school, just mimicked those who knew.
The priest and altar boys essentially said the Mass.
I've also attended the NO in Latin at the local Benedictine Monastery, where they celebrate the NO with the responses chanted in Latin. On Thursday, the entire Mass is in Latin, as well as the Divine Office.
Its OK, but I also attend a Trappist Monestary where they chant the NO in English.
I prefer this over the Latin, for its so much easier to understand the words.
We'll never see a return to Mass celebrated in only Latin. Thank God!
Jim
