Generally only newbies and kids can't understand. Latin-English Missals tell you everything you need to know, and of course if you have a Catholic education you are taught all the various parts of the Mass and what they mean. The text doesn't change much week to week so it's easy to follow. And then you also learn Latin along the way. If you are used to singing "Adeste Fideles" or "Gloria in Excelsis Deo" or "Veni Emmanuel" at Christmas time, it's very much like that.
Having said that, traditional worship is traditional for a reason. And that’s because it’s tried and tested, and it works!
Bingo...you nailed it! Been working for 1500 years at least. :)
I’ve learned a touch of Latin. Here in the LCMS we still use Latin in parts of our liturgy. Not exactly chanted, but you can see the influence of ancient worship and the respect we pay to it.
Good on those who teach the kids and newbies what it means too! It makes me crazy when clergy and parents expect the other to do the teaching when in fact it needs to be both.
And as an afterthought, Mozart’s The Deum is one of my favorite compositions ever.