Let me first say that I am not a raddie traddie, don't know latin, like it some but have never actually been to a have only been to two Extraordinary Form Masses, and you won't catch me going around saying, "Quid agis, canis?"
Yet I have a real problem with clapping at the end of the Mass. Thinking about this for some time, I finally figured out an analogy that works:
Clapping in The Mass is like clapping in a wedding.
Imagine at the end of a wedding there was applause, but the applause was not for the bride and groom. Instead, the priest asked the solo violinist who did a great job during the wedding to come up to the front and everyone applauds him, followed by applause for the ring bearer, flower girl and a rousing round of high-fives for the groomsmen who did such a good job standing still. By this time the new bride and groom are slouching their heads but the priest, in dramatic fashion, pronounces a blessing, the music starts and they all process out--unsure as to what they are now celebrating or even celebrated (two groomsman are still doing a fist bump for the extraordinary job they did).
At the end of the Mass, take some time to give thanks to the Groom who just gave Himself miraculously to you and celebrate the success of the bake sale another time.
Or in the words of our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI:
"Wherever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment."
