In response to the original poster; I came into Tradition 6&1/2 years ago with a St. Andrews missal (1943) and have used it ever since.  I love it.  It is 100% in line with all feast days and everything else.

A reference from the code of canon law is going to be nearly impossible to find.  As you probably know, "canon law" was only codified by Pius X in 1914. (published in 1917, which is why it is called the 1917 code as opposed to the 1983 code.)  But there are many citations in the jumble of codes pre-1917 that forbade lay Catholics from owning copies of the missal in Latin, let alone illegal vernacular copies.  

If there are a "jumble of codes", you should be able to identify just one papal bull or other Vatican docuмent that forbade lay Catholics from owning copies of a missal.  If you can't, then, I will conclude that you made it up, or you heard it from some unreliable source.  Either way, it's a lie.
I will await your correction.  Pending that, all CathInfo members should be aware that White Wolf should not be trusted as his comments on any subject are probably just made up decptions designed to calumniate the Catholic Church.

I've never heard of any rule (or "code") in the Church that forbade Catholics from using a missal at Mass many years in the past, such as over 120 years ago. 
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Before the printing press, altar missals were hand copied, obviously, so they were very expensive, if they could be purchased at all.  After Gutenberg, altar missals could be printed, which explains why Pope St. Pius V gave out the Bull  Quo Primum, which forbade anyone for all time to prohibit a Roman rite priest from saying Mass according to his 1570 missal.  But there is no prohibition in that Bull for Catholics from using such a missal for personal use while assisting at Mass.  They were all in Latin, though, so one would not have any vernacular translation printed on the page.  It's conceivable that someone could translate the prayers and use their own copy while at Mass, and I don't think there was ever any ruling against such a practice. 
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This reminds me of a man I know who habitually and loudly flips pages in his hand missal, one at a time, during Mass. The noise of pages flipping is a distraction to others (like me).
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Certainly if a priest goes to Mass he would be able to follow along in the pew by using his own altar missal. But I've never seen a priest doing that. I have a priest's altar missal from pre-WWII that is designed for traveling, and it fits just fine in the hands.  It may have been used for Mass on the battlefield. It's a little larger than most hand missals, but not a whole lot larger, about 5" x 8".  It wouldn't look out of place if someone were holding that while in the pews at Mass. 
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All that aside, there are times when I have had a missal with me at Mass but have not used it, and have prayed the Rosary instead. But generally, it is helpful to at least read the propers for the Mass of the day, if I can find it, that is. Sometimes which Mass is being read at the altar is a matter of confusion, and I have spent most of my time in the pew trying to figure it out. It seems to me that's a waste of important prayer time.
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When you are not sure of what Mass is being said, or when you don't have the correct Mass prayers in front of you for whatever reason, you can certainly use Mass prayers from some similar Mass especially one from the same season or week. When in doubt, you can defer to the Feria (which is the Mass from the previous Sunday).
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Today, for example, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Fatima, is not a Mass found in the Fr. Lasance Missal. Therefore, you could substitute St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop, Confessor and Doctor of the Church, May 13th.  I really don't think Our Lady would mind!! 
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Or next month, on June 13th, you could use St. Anthony of Padua, Confessor and Doctor of the Church.  Of course, if you're in Portugal, you would use "St. Anthony of Lisbon!" (Portuguese call him St. Anthony "of Lisbon" not "of Padua" and remember, Our Lady said that in Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved!) 
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Believe it or not, it used to be against the code of canon law for Catholic laity to own vernacular translations of the missal.  Traditionally this was frowned upon.  During the pontificate of Leo XIII, this tenant was widely ignored.  Then, along came Pius X, and suddenly what was frowned upon was positively encouraged.  (Perhaps Pius X was sponsored by Desclee and Co, which, surprise! is a Belgium company.  You know, Amsterdam, ancient seat of European Jewry...but I digress.)  The missal is a distraction.  The pewgoers are more worried about following the Mass than praying the Mass.  The Missal gave rise to the "dialog mass". precursor to the Novus Ordo.  (I can smell something burning- the tempers of a lot of "fifties fogies" who think that all the evils of liturgical anarchy date from Vat 2 and Good Pope John... but I digress.)  

The Most Holy Rosary is your Mass, your Office, your Rule, and your Enclosure...

Your Mass, because the Rosary will take you to the Foot of the Cross, which is the Mass.
Your Office, because the 150 Hail Marys contain the wisdom of the 150 psalms.  The Rosary is Our Lady's Psalter.
Your Rule, because, as all monks have a rule (the most famous being the Holy Rule of St Benedict, lots of wisdom there even for laymen, for all Christians are called to be "Monastic") and through the Rosary Our Lady will give you "signal graces", signals that will help keep your boat afloat in your particular place and circuмstances.
Your enclosure, because the Rosary will you give you peace no matter where you reside on the stormy sea of this life.

Once upon a time, I was a Missal Catholic.  Been there, done that.  After a few months, I found the Missal to be a distraction.  Missal Catholics are more worried about whether they are ahead or behind the priest than whether they are really prayerful.  If you find yourself being buffeted by distractions, it is probably because you are too immersed in the world.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us, you are our only hope.

I add my vote to those who have disliked this post