Easter Vigil Mass time

[AmericanRose]

Sometimes I feel bad for the people who live near my parish, and feel sorry for the 837 Protestant churches around the corner that don’t celebrate an Easter vigil or have church bells, cause we wake up half the town when we ring the church bells during the Gloria and its a beautiful, wonderful thing

 

[TheLittleLady]

We are in the Southern Bible Belt. Interestingly enough, when the bells are down (the modern bell controllers are delicate things!) people from the neighborhood will call and ask. Once a neighborhood took up money to help fix our bells. They are part of the charm of our town

 

[AmericanRose]

We have someone manually ring ours

 

[dochawk]

JEALOUS that you get all of the readings!

We had the twelve Gospel service today at noon. I’m not jealous of extra readings at this point In ten minutes, I leave for our burial service.

Our (eastern) “vigil” equivalent starts at 4, and will see the altar and side table dressings changed partway through from black to white during it.

So the white will be there for the Sunday morning liturgy (which we hold outside, at our outdoor altar [yes, it is not just a table], weather permitting [tomorrow should be wonderful]). Resurrection matins at 9, and liturgy at 10.

We have someone manually ring ours

we have a used android phone with buttons to use as a remote. It even works–most days (failed last night).

hawk

 

[AmericanRose]

weather permitting [tomorrow should be wonderful]).

Here it’s supposed to be 39 degrees. NOT what Easter should be like. If it was raining and warm that’d be a completely different story, but cold? Ew.

 

[Phemie]

dochawk:

weather permitting [tomorrow should be wonderful]).

Here it’s supposed to be 39 degrees. NOT what Easter should be like. If it was raining and warm that’d be a completely different story, but cold? Ew.

They’re calling for snow flurries here tomorrow evening and a temp of 3.2º overnight with windchill of -20º. Enjoy your 39º.

 

[AmericanRose]

Why do you prefer to live in such a torturous place, may I ask? Winter and I do not get along. If hell was customized mine would most certainly be cold.

 

[Phemie]

Why do you prefer to live in such a torturous place, may I ask? Winter and I do not get along. If hell was customized mine would most certainly be cold.

We were a military family and were posted here back in the late '70s. Came back in the early '90s for another tour and again in '97 for a third tour. When hubby was released for medical reasons he got a civy job and we’re both still working.

Even though we’re further north, weather-wise the area is not that different from that where we grew up. Winters are longer but not that much colder. The plan is to move back to our hometown when we retire – or to the city where our daughter lives. Being close to our grandsons would be a definite blessing.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I happened to read some PDF on Boston Catholic Diocese rules for Holy Week on the web today, and it explicitly said that no Easter Vigil Mass may begin there before 8:30 pm due to it needing to get dark before the fire is lit.

 

[Phemie]

I happened to read some PDF on Boston Catholic Diocese rules for Holy Week on the web today, and it explicitly said that no Easter Vigil Mass may begin there before 8:30 pm due to it needing to get dark before the fire is lit.

That is true. From the 1988 circular letter Paschale Solemnitatis

1. The Meaning of the Nocturnal Character of the Easter Vigil

1. “The entire celebration of the Easter Vigil takes place at night. It should not begin before nightfall; it should end before daybreak on Sunday.” [82] This rule is to be taken according to its strictest sense. Reprehensible are those abuses and practices that have crept into many places in violation of this ruling, whereby the Easter Vigil is celebrated at the time of day that it is customary to celebrate anticipated Sunday Masses. [83]
   Those reasons that have been advanced in some quarters for the anticipation of the Easter Vigil, such as lack of public order, are not put forward in connection with Christmas night nor other gatherings of various kinds.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Sounds lovely. We have one outdoor Altar at the Catholic Cemetery. Mass is celebrated there once each year but it is special, the only Ad Oreintem celebration around these parts.

We can ring the bells with a remote and the same trigger has timed settings so they ring at set times during the day.

 

[FrDavid96]

…

The Easter Vigil was never a nighttime service. it was a vesperal service.
…

Since the very word “vigil” means night-time, it’s very difficult to defend doing it during the daylight hours.

 

[FrDavid96]

Yes, I know that the Vigil must begin after dark. My post was in response to the poster who claims that, historically, the Vigil was held around 4 pm, after None. I am questioning this as I understood that it was traditionally forbidden to celebrate Mass after noon.

It all depends on the time-period.

The 1917 Code specified no Masses before Noon (of course, there were various exceptions made until the 83 code took effect). That was already established pre-code law, but I’m not sure how far back that goes

In the ancient Church, Vigils were held at night (naturally). Over the centuries, they kept being celebrated earlier and earlier. By the 19th century, they had been moved to the morning.

 

[dochawk]

The Easter Vigil was never a nighttime service. it was a vesperal service.

I don’t know about the West, but in the East there is a head-spinning time reversal during Holy Week, with vespers and matins appearing in what appears to be backwards.

I want to say that things have been pushed forwards several hours, but that one is slipping me at the moment.

By Sunday, we’re back to the Resurrection Matins coming before morning Liturgy.

hawk

 

[KMG]

The lucernarium service was once observed daily. It was retained in the Roman Rite only on Holy Saturday.

The entire service takes about 4 hours in the pre-Bugnini rite, longer if you have baptisms/confirmations/ordinations (since ordinations were traditionally held at the Vigil, as well as on certain other days). It could easily last 5-6 hours in cathedral churches (especially if all the prophecies were chanted).

It closes with a shortened Vespers.

By the late medieval period, the hour of its observance started to get earlier and earlier…so you go from starting at 4 to starting at, eventually, as early as 8am.

I am not going to defend the appropriateness of starting at 8am…but I am also not going to defend the ahistorical notion that this was ever a Midnight Mass.

The Bugninists could simply have restored the “truth” of the canonical hours, and interpreted “after None” strictly…so you have a Vigil that commences at about 4, and lasts until 8. Which allows a rest before the Paschal Matins…the true night office of Easter.