Meaning of "watching" in old documents

[lonster]

I’ve come across an odd usage of the word “watching” in a couple of different places.

In a prayer for bishops attributed to St. John Fisher I read: “…set in Thy Church strong and mighty pillars that may suffer and endure great labors, watching, poverty, thirst, hunger, cold and heat…”

And today, I found in the catechism of Trent in the discussion of mortification under the sixth commandment: “…the body is to be mortified and the sensual appetites to be repressed not only by fasting, and particularly, by the fasts instituted by the Church, but also by watching, pious pilgrimages, and other works of austerity.”

Does anyone have insight into what is meant by “watching” in these references?

 

[SMHW]

Someone with more knowledge than me will probably jump in here and give a better answer.

But I will go ahead and say it probably means staying awake and praying. (Kind of like how Jesus asked Peter, James, and John to stay with him on the evening before the Crucifixion.)

This could be in front of the Blessed Sacrament, exposed or just in front of the tabernacle. Or it could be some other kind of prayer.

 

[lonster]

This sounds reasonable. I wonder if anyone else has come across this usage in other places.

 

[BartholomewB]

But I will go ahead and say it probably means staying awake and praying. (Kind of like how Jesus asked Peter, James, and John to stay with him on the evening before the Crucifixion.)

The Oxford English Dictionary agrees with you. One of the definitions is: To remain awake for purposes of devotion; to keep vigil.