Yes, ours is at 9:30 pm this year.He probably should have waited until 6:30. The Church uses pretty harsh language to condemn the practice of starting the Vigil too early (it is, after all, the most important Mass of the year and thus the rich symbolism must be preserved). That being said, you’re only a half hour out and it will definitely be dark for the vast majority of the liturgy.
I’m used to the Vigil starting around 9ish but it stays light much longer in the spring in the US / Canada.
Church laws allow the anticipatory or vigil masses to be held no earlier than 4pm. There is really no rule that it must be after nightfall as nightfall differs in different places and at different times of the year. Hence the rule below.We will have the Easter Vigil in our Parish at 6 pm (departing from the usual 8 pm since we had a new pastor last 3 weeks). I know that the Vigil should not start until after nightfall and should end before dawn of Easter Sunday. Here, in the Philippines, the sun sets at around 6:30 pm, thus making us start the vigil while there is daylight. Does this in any way affect the validity of that Mass? Should I attend another Easter Vigil Mass?
Concerning The Discipline To Be Observed With Respect To The Eucharistic Fast said:By the force of the Constitution the Ordinaries of places[27] have the faculty of permitting the saying of evening Masses in their own territory, should circumstances render this necessary. This holds true despite the command of canon 821, # 1. The common good sometimes demands the saying of Mass after midday: For example, for the workers in some industries who work their shifts even on feast days, for those categories of workers who must be on the job during the morning hours of feast days, like dock workers, and likewise for those who have come in great numbers and from considerable distances for some religious or social celebration, etc.
a. Holy days of obligation according to the rule of Canon 1247, # 1;
- Such Masses, however, may not be said before four o’clock in the afternoon, and may be celebrated only on the following definitely stated days. These are:
b. Feasts which were formerly holy days of obligation but which now are not. These are listed in the index published by the Sacred Congregation of the Council on December 28, 1919.[28]
c. First Fridays of the month.
d. Other solemn occasions which are celebrated with great gatherings of the people.
e. On one day of the week other than those enumerated above, if the good of special classes of persons should demand it.
However, this isn’t any anticipatory Mass, this is the Easter Vigil. It is mother of all Vigils and in a sense, the most important of all Masses during the Liturgical Year. The rubrics of the Roman Missal for the Easter Vigil states:Church laws allow the anticipatory or vigil masses to be held no earlier than 4pm. There is really no rule that it must be after nightfall as nightfall differs in different places and at different times of the year. Hence the rule below.
This is the Easter Vigil. The rules that apply for this are found in a few documents, notably “Paschale Solemnitatis”. Some parishes actually celebrate it in the middle of night, where it ends just at daybreak.Church laws allow the anticipatory or vigil masses to be held no earlier than 4pm. There is really no rule that it must be after nightfall as nightfall differs in different places and at different times of the year. Hence the rule below.
A. The Easter Vigil
77. According to a most ancient tradition, this night is “one of vigil for the Lord”, (79) and the Vigil celebrated during it, to commemorate that holy night when the Lord rose from the dead, is regarded as the “mother of all holy vigils”. (80) For in that night the Church keeps vigil, waiting for the resurrection of the Lord, and celebrates the sacraments of Christian initiation. (81)
1. The meaning of the nocturnal character of the Easter Vigil
78. “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 which have crept in in 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 which 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.
79. The Passover Vigil, in which the Hebrews kept watch for the Lord’s passover which was to free them from slavery to Pharaoh, was an annual commemoration. It prefigured the true Pasch of Christ that was to come, the night that is of true liberation, in which “destroying the bonds of death, Christ rose as victor from the depths”. (84)
80. From the very outset the Church has celebrated that annual Pasch, which is the solemnity of solemnities, above all by means of a night vigil. For the resurrection of Christ is the foundation of our faith and hope, and through Baptism and Confirmation we are inserted into the paschal mystery of Christ, dying, buried, and raised with him, and with him we shall also reign. (85)
The full meaning of this Vigil is a waiting for the coming of the Lord. (86)
Ours will start at eight.Yes, ours is at 9:30 pm this year.
8:04 is the end of nautical twilight in Yuma on April 15 this year.Ours starts at 8:04pm, wondering why 4 min after 8.
Ours starts at 9, and because its bilingual will probably go on till midnight. I’m a senior and won’t attend as I won’t drive at night. However, EWTN usually broadcasts one so will watchOurs starts at 7.30pm because another congregation come in after we have finished for theirs. What fun!
How do you venerate the cross on Good Friday?
The time of the mass is sort of important. If the church is in a tough part of town, and you have to walk it, you might not want to make the trek at night.I think you attend the Easter Vigil regardless of what time it starts.
I understand, but why can’t they just start the service at 8pm? It’s only 4 minutes.8:04 is the end of nautical twilight in Yuma on April 15 this year.
timeanddate.com/sun/usa/yuma?month=4
The US Navy defines “nautical twilight”
“This is the limit at which twilight illumination is sufficient, under good weather conditions, for terrestrial objects to be clearly distinguished; at the beginning of morning civil twilight, or end of evening civil twilight, the horizon is clearly defined and the brightest stars are visible under good atmospheric”
Because its supposed to start after sunset, not 4 minutes before. Its only 4 minutes, why not follow the rule. Our old bishop used to send a letter to all the parishes informing them how early (to the minute) the Easter Vigil mass could begin each year.I understand, but why can’t they just start the service at 8pm? It’s only 4 minutes.
In that case, shouldn’t it start at 7:08pm (sunset) not 8:04pm?Because its supposed to start after sunset, not 4 minutes before. Its only 4 minutes, why not follow the rule. Our old bishop used to send a letter to all the parishes informing them how early (to the minute) the Easter Vigil mass could begin each year.