Vigil masses

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onaquest

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What is the thinking behind vigil masses. I am a convert and have adopted Saturday evening mass, but where does the practice come from? Does it stem from Holy Saturday where we celebrate the Resurrection through the night to the Easter celebration of the discovery of the empty tomb? I would really appreciate an answer on this, I have a friend who claims I am not meeting my Sunday obligation.
 
onaquest said:
What is the thinking behind vigil masses. I am a convert and have adopted Saturday evening mass, but where does the practice come from? Does it stem from Holy Saturday where we celebrate the Resurrection through the night to the Easter celebration of the discovery of the empty tomb? I would really appreciate an answer on this, I have a friend who claims I am not meeting my Sunday obligation.
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You are definitely meeting your Sunday obligation. The Vigil Mass is a Sunday Mass. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t have anything to do with Holy Saturday. I was under the impression that they were created to help Catholics meet their Sunday obligation. As time has worn on, the need to work on Sunday has become more and more common. Therefore, the Vigil Mass emerged as an option. I’m sure there are much smarter people here that could lead you to all sorts of information about how it started, etc.
 
Someone told me that it had to do with football, but that’s probably not it.
 
onaquest said:
What is the thinking behind vigil masses. I am a convert and have adopted Saturday evening mass, but where does the practice come from? Does it stem from Holy Saturday where we celebrate the Resurrection through the night to the Easter celebration of the discovery of the empty tomb? I would really appreciate an answer on this, I have a friend who claims I am not meeting my Sunday obligation.
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Although the term “Vigil Mass” is regularly used for the “anticipated Sunday Mass”, the term is not correct. A Vigil Mass is a separate Mass celebrated on the Eve of a feast such as Easter, Christmas, Pentecost, etc. Yes, the anticipated Mass fullfills your Sunday obligation.
 
From the Code of Canon Law:
Can. 1248 §1. A person who assists at a Mass celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the feast day itself **or in the evening of the preceding day **satisfies the obligation of participating in the Mass.
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Your friend is wrong. It does fulfil your Sunday obligation.

As far as your question about the origins of having a Vigil Mass, I’m not positive, but my guess is that it has its roots in the Jewish concept that the day began at sunset of the previous evening (hence why they wanted to take Jesus off the cross before nightfall because Passover began at nightfall). You’d probably have to read some books on the history of the liturgy for a more detailed explanation.
 
Joe is correct! 👍
It is a harkening back to a Jewish conception of time, in which the next day actually begins at sunset on the previous day (i.e. Sunday begins on what we’d call Saturday evening).🙂
 
If the Saturday night Vigil Mass is because of the Jewish view of time, then why is it that on Sunday, the obligation can be met anytime from 12 AM to 11.59 PM? Wouldn’t it make sense that the timeframe for the Sunday obligation would end at the same time?

And no, I’m not trying to bash the Saturday Mass - I happen to think that it’s one of the best things that ever happened to the Mass. 😛
 
When was the Saturday evening Mass first instituted? How did one meet the fasting requirement when it was much stricter than it is now?
 
SisterSnowflake said:
Joe is correct! 👍
It is a harkening back to a Jewish conception of time, in which the next day actually begins at sunset on the previous day (i.e. Sunday begins on what we’d call Saturday evening).🙂
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Which might make sense if the Mass actually started at sundown. 5:30 during the summer is no where near sundown 'round these parts! I’m not at all trying to say that’s not why it started…
 
I have always understood the Saturday Anticipated Mass to be rooted in the Jewish traditions, as stated. Look at the Liturgy of the Hours as well. There is no Saturday Evening Prayer. There is a Sunday Evening Prayer I, for Saturday night, and a Sunday Evening Prayer II for Sunday night.
 
Spirithound said:
When was the Saturday evening Mass first instituted? How did one meet the fasting requirement when it was much stricter than it is now?
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In 1953 with Pope Pius XII’s “CHRISTUS DOMINUS – Concerning The Discipline To Be Observed With Respect To The Eucharistic Fast” issued on January 6, 1953.

Priests were allowed to celebrate a Mass in the evening (after 4 p.m.) and the fast was decreased to 3 hours for food, 1 hour for non-alcoholic liquids.
 
dandn5000 said:
If the Saturday night Vigil Mass is because of the Jewish view of time, then why is it that on Sunday, the obligation can be met anytime from 12 AM to 11.59 PM? Wouldn’t it make sense that the timeframe for the Sunday obligation would end at the same time?

And no, I’m not trying to bash the Saturday Mass - I happen to think that it’s one of the best things that ever happened to the Mass. 😛
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Because Sunday and Holy Days of Obligation are SPECIAL 🙂 So you get an extra long time to meet your Mass obligations on those days.
 
Good question.

It’s easier to understand this if you learn how to pray the liturgy of the hours. The prayer times in the liturgy of the hours include Morning Prayer (morning), Evening Prayer (early evening), and Night Prayer (before bed). There are some other prayer times that I omitted.

So, a normal liturgical day goes like this:
8AM Monday: Monday Morning Prayer
6PM Monday: Monday Evening Prayer
10PM Monday: Monday Night Prayer
8AM Tuesday: Tuesday Morning Prayer
6PM Tuesday: Tuesday Evening Prayer
10PM Tuesday: Tuesday Night Prayer

Most liturgical days begin with Morning Prayer in the morning and Night Prayer in the night.

However, solemnities (Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation) begin with the Evening Prayer on the previous day.

So, the liturgical calendar ends up looking like this on weekends:

8AM Saturday: Saturday Morning Prayer
6PM Saturday: Sunday Evening Prayer I
10PM Saturday: Sunday Night Prayer I
8AM Sunday: Sunday Morning Prayer
6PM Sunday: Sunday Evening Prayer II
10PM Sunday: Sunday Night Prayer II

Yes, the church takes the early beginning of Sunday seriously. So seriously, that anything prayers intended for Saturday night will have the word Sunday next to them, even if they have Saturday’s calendar date! A common newbie mistake is to look for Saturday night’s prayers, and wonder why you can’t find any. 😉

Once you understand this, vigil Masses make perfect sense…when the priest prays evening prayer on Saturday night, liturgically, Sunday has arrived, and it’s impossible to have any further Saturday Masses. At that point, every Mass must use the Sunday liturgy, and is therefore a Sunday Mass which fulfills your obligation.

After you understand the Liturgy of the Hours, common questions like “What happens when Christmas is on a Monday?” become very easy to answer. If a Mass occurs during Sunday’s liturgical day, then the Sunday liturgy is used, and the Mass fulfills your Sunday obligation. If the Mass is late enough to occur on the Christmas liturgical day (which begins on Sunday evening, because Christmas is a solemnity), then the Christmas liturgy is used, and the Mass fulfills your Christmas obligation. Obviously, a single Mass could not fulfill both of these conditions, so you do need to go to Mass two days in a row (or twice on one day) when this situation occurs.
dandn5000 said:
If the Saturday night Vigil Mass is because of the Jewish view of time, then why is it that on Sunday, the obligation can be met anytime from 12 AM to 11.59 PM? Wouldn’t it make sense that the timeframe for the Sunday obligation would end at the same time?

And no, I’m not trying to bash the Saturday Mass - I happen to think that it’s one of the best things that ever happened to the Mass. 😛
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ack said:
Good question.

Yes, the church takes the early beginning of Sunday seriously. So seriously, that anything prayers intended for Saturday night will have the word Sunday next to them, even if they have Saturday’s calendar date! A common newbie mistake is to look for Saturday night’s prayers, and wonder why you can’t find any. 😉
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:rotfl: It is SO good to know that I was not the only “newbie” who spent countless hours looking for Saturday Evening Prayer! I first thought that since there was no Saturday evening prayer, the Church must be giving us the night off. :rolleyes:

Thank God for a very compassionate, understanding Deacon in our parish that took myself and another individual in the parish under his wing and taught us the Liturgy of The Hours. He didn’t even grin when I asked about Saturday Evening & Night prayers. He just calmly explained the way the Liturgy is set up.
 
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