Full Night Vigil

I will be attending my first Full Night Vigil on 12th January commencing from 9 pm till 5 o’clock in the morning. A vigil means the rite of staying awake for devotional purposes. According to Wikipedia, the “All-night” or Full Night vigil is a service of the Eastern Orthodox Church (and Eastern Catholic Church) consisting of an aggregation of the three canonical hours of Vespers, Matins, and the First Hour. The vigil is celebrated on the eves of Sundays and of major liturgical feasts.

It had always been my desire to attend a full night vigil and experience the feeling of praying on the still silence of the night. I have attended few half night vigils at my parish which are conducted on the third Saturdays of every month wherein we offer all our prayers before the Blessed Sacrament. But since the time I have become a catechist I haven’t been able to participate in these half night vigils.

I can’t really describe with words the beauty of these full night vigils as I haven’t yet been a part of them. But I am sure this “without sleeping” prayer and worship, first of its kind for me, will definitely be another feather in my spiritual cap. I have heard that these All-night Vigils transport the faithful into a different realm and a totally different world of spirituality and believers have full faith in these services associated with the earliest Christians. I am so glad that soon I too will experience it.

Since I have never attended an all night vigil before, for me there is something almost mystical about these all-night vigils. I am in awe of them. I am sure these midnight prayers are very powerful and invoke God’s choicest blessings on the devotees. I pray that I come out a spiritually renewed being.