Monday Housekeeping – Vigils

Monday Housekeeping – Daily life at St. Augustine’s House –
Each Monday for a few weeks there will be a short introduction to each of the daily liturgies:

Vigils starts at 5.10 A.M. and lasts about 45 minutes. It begins with an Invitatory Psalm as an introduction to the day. There are then more Psalms, a bible reading, Psalms, Old Testament Canticle, and finally a reading from the Church Fathers. On Sundays outside of Lent, and on Holy Days we sing the Te Deum to conclude the office.

Vatican II Roman Catholics renamed this the “Office of Readings” and can observe it at any time of day. Some traditions nicknamed it Matins, but in the Lutheran tradition, the name Matins is more often applied to “Morning Prayer” which is Luther’s combination of Vigils and Lauds.

Next week: Lauds