3.5).Īll the faithful, as a body, were wont to observe, as a matter of course, the great Vigil before the feasts of Easter and Pentecost and, possibly, of some of the greater solemnities, such as the Epiphany. Our divine Lord also warns us, and exhorts us, to watch during the hours of the night, for we know not the time of His coming "Watch ye, therefore, for you know not when the lord of the house cometh at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning" (Mark xiii. The ministers of the Temple are commanded to praise the Lord in the night-watches: Qui statis in domo Domini: in atriis Dei nostri In noctibus extollite manus vestras in sancta: et benedicite Dominum! (Ps. An inspired writer in the Old Testament tells us that such was his custom: Media nocte surgebam ad confitendum tibi (Ps. Prayer during the hours of darkness and silence has ever been one of the favorite practices of the saints of all ages. But there is no doubt whatever that the practice of rising at about the middle of the night, for the purpose of prayer, is as old as the Church herself. Such a proceeding would have made the ordinary avocations of a work-a-day life all but impossible. It is, of course, impossible to prove categorically that the same set of persons assembled in church, at three different intervals, each consecutive night. Hence we get the designation Nocturn, or Vigil. It would appear that there was even more than one nocturnal meeting, and that the assemblies of the faithful corresponded to the night-watches of the Roman army. The early Christians generally and the clergy and monks in particular were wont to sanctify the silent hours of the night by the solemn and corporate praise of God.
Its primitive name was Vigilae the night-watches. As the word itself indicates, the name Matins Matutinum designated originally the Office which was said at break of day and which we now call Lauds. The Office of Matins is the longest, and by far the most important section of our liturgical worship.
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