Finally, an actual vigil Mass

It is a very bad habit of all Catholics to refer to the Saturday evening Mass as the “vigil” Mass even though most of the time it is nothing of the kind. It is the Sunday Mass said on Saturday. This makes it an “anticipated” Mass.

I was glad to see that the new issue of Today’s Liturgy (OCP) actually pointed this out with absolutely clarity. It stated without any vagueness that the practice of calling every Saturday evening Mass a vigil is completely wrong.

There are Vigil Masses such as the Easter Vigil or the Vigil of St. John Baptist. The vigil Mass is a specific thing and it is different from the Sunday Mass.

I’m as guilty of this mistake as anyone. I’m going to try to fix this but more consistently calling the even time slot for Mass the “anticipated” Mass.

Join me in this effort?