Date/Time
Date(s) - 06/08/2019 - 06/09/2019
7:00 pm - 6:30 am
Location
St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral
Categories
All-night Pentecost vigil to be held at Cathedral
Editor’s Note: The vigil will held at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen, and begin with Mass at 7 p.m. June, 8, and end at 6:30 a.m. June 9 (Pentecost Sunday)
By Deacon Michael Tabernero
“What dawn is to some this midnight is to athletes of piety; then the silence of night gives leisure to their soul; no noxious sounds or sights obtrude upon their hearts; the mind is alone with itself and God” – St. Basil the Great
In college seminary, we used to have all-night adoration once a month and I fell in love with it for all the reasons St. Basil describes. In the dead of night, I found there a new intimacy and openness to the Lord in the chapel before the Eucharist. There is an availability and openness to the working of the Holy Spirit that can only be found by going outside the routine and putting out into the deep. And each year our seminary makes the trip to the March for Life in Washington, D.C., and spends the night across the street from the Basilica, where they host “The Vigil for Life” through the night. Different seminaries take turns leading an hour leading different forms of worship, some recite or chant the Liturgy of the Hours, and others read from the Word and preach, while others sing praise. It is beautiful to see the seminarians and others choosing to stay awake with Our Lord for an hour. What always impressed me were those few who chose to spend the whole night there. It was a reminder of Christ who would spend whole nights in prayer.
All-night vigils are such a beautiful part of our tradition! Going back to the first centuries of the Church during the Easter Vigil when newly baptized Christians gathered in the church in Jerusalem to spend the night listening to the Word along with the preaching and teaching by the priests to prepare themselves for the coming feast and new life as a Christian.
This coming Pentecost, our diocese is hosting such a vigil! We will be gathering in the Cathedral for a night of prayer, praise, and teaching in preparation for the great feast when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Church. There will be all-night adoration accompanied with music, Scripture readings, teaching on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and quiet reflection and prayer. It will be a time to develop and deepen our understanding and relationship with the Holy Spirit, as well as a time to pray for a new outpouring of the Spirit in our lives, in our diocese, just as the Apostles prayed in the upper room before Pentecost. All are welcome to join us for the Vigil on June 8 at the Cathedral! It will be a beautiful and powerful night!
Deacon Tabernero is scheduled to be ordained a priest for the diocese along with Deacon Joseph Illes and Deacon Matthew Marinelli by Bishop James F. Checchio at Mass at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen, June 22, 10:30 a.m.
