We're about to head to the Easter vigil and I'm torn.

Last year father omitted several readings and the litany of the saints - we were done in about an hour. I'm worried that this isn't licit.

Please pray I'm doing the right thing going to the vigil again at our parish. He never skips anything during a regular mass...

If father is wrong, please pray for him too.

Read the missalette which are probably in the pews, it specifically says that the majority of the readings, prayers etc are 'optional'....there is a minimum which takes about an hour, and then a bunch of optional stuff which extends it almost as long as you want it to be....perhaps the reason why your priest made it short is because he was very busy during Holy Week and needed the rest.....

I believe that 3 of 7 OT prophecies are required ... the Easter Vigil should take far longer than an hour whether it is celebrated in the new rite or the old.

If you do only the bare minimum that is required it is not much longer than a normal Mass.....

Just got back from ours! 1 hour 47 minutes.

The Easter Vigil is like an old jazz song, you have the bare minimum, but you can 'improvise' (not really because it's already written but you got the idea) to make it almost as long as you want.....I've seen it done in little over an hour, and I've seen it take well over 3 hours....

Well over 3 hours! Wowzers :). Mass would still be being celebrated if mine were that long.

3 hours is about how long it takes if you do absolutely everything.....but that is still rather weak.....in the east they start just after sunset and continue until sunrise the next morning....it could last as long as 10-12 hours....

Wow that's interesting! I'll remind some kids of this when they complain!

But I'm headed to bed, I hope you have a blessed Easter!

In the old Roman Rite (before the XIth century or thereabouts), the Easter Vigil started after None (around 3:00 pm) on Holy Saturday and finished around sunrise Easter morning.

My first Easter Vigil (at least that I recall) was in Rome, at the English College. It was at least three hours, and probably more... and I don't even recall anyone coming into the Church at that Mass. They did every single reading but I'm not sure what else made it so long. It was very beautiful and made me want to go every year.... though I haven't had any other experience with the Vigil that was as beautiful and well-done.

Oh, really? As long as I didn't have to stand through the whole thing, I might actually enjoy that. *Grimaces.* I could never be Eastern Rite. Just standing for the Passion during Holy Week tires me dreadfully. Sitting and kneeling, though, those I'm fine with.

I got done in about 2:15 without leaving out readings or anything else major (I did forget a few incidental things).

And if there are no baptisms the Litany of the Saints is omitted.

Ours was`3:10

3 OT readings.

We did all the readings, had a number of baptisms and confirmations, and Mass lasted for about three hours.

The rubrics in the new Missal are pretty insistent about using seven readings unless you have a really, really good reason not to.

We had 3 OT, several Psalms, one Epistle and the Gospel.

1.5 hours

Since Father seems reasonably orthodox most of the time, I'll go with he had a "really, really good reason."

Last I checked, it was 2 hrs 45 minutes - so close to 3 hrs.
Quite a few baptisms - a number of them children.
Fifty confirmed and received into the Church.

L.

The Orthodox (at least those whom I know) start by reading the entire Book of Acts!