What is vigil used for?
In Christianity, especially the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions, a vigil is often held when someone is gravely ill or mourning. Prayers are said and votives are often made. Vigils extend from eventual death to burial, ritualistically to pray for a loved one, but more so their body is never left alone.
What is an example of a vigil?
An example of a vigil is a candlelight service for someone who died. A watch kept during normal sleeping hours, especially over the body of a recently deceased or dying person. The eve of a religious festival observed by staying awake as a devotional exercise.
How do you use the word vigil?
Vigil in a Sentence 🔉
- Part of his nightly vigil was kneeling down at the foot of his bed in prayer.
- The satanic priests gathered around their unholy alter for a midnight vigil.
- After his morning vigil was interrupted, the rest of the day seemed to be full of nothing but trouble.
How would you put vigil in a sentence?
Vigil sentence example. She kept her vigil for what must have been several hours. And yet, it had been Josh who had stood vigil beside her sick bed, not Alex. He returned accordingly to his lonely and perilous vigil on the 4th of November.
What is holding vigil?
: to stay in a place and quietly wait, pray, etc., for a period of time She kept vigil at the bedside of her ailing son.
What does it mean to keep vigil over a body?
It usually involves keeping the body of the deceased in the home for one to three days after death. The actual vigil begins after the body is washed, dressed, cooled and laid in honor. (See Care of the Body.)
Who keeps a vigil?
If someone keeps a vigil or keeps vigil somewhere, they remain there quietly for a period of time, especially at night, for example,because they are praying or are making a political protest.
What does vigil mean in the dictionary?
Examples of vigil in a Sentence These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word ‘vigil. ‘ Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
What is to keep vigil?
What is a vigil after death?
The Natural Funeral supports those families that want to spend time with their loved-one after death during a vigil or wake. A vigil is a special time for families to gather together, sometimes in a home setting, to mark the transition of death in the presence of their deceased loved-one.
What does vigil mean in the Catholic Church?
In Christian liturgy, a vigil is, in origin, a religious service held during the night leading to a Sunday or other feastday. The Latin term vigilia, from which the word is derived meant a watch night, not necessarily in a military context, and generally reckoned as a fourth part of the night from sunset to sunrise.