The Watch 2020
The Watch 2020 – Thursday, April 9th 8:00 pm – Friday, April 10th 12:00 pm
A period of “staying awake” for spiritual reasons. Traditionally, watches have been kept before the Blessed Sacrament on the night of Maundy Thursday at the “Altar of Repose.” Watches may also be kept to provide prayer and comfort for the sick or the dying. The term derives in part from Christ’s question to his disciples at Gethsemane, “Could you not watch with me for an hour?” (Mt 26:40). In the seventeenth century, Deacon Nicholas Ferrar instituted a “Night Watch” at Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire, England. During these watches one or more members of the extended Ferrar family recited the whole Psalter while kneeling.