Dear Parishioners,

This Wednesday, we will be having a Tenebrae service in Church at 7 pm. Since this is the first time we are doing a service like this, I wanted to tell you all about it, and why you should be interested in it.

Tenebrae comes from the Latin word for Shadows or Darkness. A Tenebrae service is a “liturgical service of sung readings and Psalms that features distinctive symbolic elements of Christ’s passion and death.” (NCR) As the service goes on, candles are extinguished one by one to symbolize His death and it ends with a sudden loud noise that represents the closing of the tomb. Originally, the Tenebrae service was supposed to include the Office of Readings and Morning Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours of Holy Thursday. But now it does not have to follow that exact structure. It is appropriate to have this service the day before Holy Thursday because it is a preparation for the entire Easter Triduum where we celebrate the life, death and resurrection of our Lord. It can also be done on Good Friday itself.

The music of this service is often described as somber and the readings are focused on Old Testament passages that focus on the death of Christ and calling on God for help. The Church will be mostly darkened and it will become more dark as the service continues. This darkness represents that darkness of the world without Christ before He finally returns at the resurrection. Without Christ we are all in spiritual darkness and in the service we are called to experience that in a physical way. When things seem at their most dark and chaotic, we can call on Christ for help.

Another interpretation of this darkness is that each candle being put out is like an Apostle betraying our Lord. Each one left Him beginning with Judas. (Except John) So, we can reflect on our own darkness of sin and how we have turned away from Christ in our lives.

Though this is the first time we are doing this service, I hope it will not be the last. I know this is relatively short notice to announce it. But I’m sure you’ll experience something really extraordinary if you come out to pray at this service. If not, I still hope you can make any of our Masses and service during the Easter Triduum itself.
God bless!

Fr. Carter

P.S. For more details, please see the following great article that I’ve cited from:

https://www.ncregister.com/features/tenebrae-services-spy-wednesday