Wednesday’s Tenebræ Service gets us started for the central days of Holy Week. Tenebræ is a “service of shadows.”
April 16 | 7:00 pm
Saint Patrick Church
The Church has celebrated chanted Tenebræ since medieval times. It is a prolonged meditation on Christ’s suffering, and the haunting power of the chant in the darkness suggests the drama of this momentous moment.
As scriptures and psalms are proclaimed and sung relating to the prophetic suffering of the Messiah, candles on a triangular candelabra are extinguished until we are in darkness. A loud sound marks the Lord’s death, and then the return of a single candle represents the Lord’s presence amid the darkness of the fallen world, which Easter’s resurrection will soon renew. It is a beautiful way to begin Holy Week. It sets the mood of one’s heart to prepare to enter the mystery of the Paschal Mystery of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection.
We remember the cataclysmic nature of His sacrifice as we hear the overwhelming thunder of the strepitus—the closing of the tomb. And by returning the small but persistent flame of the Christ candle at the conclusion of the service, we anticipate the joy of ultimate victory.
Learn more about Lent, Holy Week, and Triduum opportunities to journey to the cross.
