Evening journal., 1909-04-07
SOLEMN SERVICE
OF TENEBRAE
Begins Tonight in the Cathe-
draI and USherS in Holy
Week Offices Proper
WHAT THE CEREMONY MEANS

In the evening Of Wednesday. Thurs
day and Friday, OF this week, the Ro-
man Catholic church performs a solemn
office commonly called the Tenebrae,
which I'm the following translation, is
arranged under the titles of Maundy
Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Sat
urday. being the Mathis and Lauds as
signed to those days The name Of Tene-
brae, in the strict sense means darkness
and is given TO It from the circumstance
of extinguishing. during the course Of
II, all the candles which have been pre-
pared in the sanctuary FOR the ceremony.
These services begin in the Cathedraf
tonight at 7.sO o'clock.
The rites Of the church upon these
three days declare her concern and her
trouble for the suffering Of her Redeem
er and the sins of men. She lays aside
every expression OF joy and festivity.
Her Offices are not commenced with those
impressive invocations by which she be-
seeches the Lord to open her lips to
sing his praises, and to come TO her
assistance, TO enable her to render him a
homage worthy OF His Majesty. The sa-
cred doxology, Gloria Patri, Is omitted
at the end of the Psalms. No hymns
OF divine praise are sung. No Dominus
Vobiscum is said. TO ask the blessing OF
God upon the people The Psalms and
the Lessons that constitute her Office
breathe scarcely anything else but sighs
and lamentations Her canonical hours
are terminated by -the same prayer, inn
ploring God to look with an eye OF pity
on those for whom his Son our Lord
has vouchsafed to suffer death. At
every other time. before the church Of
fers up a prayer. the people are invited
to unite with her In spirit. and at the
conclusion express their assent by the
acclamation amen; but upon this oc-
casion. to evince still more the great
ness Of her sorrow. the invitation and
the acclamation are both omitted.
The six candles on the altar. and the
fifteen candles placed on the epistle
side. all burning at the beginning Of the
office. signify the lights OF faith preached
by the Prophets and Jesus Christ; OF
which faith the fundamental article is
the mystery OF the Blessed Trinity. rep
resented by the triangular candlestick.
At the repetition of the fourteen anti
phons in the Mathis and Lauds. four
teen OF the candles in the triangular
candlestick are extinguished. and at the
last six verses Of the Benedictus those
on the altar are put out. to teach us
that the Jews were totally deprived OF
the light OF faith when they put our
Saviour TO death. But the fifteenth can
die. that represents the light OF the
world. Jesus Christ, is only hidden fol
time under the altar. and afterwards
brought out again, still burning; 10 sig.
Nifty that though Christ, according 10
his humanity. died. and was laid in the
sepulchre. yet. he was always alive ac'
cording to his divinity, by which he
raised his body again to life The dark
ness which pervades the sanctuary while
the Miserere and prayer are said natur.
ally puts us In mind Of the darkness
that covered the whole earth at hi:
death. and the noise made at tbs
end Of the prayer represents the confu'
sion OF nature for the loss OF its author