The name Tenebrae (the Latin word for ‘darkness’ or ‘shadows’) has for centuries been applied to the ancient monastic night and early morning services (Matins and Lauds) of the last three days of Holy Week, which in medieval times came to be celebrated on the preceding evenings. Consisting almost entirely of Scriptural readings, it is a meditation on the sorrows, the profundity and the hopes involved in the Passion of Christ. It is in this way that we too, in a shortened form of the original service, have decided to use it.
The Antiphons (fragments of the readings meant to pinpoint an aspect of its spiritual message) and the psalms are read by all, while the Officiant and the Cantors read or sing certain passages as the candles are gradually put out until total darkness prevails; after which a dramatic reminder of the Resurrection is given.
We invite you to join in as fully as possible, and to come forward to extinguish candles as you feel the spirit move.
The ministers enter the sanctuary in silence.
All stand and sing together.
Entrance Hymn
All praise to thee, my God, this night
The English Tune
All praise to thee, my God, this night,
for all the blessings of the light:
keep me, O keep me, King of kings,
beneath thine own almighty wings.
Forgive me, Lord, for thy dear Son,
the ill that I this day have done;
that with the world, myself, and thee,
I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.
O may my soul on thee repose,
and with sweet sleep mine eyelids close;
sleep that shall me more vigorous make
to serve my God when I awake.
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise him, all creatures here below;
praise him above, ye heavenly host:
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
- Thomas Ken (1637-1711)
All are seated.
First Nocturn
Antiphon
Zeal for your house has eaten me up; the scorn of those who scorn you has fallen upon me.
Psalm 69:1-23
Salvum me, fac
1 Save me, O God, *
for the waters have risen up to my neck.
2 I am sinking in deep mire, *
and there is no firm ground for my feet.
3 I have come into deep waters, *
and the torrent washes over me.
4 I have grown weary with my crying; my throat is inflamed; *
my eyes have failed from looking for my God.
5 Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; my lying foes who would destroy me are mighty. *
Must I then give back what I never stole?
6 O God, you know my foolishness, *
and my faults are not hidden from you.
7 Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, Lord GOD of hosts; *
let not those who seek you be disgraced because of me, O God of Israel.
8 Surely, for your sake have I suffered reproach, *
and shame has covered my face.
9 I have become a stranger to my own kindred, *
an alien to my mother’s children.
10 Zeal for your house has eaten me up; *
the scorn of those who scorn you has fallen upon me.
11 I humbled myself with fasting, *
but that was turned to my reproach.
12 I put on sack-cloth also, *
and became a byword among them.
13 Those who sit at the gate murmur against me, *
and the drunkards make songs about me.
14 But as for me, this is my prayer to you, *
at the time you have set O Lord:
15 “In your great mercy, O God, *
answer me with your unfailing help.
16 Save me from the mire; do not let me sink; *
let me be rescued from those who hate me and out of the deep waters.
17 Let not the torrent of waters wash over me, neither let the deep swallow me up; *
do not let the Pit shut its mouth upon me.
18 Answer me, O Lord, for your love is kind; *
in your great compassion, turn to me.
19 “Hide not your face from your servant; *
be swift and answer me, for I am in distress.
20 Draw near to me and redeem me; *
because of my enemies deliver me.
21 You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor; *
my adversaries are all in your sight.”
22 Reproach has broken my heart, and it cannot be healed; *
I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I could find no one.
23 They gave me gall to eat, *
and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.
Antiphon:
Zeal for your house has eaten me up; the scorn of those who scorn you has fallen upon me.
Two candles are extinguished.
Antiphon
Let them draw back and be disgraced who take pleasure in my misfortune.
Psalm 70
Deus, in adjutorium
1 Be pleased, O God, to deliver me; *
O LORD, make haste to help me.
2 Let those who seek my life be ashamed and altogether dismayed; *
let those who take pleasure in my misfortune draw back and be disgraced.
3 Let those who say to me “Aha!” and gloat over me turn back, *
because they are ashamed.
4 Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; *
let those who love your salvation say for ever, “Great is the LORD!”
5 But as for me, I am poor and needy; *
come to me speedily, O God.
6 You are my helper and my deliverer; *
O LORD, do not tarry.
Antiphon:
Let them draw back and be disgraced who take pleasure in my misfortune.
Two candles are extinguished.
Antiphon
Arise, O God, maintain your cause.
Psalm 74
Ut quid, Deus?
1 O God, why have you utterly cast us off? *
why is your wrath so hot against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your congregation that you purchased long ago, *
the tribe you redeemed to be your inheritance, and Mount Zion where you dwell.
3 Turn your steps toward the endless ruins; *
the enemy has laid waste everything in your sanctuary.
4 Your adversaries roared in your holy place; *
they set up their banners as tokens of victory.
5 They were like men coming up with axes to a grove of trees; *
they broke down all your carved work with hatchets and hammers.
6 They set fire to your holy place; *
they defiled the dwelling-place of your Name and razed it to the ground.
7 They said to themselves, “Let us destroy them altogether.” *
They burned down all the meeting-places of God in the land.
8 There are no signs for us to see; there is no prophet left; *
there is not one among us who knows how long.
9 How long, O God, will the adversary scoff? *
will the enemy blaspheme your Name for ever?
10 Why do you draw back your hand? *
why is your right hand hidden in your bosom?
11 Yet God is my King from ancient times, *
victorious in the midst of the earth.
12 You divided the sea by your might *
and shattered the heads of the dragons upon the waters;
13 You crushed the heads of Leviathan *
and gave him to the people of the desert for food.
14 You split open spring and torrent; *
you dried up ever-flowing rivers.
15 Yours is the day, yours also the night; *
you established the moon and the sun.
16 You fixed all the boundaries of the earth; *
you made both summer and winter.
17 Remember, O LORD, how the enemy scoffed, *
how a foolish people despised your Name.
18 Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts; *
never forget the lives of your poor.
19 Look upon your covenant; *
the dark places of the earth are haunts of violence.
20 Let not the oppressed turn away ashamed; *
let the poor and needy praise your Name.
21 Arise, O God, maintain your cause; *
remember how fools revile you all day long.
22 Forget not the clamor of your adversaries, *
the unending tumult of those who rise up against you.
Antiphon
Arise, O God, maintain your cause.
V. Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked:
R. From the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor.
Two candles are extinguished.
All stand for a moment of silent prayer.
Responsory
In Monte Olivi
V. On the Mount of Olives, Jesus prayed to the Father:
R. Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Responsory
Tristis est anima mea
V. My soul is very sorrowful, even to the point of death.
R. Remain here and watch with me. Now you shall see the crowd who surround me; you will flee, and I will go to be offered up for you.
Responsory
Ecce vidimus eum
V. Lo, we have seen him without beauty or majesty,
R. With no looks to attract our eyes. He bore our sins and grieved for us, he was wounded for our transgressions, and by his scourging we are healed.
Second Nocturn
Antiphon
God is my helper; it is the Lord who sustains my life.
Psalm 54 Deus, in nomine
1 Save me, O God, by your Name; *
in your might, defend my cause.
2 Hear my prayer, O God; *
give ear to the words of my mouth.
3 For the arrogant have risen up against me, and the ruthless have sought my life, *
those who have no regard for God.
4 Behold, God is my helper; *
it is the Lord who sustains my life.
5 Render evil to those who spy on me; *
in your faithfulness, destroy them.
6 I will offer you a freewill sacrifice *
and praise your Name, O LORD, for it is good.
7 For you have rescued me from every trouble, *
and my eye has seen the ruin of my foes.
Antiphon
God is my helper: it is the Lord who sustains my life
Two candles are extinguished.
Antiphon
I have become like one who has no strength, lost among the dead.
Psalm 88
Domine, Deus
1 O LORD, my God, my Savior, *
by day and night I cry to you.
2 Let my prayer enter into your presence; *
incline your ear to my lamentation.
3 For I am full of trouble; *
my life is at the brink of the grave.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the Pit; *
I have become like one who has no strength;
5 Lost among the dead, *
like the slain who lie in the grave,
6 Whom you remember no more, *
for they are cut off from your hand.
7 You have laid me in the depths of the Pit, *
in dark places, and in the abyss.
8 Your anger weighs upon me heavily, *
and all your great waves overwhelm me.
9 You have put my friends far from me; *
you have made me to be abhorred by them; I am in prison and cannot get free.
10 My sight has failed me because of trouble; *
LORD, I have called upon you daily; I have stretched out my hands to you.
11 Do you work wonders for the dead? *
will those who have died stand up and give you thanks?
12 Will your loving-kindness be declared in the grave? *
your faithfulness in the land of destruction?
13 Will your wonders be known in the dark? *
or your righteousness in the country where all is forgotten?
14 But as for me, O LORD, I cry to you for help; *
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
15 LORD, why have you rejected me? *
why have you hidden your face from me?
16 Ever since my youth, I have been wretched and at the point of death; *
I have borne your terrors with a troubled mind.
17 Your blazing anger has swept over me; *
your terrors have destroyed me;
18 They surround me all day long like a flood; *
they encompass me on every side.
19 My friend and my neighbor you have put away from me, *
and darkness is my only companion.
Antiphon
I have become like one who has no strength, lost among the dead.
V. He has made me dwell in darkness.
R. Like the dead of long ago.
Two candles are extinguished.
All stand for a moment of silent prayer, then sit for the reading.
A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. [4:15 – 5:10; 9:11-15a]
For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is bound to offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people.
Responsory
Eram quasi agnus
V. I was like a trusting lamb led to the slaughter.
R. I did not know it was against me that they devised schemes saying, Let us destroy the tree with its fruit; Let us cut him off from the land of the living.
V. All my enemies whispered together against me, and devised evil against me, saying:
R. Let us destroy the tree with its fruit; Let us cut him off from the land of the living.
And one does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee”; as he says also in another place, “Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek.” In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
Responsory
Velum templi
V. The veil of the Temple was torn in two,
R. And the earth shook, and the thief from the Cross cried out, Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.
V. The rocks were split, the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who slept were raised:
R. And the earth shook, and the thief from the Cross cried out, Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.
But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.
Responsory
Sepulto Domino
V. When the Lord was buried, they sealed the tomb
R. rolling a great stone to the door of the tomb; and they stationed soldiers to guard him.
V. The chief priests gathered before Pilate, and petitioned him:
R. And they stationed soldiers to guard him.
Lauds
Antiphon
God did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all.
Psalm 63:1-8
Deus, Deus meus
1 O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you; *
my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you, as in a barren and dry land where there is no water.
2 Therefore I have gazed upon you in your holy place, *
that I might behold your power and your glory.
3 For your loving-kindness is better than life itself; *
my lips shall give you praise.
4 So will I bless you as long as I live *
and lift up my hands in your Name.
5 My soul is content, as with marrow and fatness, *
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips,
6 When I remember you upon my bed, *
and meditate on you in the night watches.
7 For you have been my helper, *
and under the shadow of your wings I will rejoice.
8 My soul clings to you; *
your right hand holds me fast.
Antiphon
God did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all.
Two candles are extinguished.
Antiphon
They shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only child; for the Lord, who is without sin, is slain.
Psalm 143
Domine, exaudi
1 LORD, hear my prayer, *
and in your faithfulness heed my supplications; answer me in your righteousness.
2 Enter not into judgment with your servant, *
for in your sight shall no one living be justified.
3 For my enemy has sought my life; he has crushed me to the ground; *
he has made me live in dark places like those who are long dead.
4 My spirit faints within me; *
my heart within me is desolate.
5 I remember the time past; I muse upon all your deeds; *
I consider the works of your hands.
6 I spread out my hands to you; *
my soul gasps to you like a thirsty land.
7 O LORD, make haste to answer me; my spirit fails me; *
do not hide your face from me or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
8 Let me hear of your loving-kindness in the morning, for I put my trust in you; *
show me the road that I must walk, for I lift up my soul to you.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD, *
for I flee to you for refuge.
10 Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God; *
let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
11 Revive me, O LORD, for your Name’s sake; *
for your righteousness’ sake, bring me out of trouble.
12 Of your goodness, destroy my enemies and bring all my foes to naught,*
for truly I am your servant.
Antiphon
They shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only child; for the Lord, who is without sin, is slain.
Two candles are extinguished.
Antiphon
From the gates of hell, O Lord, deliver my soul.
The Song of Hezekiah [Isaiah 38:10-20]
1 In my despair I said, “In the noonday of my life I must depart; *
my unspent years are summoned to the portals of death.”
2 And I said, “No more shall I see the Lord in the land of the living, *
never more look on my kind among dwellers on earth.
3 My house is pulled down and I am uncovered,*
as when a shepherd strikes his tent.
4 My life is rolled up like a bolt of cloth,*
the threads cut off from the loom.
5 Between sunrise and sunset my life is brought to an end; *
I cower and hope for the dawn.
6 Like a lion he has crushed all my bones; *
like a swallow or thrush I utter plaintive cries; I mourn like a dove.
7 My weary eyes look up to you; *
Lord, be my refuge in my affliction.”
8 But what can I say? for he has spoken; *
it is he who has done this.
9 Slow and halting are my steps all my days,*
because of the bitterness of my spirit.
10 O Lord, I recounted all these things to you and you rescued me; *
when entreated, you restored my life.
11 I know now that my bitterness was for my good,*
for you held me back from the pit of destruction, you cast all my sins behind you.
12 The grave does not thank you nor death give you praise; *
nor do those at the brink of the grave hang on your promise.
13 It is the living, O Lord, the living who give you thanks as I do this day; *
and parents speak of your faithfulness to their children.
14 You, Lord, are my Savior; *
I will praise you with stringed instruments all the days of my life, in the house of the Lord.
Antiphon
From the gates of hell, O Lord, deliver my soul.
Two candles are extinguished.
V. My flesh also shall rest in hope:
R. You will not let your Holy One see corruption.
Two candles are extinguished.
All stand. During the following Canticle the lights are extinguished.
Antiphon
Now the women sitting at the tomb made lamentation, weeping for the Lord.
Canticle 16
Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; *
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior, *
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old, that he would save us from our enemies, *
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers *
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, *
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear, *
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, *
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation *
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God *
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Antiphon
Now the women sitting at the tomb made lamentation, weeping for the Lord.
All are invited to kneel.
Two candles are extinguished.
Psalm 51
Miserere mei, Deus
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving-kindness; *
in your great compassion blot out my offenses.
2 Wash me through and through from my wickedness *
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, *
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you only have I sinned *
and done what is evil in your sight.
5 And so you are justified when you speak *
and upright in your judgment.
6 Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth, *
a sinner from my mother’s womb.
7 For behold, you look for truth deep within me, *
and will make me understand wisdom secretly.
8 Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; *
wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.
9 Make me hear of joy and gladness, *
that the body you have broken may rejoice.
10 Hide your face from my sins *
and blot out all my iniquities.
11 Create in me a clean heart, O God, *
and renew a right spirit within me.
12 Cast me not away from your presence *
and take not your holy Spirit from me.
13 Give me the joy of your saving help again *
and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.
14 I shall teach your ways to the wicked, *
and sinners shall return to you.
15 Deliver me from death, O God, *
and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness, O God of my salvation.
16 Open my lips, O Lord, *
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
17 Had you desired it, I would have offered sacrifice, *
but you take no delight in burnt-offerings.
18 The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; *
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
19 Be favorable and gracious to Zion, *
and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
20 Then you will be pleased with the appointed sacrifices, with burnt-offerings and oblations; *
then shall they offer young bullocks upon your altar.
Collect
Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed and given into the hands of sinful people, and to suffer death upon the Cross.
The last candle is extinguished.
There is now total darkness and silence in the Church until it is broken by a loud noise.
A single light is brought back into the Church, as a symbol of the hope of resurrection.
You are welcome to remain in the church for prayer and meditation, and to exit in silence.