Last night, I went to Tenebrae at Holy Name Cathedral. This was the first time I ever experienced the Tenebrae service. Two observations:
1. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, at the end of the service there is the strepitus, or loud noise, that calls to mind the earthquake from the Passion narratives. Well, I didn't read the inside of the program fully, so I had no idea of how the strepitus was made. For some reason, I had just assumed that some person had the specific task of making noise at the proper moment. Instead, after the Our Father, everyone in the Church began banging on the wooden pew in front of them with their hands or the hymnals. The sheer volume of the noise, combined with being in the dark, took me off-guard! But I found the noise quite fitting and now can't imagine why I was expecting something less striking. After all, what a momentous moment that was! The Lord's victory was no small thing!
(This second observation I place behind the link because I know some will misunderstand my point.)
2. Any notion that Catholics like quick services is a lie. Tenebrae is nearly two hours! I was reminded of the time in law school when two Evangelical friends joined me for different parts of the Holy Week liturgies. They appreciated the liturgies, but were shocked by how long they were and found the length difficult. And this was coming from individuals who routinely went to their church for multiple hours on Sunday and again on some other day of the week. I know, some might say that the Catholic liturgy is so long as to be boring. Of course, once you understand what is happening at liturgy it becomes alive full of meaning. What I have come to realize -- and as no slight against our separated brethren -- but much more is demanded of the Catholic soul by the liturgy. I must will myself to actively participate in it. I'm less likely to be buoyed by just emotional lifts from music, etc. But if I do willingly enter into the liturgy, man, oh, man!
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