Special to the Register by Father Kenneth Borowiak
Lincoln (SNR) - In the darkness of the early hours of Holy Saturday morning April 11, priests, transitional deacons and seminarians of the Diocese of Lincoln gathered to celebrate the ancient ritual of Tenebrae at St. Michael Parish in Lincoln.
Adding to the mystery and the aura of the darkness of the parish’s commons area, was the surreal dimension of the absence of participants.
Because of the limitations imposed by the coronavirus, just 10 priests, deacons and seminarians prayed and chanted the ancient service of light on the last day of the Easter Triduum.
Deacon Joseph Wahlmeier presided at the Tenebrae service. Father Tony Bedient, Deacons Brian Wirth, Caleb Hile and Alec Sasse and seminarians Matthew Schilmoeller, Christian Schwenka and Joe Allen prayed the psalms from the Liturgy of the Hours.
Tenebrae, which is Latin for “darkness” or “shadows,” is the praying of morning prayer on Holy Saturday. The service is punctuated by the gradual extinguishing of candles which by the end of the service, participants are enveloped with total darkness.
The origin of service in the Catholic Tradition goes back to at least the ninth century.
The Tenebrae service was prayed as an alternating, choral offering by the deacons and seminarians, using psalms from the Old Testament Book of Psalms and readings from the Lamentations of Jeremiah.
This rubric slowly brings the Church closer to complete darkness, and the time in the Office of Readings when the death of Our Lord is commemorated, and also provides a stark visual that Our Lord is slowly left alone in the darkness of the world, fraught with sin.
The Tenebrae service, which was livestreamed to all St. Michael parishioners via YouTube, began with 15 lit candles in two triangular candelabra atop the altar of the commons area.
Each held seven candles, with the 15th candle in a single candleholder, representing Jesus Christ. After each of the Psalms was read a candle of each candelabra, beginning with the bottom-most candle, was extinguished on alternating sides.
After the last candle was shown to those present it was extinguished and all rose and left in silence. Video of the Tenebrae service is available on St. Michael parish website at www.stmichaellincoln.org.
