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It is one of the oldest offices in the liturgy of the Catholic Church. It features some of the most beautiful music ever written. So why have so many of us never heard of it?Why am l completely in the dark about Tenebrae?During Holy Week and the Sacred Triduum, the three days leading up to Easter, English Catholics have a wonderful selection of Masses and services happening in the traditional rite across the country. Looking at the list though, l realised that Tenebrae — sung from ‘Spy Wednesday’ in Holy Week — has completely passed me and l suspect many...

On the Holy Triduum "Hope Is Nourished in the Great Silence of Holy Saturday" VATICAN CITY, APRIL 8, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today at the general audience in St. Peter's Square. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters, Holy Week, which for us Christians is the most important week of the year, offers us the opportunity to be immersed in the central events of Redemption, to relive the Paschal Mystery, the great mystery of the faith. Beginning tomorrow afternoon, with the Mass "In Coena Domini," the solemn liturgical rites will help us...

On the Easter Triduum "Love Is Stronger Than Hate, It Has Triumphed" VATICAN CITY, MARCH 19, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the greetings Benedict XVI gave today to students participating in the international UNIV congress who had gathered at St. Peter's Basilica, and the catechesis he gave afterward during his weekly general audience in Paul VI Hall. * * * [Pope's greeting to students in St. Peter's Basilica] [In English, he said] Dear Friends, I offer a cordial welcome to all of you who have come to Rome from various countries and universities to celebrate Holy Week together,...