the church is in complete darkness, as the lit Christ candle has been carried out of the sanctuary. during the singing of "were you there?", we hear a loud crash at the altar. this is the streptius, which occurs at the end of the tenebrae service. someone (usually a confirmand who assists with the removal of artifacts during the course of the service) raises a hymnal a few inches above the altar, then slams the book down to create a definitive closing sound, acknowledging the sealed tomb. the sacrifice is complete.
as a child, this act both intrigued and frightened me. you never knew when the book would slam down, and it was sometimes a game to see who would jump when it happened. sometimes, you can anticipate it by watching for the shadowy figure lifting the book up. when i was in confirmation, i got my own chance to slam the hymnal down.
the boy has been attending tenebrae services for a few years now. the streptius is also his favorite part of the service. and every year, he makes fun of me when i jump when the book slams down.
image courtesy of catholic-convert.com
as a child, this act both intrigued and frightened me. you never knew when the book would slam down, and it was sometimes a game to see who would jump when it happened. sometimes, you can anticipate it by watching for the shadowy figure lifting the book up. when i was in confirmation, i got my own chance to slam the hymnal down.
the boy has been attending tenebrae services for a few years now. the streptius is also his favorite part of the service. and every year, he makes fun of me when i jump when the book slams down.
image courtesy of catholic-convert.com
Give me a heads up next year and remind me of your service. Trinity hasn't done a Tenebrae service for years:( I miss it so much.
ReplyDeletei'm sorry to hear that. i assumed they still did it. our service is always 7:30. we'd love to have you!
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