The Triduum, Part 2

Much less color and pageantry to this service. Somber, solemn.

It began with a tympani slowly tolling out a pulse, the officiants entering in silence, picking up where the prior service left off.

No liturgy guide this time. Every response was a simple tune, and easy to learn. Small ensemble vocal group and a few instruments - oboe, cello, french horn, piano, drum - but they were the best the parish had, and very very good. There was also good acapella singing (and they stayed on pitch - even when the congregation joined!)

Lots of time on our knees during this service. Mine ache a bit. Long intercessions this time around, too. No real time to pray for the silent intentions of your own heart, for those you love, but.. I found time. :)

The highlight of the service was the veneration of the cross. Early on, this idea of veneration made me a little suspicious, but as RCIA classes wore on, I got the spirit behind it. It's sort of a semantics issue to some degree. Protestants tend to think that veneration = worship. But that's not how Catholics view it.

Any and all sacramentals are nothing but worship "aids", designed to help you remember something, or assist in your devotion to Christ. They help you focus on and draw closer to God, so it's a high degree of respect you're showing for whatever it is, but not worship. What you worship is the God behind the symbol.

So, the church goes quiet again, and the officiants all go to the back. The tympani rolls its slow cadence, as the priest comes up the aisle with 6 strong men carrying a life-size hand-made cross of timbers. Every 10 paces or so the priest stops and sings a refrain, and the congregation echoes.

Once at the front by the altar, the cross is raised at about a 30 degree angle and propped up on two wood boxes. Then all kneel, and the priest prostrates himself on the floor.

Silence again. That wonderful Catholic silence... so majestic and profound. One minute. Two. Three.

Finally he rises and then calls the congregation to come forward and ... I guess I would call it "pay their respects" ... to that symbol of the extent to which God's love went to reach us. We all filed up the center aisle in a double column that split in the middle once it reached the long section of the cross, where people stopped to express their devotion in whatever way they wished.

Some just stood and bowed. Some took a knee, some let a hand drift across and linger on the cross beam. I went to both knees and bent my neck in submission, bracing myself on the rough beam as I rose. Then back to my seat and the kneeler again.

The Eucharist was brought back from seclusion in the little chapel, and processed to the altar for a wine-less communion service. But.. it was running long, and I had dinner to make for my brother-in-law and family who were coming here to fly to Florida for Spring Break. So... I left before they were done. :( Next year I'll stay.

But the basil and lime tilapia I made was really good! :) I still don't have a proper zester for the lime, though, so I used this cool little palm-held peeler thingie I got recently and shaved off some lime rind - got it pretty thin and fine, even though it wasn't exactly proper. ;)

Then a tenebrae service at the Evangelical church (tenebrae is Latin for shadows, and the meeting hall was lit only by candles, which was also very cool) followed dinner, with the visiting relatives along. Cards after, plus commiserating on how our NCAA brackets were falling apart.

A nice afternoon and evening. And part three is still to come - Easter Vigil, Confirmation and first Eucharist. :)

Right now, though.. I'm really tired. And the relatives get up at 4:30 AM tomorrow. Hope they're quiet.. shhhhh. You have nice time in Florida, now. Shhhhhh. :)