Tonight the offices of the Triduum begin with Tenebrae of Maundy Thursday. Tenebrae is matins and lauds of the day with many of the characteristic versicles and responses, such as the Gloria Patri, ommitted. The office takes on a stark character and preserves many simpler, more ancient forms.

It rained heavily tonight but nine of us gathered in the crypt for Tenebrae of Maundy Thursday. The offices of the Triduum make a stark contrast to the ornate liturgy. Those of us who are present monotone our way through the psalms, lessons, and canticles. It is very simple and homely.

This is the third year that I've been able to take time off around the Triduum to say the offices in common and to help with the setup and take-down for the principal liturgies. It has entirely changed Holy Week for me.

Someone has said that the Triduum is like staging three operas in three days. There is certainly a lot to be said for that analogy. On Wednesday the palms come down, on Thursday the white goes up and the altar of repose is decorated. On Friday the black vestments come out. Saturday is back to violet for the vigil, then white, then more white for Sunday morning. From Thursday night to Sunday morning, the choir sings as many pieces as a small church's anthem choir might sing in an entire year. Flowers come for Thursday and go for Friday then come back for the Vigil. Around the edges there is silver to polish and votive candle holders to be cleaned out and lots of trips to fetch things from store rooms.

I find that the offices become the glue that binds the whole. The constant repetition of the antiphon, "Christ for our sake became obedient to death" and the repetition of Psalm 51 bind the disparate ceremonies of the Triduum into one piece. The starkness of the offices set a baseline from which the great liturgies of the week leap and soar.