Tenebrae Factae Sunt

from the Office for Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

(April 2026)

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Darkness and light;
He who is Light in the darkness,
Hangs on the wood of the Cross.

And as my heart cries out in silence,
And as my God cries out in pain,
I cannot bear the love He bore
For love of me.

"It is finished."

It is Tenebrae on Good Friday — Tenebrae, that unique Liturgical hour which combines Matins and Lauds in the dark, early morning each day of the Holy Triduum — and we are singing in sorrow and anguish over what is to take place in just a few hours.

“Tenebrae factae sunt..."
“It became dark...”

This responsory narrates the last moments of the life of Christ, God Incarnate. God, who is rich in mercy, has taken upon himself our sins and has entered into our darkness. He has come to meet us in our misery — and He refuses to leave us there.

Through the melody and text of this chant, we find ourselves beneath the foot of the cross. We see the skies become dark; we witness the horrible crucifixion of the man who is God; and we watch as the earth is washed clean in the Blood of the Lamb.

Then, the cry of Jesus pierces through the tremendous darkness of the "ninth hour" with an intensity that reaches to the heavens. Through his Cross, the Light of the world conquers the power of darkness, and a cry of love and trust rings out on that darkened hill:

“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit!”

The chant then comes to an end like a funeral funereal lament. Our Lord has died.

“Consummatum est.”
“It is finished.”

In the end, we are left pondering this profound mystery in grief and sorrow, yet with peace and a curious sense of hope.

We know that Our Savior has fulfilled his mission and has loved us even unto death. There is no suffering or humiliation that Our Lord Jesus Christ has not borne for us — He has conquered our greatest darkness, so that He may lift us from there to the Light that He is.

I look upward,
He gazes downward,
The space, so great
between Creator and creature,
Diminished by the emptying
of himself into humanity.

“And in that gaze,
So full of light,
My darkened soul,
Turned day from night.