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On Good Friday evening, the Tenebrae Service, sometimes called the Service of Shadows, is presented. It is a very old service that retraces the steps of Jesus in his Passion, through readings, reflections, and music. During the Tenebrae Service the Passion is not read per se, instead each reading focuses on a specific event in the Passion, i.e.: the Temptation in the Garden, the Denial of Peter, the Condemning to Death by Pilate, ending with the death of Jesus on the cross. After each reading a candle is extinguished so that by the end of the service, the entire church is in darkness, just as our souls are in darkness until we have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. This service does not have a veneration of the cross, or a Communion service, and lasts no longer than the normal Good Friday service.
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