On this day we celebrate the sufferings of Christ: the mockery, the crown of thorns, the scourging, the nails, the thirst, the vinegar and gall, the cry of desolation, and all that the Saviour endured on the Cross; also the confession of the Good Thief. At the same time, the Passion is not separated from the Resurrec­tion ; even on this day of our Lord’s deepest self-abasement, we look forward also to the revelation of His eternal glory:

The Hours take a solemn form, with an Old Testament reading, an Epistle and a Gospel at each Hour.