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diff --git a/src/blog/23rd-sunday-after-pentecost/index.md b/src/blog/23rd-sunday-after-pentecost/index.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..99c2ff0 --- /dev/null +++ b/src/blog/23rd-sunday-after-pentecost/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@ +--- +title: Out of the Depths +date: November 8, 2024 +description: Reflections on the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost +--- + +Beginning with the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost, we hear the same chants every Sunday +until Advent begins. For those of us in the schola, this is always a favorite time of +year. The propers are relatively easy to sing, and thanks to their repetition in the +Church calendar, many of us actually know them by heart. As we sing these old +familiar chants, we enjoy a brief reprieve before preparing for the ornate liturgies +of Advent and Christmas. + +But Holy Mother Church does not give us these repetitive chants so the schola can +relax! At the end of the liturgical year, She implores us to be mindful of the Four +Last Things: Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell. We pray for the poor souls in +Purgatory, and ponder anew that mystery announced to our first parents: "For dust +thou art, and into dust thou shalt return." + +The chants for these Sundays emphasize our total dependence on God and the saving +power of Our Lord Jesus Christ. + +In the Introit, we hear the words of the weeping prophet Jeremias: + +> The Lord saith: +> I think thoughts of peace, and not of affliction: +> you shall call upon Me, and I will hear you; +> and I will bring back your captivity from all places. + +The Gradual, taken from Psalm 43, continues this theme: + +> Thou hast saved us, O Lord, from them that afflict us: +> and hast put them to shame that hate us. + +In the Alleulia, we hear the _De Profundis_ from Psalm 129: + +> Out of the depths I have cried to Thee, O Lord: +> Lord, hear my voice. + +The melody of this chant is haunting. There are two instances where the same +pleading motif is echoed back a second time, reminding us of the pleading cries +of the poor souls in Purgatory. + +In the Offertory, we hear this supplication yet again: + +> Out of the depths have I cried to Thee, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice. +> Out of the depths have I cried to Thee, O Lord. + +Notice that we have now heard the _De Profundis_ three times! In fact, when it reprises +in the Offertory, the melody is exactly the same as before. It is quite unusual to +see a proverbial copy-and-paste within the Mass propers. It's almost as if to say, +"Lord, we are at rock bottom. We have nothing left. Save us!" + +Finally, during communion, we hear Our Lord's glorious response to our supplications: + +> Amen I say to you, whatsoever you ask when you pray, +> believe that you shall receive and it shall be done to you. (Mk. 11:24) + +This Communion antiphon is, to me, one of the most attention-grabbing of the entire +year. It begins with the common flatted-_Ti_ Mode I incipit: + +{.center} + +Usually, this sets the mood for more flatted _Ti_'s (like in the _Gaudeamus_ introit +for All Saint's Day). But not this time! On _vobis_, we jump immediately to the +highest note of the entire chant (_Do_) followed by suddenly **natural** _Ti_—the only +one found in this chant. + +I cannot help but hear the thunderous voice of Our Lord responding to our repeated +cries from the depths: + +> Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world. +> (Mt. 28:20) + +<iframe class="ytembed" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLUTjo_MVNeFd3s3kbpdeZZny7-kp_xOeR&rel=0&loop=0" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> |