---
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:

![](communion.png "Communion: Amen dico vobis"){.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)

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