Out of the Depths

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:

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)