From "The Depths" to Hope

Homily for Friday in the 1st Week of Lent

The responsorial psalm today is one that we have all prayed frequently as it is liberally used in the Liturgy of the Hours and in the Liturgy of the Word. It is frequently referred to by the opening words which in Latin are “De Profundis” or “Out of the depths.” Biblical cosmology refers to the depths as a place called Sheol which in early biblical theology was the permanent place of the dead. However, in the second Temple period of Jewish history, roughly the time of the Prophet Ezekiel, it is described as the place of the wicked dead while the righteous dead live in paradise. So the psalmist echoes the thought of the prophet perfectly as he speaks of the fate of the wicked as well as the virtuous.

Verses one through four of the psalm are addressed to God. The psalmist calls from the watery depths, the symbol of chaos - the place of death. Sin has exiled the psalmist to this desperate place, but the situation is not without hope. The psalmist cries and cries to God for a hearing, because God is the one who forgives. If it were not so, if God kept track of sin, no human being could survive.

The second stanza turns to hope. The repeated phrases convey the psalmist’s longing – waiting, longing, and looking for the dawn, a symbol of God’s mercy. The psalmist waits for the word, the oracle that proclaims forgiveness. It is God’s faithful love from which forgiveness comes. It is God’s faithful love which brings full redemption, full redemption for Israel and all the children of Israel.

The Gospel follows this plea for forgiveness by reminding us that only those who forgive others can expect the mercy of God, a key expectation which is included in the Lord’s Prayer. We pray this prayer several times a day and should be fully aware that it is incumbent on all who await God’s mercy that they themselves be merciful.

As we pray at every Eucharist for the gift of reconciliation, our Lenten liturgy reminds us that God’s mercy is freely given. However, it carries with it the responsibility to be merciful to others.

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator