Psalms — Chapter 101

DOMINE EXAUDI ORATIONEM MEAM. Lapide: Psalm 101 — the fifth penitential psalm. "Hear, O Lord, my prayer: and let my cry come to Thee." Lapide: a psalm of the Babylonian exile, expressing the affliction of the holy community. Allegorically: the prayer of Christ in His Passion; and the prayer of the souls in Purgatory. "Inclina ad me aurem tuam" — bend thine ear: the image of God bowing down from heaven to hear the faint voice of the suffering creature. Lapide: divine condescension (katabasis) in hearing prayer.