Psalms — Chapter 129

DE PROFUNDIS CLAMAVI AD TE DOMINE. Lapide: The De Profundis — one of the seven penitential psalms, and the psalm par excellence for the souls in Purgatory. Literally the psalm refers to David crying from the depths of affliction, captivity, or sin. Tropologically it is the prayer of every sinner. But Lapide gives extended treatment to the anagogical sense: the souls in Purgatory cry from the "depths" (de profundis) of their place of purification. They cannot directly pray for themselves (being beyond merit), but their cry reaches God through the suffrages of the Church — Masses, prayers, alms, indulgences applied to them. The Catholic practice of reciting this psalm for the faithful departed is directly rooted in Lapide's tradition.