Thoughts on the de profundis prayer

Matthew 8:23-27

During the storm, Jesus’ disciples cried out to the Lord in desperation: "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" This is a de profundis prayer. Do you know the de profundis prayer? It comes from Psalm 130: "Out of the depths, I have cried to you, O Lord. O Lord, be attentive to the voice of my pleading." It is the prayer offered at the darkest times of life, when we feel utterly incapable of helping ourselves.

Perhaps there are some people reading this right now who feel themselves in this precise situation. Perhaps you’re reading these words from your hospital bed where you are recovering painfully from surgery, or where you’ve just received some devastating news. Perhaps you find yourself caught in a terrible, unrelenting depression. Maybe you’ve just lost a loved one, and you’re awash in a sea of grief.

If that’s you, then pray as the disciples did. Awaken someone who can help. Jesus sleeping in the midst of the storm is a very powerful symbol of God’s sovereignty over even the darkest and most difficult trials that life throws at us.

Bishop Robert Barron