Chants of the Vatican Graduale - MusicaSacra

Asperges Me 491
wholeheartedly throughout the ceremony. These chants form a sort of
overture to the sacrifice of the Mass. No orchestra, for instance, which
takes any pride in its art and which values its reputation, will tolerate
the presentation of its overtures by indispensable instruments only; it
will demand that the entire ensemble be present for the whole program.
These songs, however, play a much more important role, especially the
ASPERGES ME (Ps. 50: 9)
1. Asperges me, Domine, hys- 1. Thou shalt sprinkle me
sopo, et mundabor: 2. lavabis me et hyssop, O Lord, and I shall be
super nivem dealbabor. Ps. Mi- cleansed: 2. thou shalt wash me and
serere mei, Deus: * secundum mag- I shall be made whiter than snow,
nam misericordiam tuam. Ps. Have mercy on me, O God, *
according to thy great mercy.
Hyssop is a wild, bushy plant, which was employed in many ritual
sprinklings of the Old Law. This sprinkling with hyssop symbolizes interior
purification. Even the pagan Greeks and Romans used water in
their various cults to symbolize the cleansing of the soul? In the Christian
cult the use of holy water can be traced back as early as A. D. 200.
In monasteries it was customary to sprinkle the various apartments
with holy water every Sunday. Gradually this practice was adopted by
the universal Church.
God is holiness itself; and when man appears before Him, the prayer
of the publican forces itself to his lips: "God, be merciful to me a sinner!"
If we consider the obligation we assumed when the waters of Baptism
made us children of God—Sunday reminds us of this—and how often
we have been unfaithful, then the Asperges and the Miserere will well
up from the innermost recesses of our souls. Furthermore, we have
gathered to celebrate, in union with the priest, the sacrifice of the Mass,
that awful Mystery, at sight of which even the angel choir of Powers
trembles in reverence. With what sentiments of profound humility and
contrition ought we to approach the altar!
But as sinners we have special duties. Before the priest sings the
Gospel, he prays, bowing profoundly: "Cleanse my heart and my lips,
0 God almighty, who didst cleanse the lips of the prophet Isaias with a
live coal: vouchsafe, of Thy gracious mercy, so to cleanse me, that I
may worthily proclaim Thy holy Gospel." We singers also are messengers
of God, announcing the divine word, and by our singing we can become
the mediators of grace. This requires that our hearts be clean. Thus the
Asperges is to us what the Munda cor is to the priest. If a Cecilia prayed