By Father Brian+
If you’re paying attention, you’ve noticed that we haven’t said “Alleluia” the last two services, since Lent began. Perhaps the clergy have forgotten to say it?
Well, I do stumble here and there, but there’s a reason we haven’t said it.
We say “Alleluia” in several places in our liturgical worship, including at the fraction, when I break the host bread into two pieces - a reflection of Jesus’ body being broken for you - and say, “Alleluia, Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” And you respond, “therefore, let us keep the feast. Alleluia.”
It’s found in our dismissal: “Let us go forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit. Alleluia. Alleluia.” [Note: some Episcopal churches do not add Alleluia at this point, per the Book of Common Prayer.]
Alleluia is the Latin form of the Anglicanized Hebrew word Hallelujah. It means “praise the Lord.” Why don’t we praise the Lord doing Lent? Well, we do praise him in many ways, but we choose to leave this expression out of Lent because Lent is our season of repentance.
We find that the deeper in sorrow we go in Lent, the greater the joy in Easter.
So hold on to that Alleluia for a few more weeks, and it will come forth bursting in joy at the Easter Vigil, when we celebrate the resurrection.
Last year, when I presided over the Eucharist for the first time at Easter, and I broke the bread, I felt the joy coming up like a fountain from deep within me. I about shouted, “Alleluia!”
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