Chapter 15: When the Alleluia should be said
From the holy feast of Easter until Pentecost the Alleluia must always be said in the psalms and the responsories. From Pentecost until the beginning of Lent it is said only with the last six psalms in the night office. On every Sunday outside Lent, however, the Alleluia is included in Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext and None, but at Vespers an antiphon is intoned instead. The Alleluia is never added to the responsories except from Easter to Pentecost. (Ch. 15 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
Benedict seems careful to include the Alleluia throughout all the times of the year, except, of course, for Lent. Alleluia, for me, is an utterance of great joy, a prayer with the potential to place me in the stream of love flowing between the Father and the Son. This is why, I believe, Benedict emphasizes the prayer: that I would live in that stream continuously.
Do you know why I need to "Alleluia"? Why? I ask myself. Because, do not forget for one moment that EVERYTHING, has been done for you. I have been created, redeemed, forgiven and loved. And when I cannot even grasp these truths nor even bring myself into dialogue with the Almighty, Christ is there dialoguing for me, praying for me. "His prayer is ours(mine)."(Feb. 18 reading from Silence & Stillness in Every Season) If anything, "Alleluia" is gratitude for all the blessings that have been given me in body and soul and for the grace of "our(my) openness to the prayer of Jesus in our heart," for the slightest stirring of love in my heart toward God.
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