“Farewell to the Alleluia”

Ælfric's Homily for Septuagesima: translated by Inge B. Milfull: A Clerk of Oxford

'We wish to speak to you about this present season, why the holy congregation in God’s church omits ‘Alleluia’ and ‘Gloria in excelsis Deo’, from this present day until the holy season of Easter. There was a wise teacher named Amalarius, who wrote a book about the church’s customs and what the ceremonies of God’s servants symbolize through the course of the year; and he said about this present season, which is called Septuagesima, that it acts as a token of the seventy years for which the people of Israel served the king of Babylon in captivity. Septuagesima is the number 'seventy'. The season begins on this Sunday, nine weeks before Easter, and ends on the Saturday in Easter week; from now until that day are counted seventy days, and the people of Israel, for their sins and transgressions, were taken into captivity and lived for seventy years in slavery to Babylon, without joy and bliss. Now God’s church keeps this period of seventy, by choice, for their sins, just as Israel of old was forced to keep it in captivity, until merciful God rescued them after their tribulations and led them to their homeland.

The prophet Jeremiah prophesied about the people of Israel that during that period of seventy years they should cease from the voice of joy and gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the bride. Now in emulation of that, God’s servants leave the heavenly songs of praise, ‘Alleluia’ and ‘Gloria in excelsis Deo’, in this period of Septuagesima, because it is fitting for us that from this present day we prepare ourselves voluntarily with a degree of strictness for the spiritual battle, as the liturgy of the church exhorts us to sorrow and repent of our sins. First in the Office of the Mass we sing ‘Circumdederunt me gemitus mortis’, ‘The mournings of death surrounded me, and the pains of hell surrounded me, and I cried to the Lord in my trouble and he heard my voice from his holy temple.’ Then in the Collect of the Mass we say, ‘Qui juste pro peccatis nostris affligimur’, that is, ‘We who are justly afflicted for our sins.’ Again, the apostle in the Epistle says, ‘Every one of those who strives in battle withholds himself from all things.’

Truly the liturgy of the day shows that from this day until Easter is our season of mourning and repenting for our sins with a degree of strictness. ‘Alleluia’ is a Hebrew word – which in Latin is ‘Laudate Dominum’ – and no language is as elevated as Hebrew. Now we leave that elevated language in our Septuagesima, and say in Latin, ‘Laus tibi, Domine, Rex aeterne gloriae’, that is, ‘Praise be to thee, Lord, King of eternal glory.’ We show by our humble Latin speech that we should incline to a humbler way of living in this season. ‘Alleluia’ is, as we said, a heavenly song; as the Apostle John said, he heard great voices in heaven, like the music of trumpets, and they sang ‘Alleluia’. ‘Gloria in excelsis Deo’ sang the angels, when Christ became incarnate in flesh in this world. Now we leave the heavenly songs of praise in our season of repentance, and we pray with true humility to the Almighty, that we may see his heavenly Eastertide, after the general resurrection, in which we will sing ‘Alleluia’ to him eternally without ceasing. Amen.'

This particular text is taken from The Canterbury Hymnal, edited by Gernot R. Wieland (Toronto Medieval Latin Texts)

IN SEPTUAGESIMA: AD UESPERAM

Alleluia dulce carmen,

uox perhennis gaudii,

alleluia laus suauis

est choris crelestibus,

quam canunt dei manentes

in domo per saecula.

Alleluia leta mater,

conciuis Hierusalem,

alleluia uox tuorum

ciuium gaudentium;

exules nos flere cogunt

Babylonis flumina.

Alleluia non meremur

nunc perhenne psallere,

alleluia nos reatus

cogit intermittere;

tempus instat quo peracta

lugeamus crimina.

Unde laudando precamur

te, beata trinitas,

ut tuum nobis uidere

pascha des in ethere,

quo tibi leti canamus

alleluia perpetim.

AMEN.

Alleluia, sweet song, sound of eternal joy, the alleluia is sweet praise to heavenly choirs, which those who abide in the house of God sing throughout the ages. Alleluia, our joyful mother, fellow citizen of Jerusalem, alleluia, the cry of your rejoicing citizens, the rivers of Babylon force us exiles to weep. We are not worthy to sing alleluia forever yet. Our sin compels us to interrupt our alleluia. It is the time when we should mourn the sins we have committed. Therefore, we petition you with praise, O blessed Trinity, and that you may grant us to see your Easter in heaven, where we shall gladly sing alleluia to you forever. Amen.