The 50 days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost are celebrated in joyful exultation as are feast days, or better as one “Great Sunday.” St. Augustine says: “We are Easter people; Alleluia is our song.” Alleluia is one of those words that needs to be sung. We’ll sing it over and over again this Easter season. What exactly does it mean? Literally, the word is a short form for the sentence: “God’s people praise God!” But it’s one of those words that defies translation, like “Hooray!” Even the instructions in our liturgical books say that if the Alleluia cannot be sung, it should be omitted. So whether the liturgy is celebrated in a cathedral or a catacomb, in a parish church or in the domestic church of the home, “Alleluia” is our song.
Readings and Commentary
Other Resources
Songs for the Easter Season (Oregon Catholic Press)
Pope Francis’s Easter Message to Popular Movements
How To Make the Most of the Easter Season
Rick Steves’ European Easter: Greek Orthodox Celebrations
Everything you need to know about Ramadan
Regina Coeli ( Marian Antiphon for the Easter Season)
International Workers’ Day (short version)
National Day of Prayer May 4th