The word Alleluia comes from two Hebrew words meaning, “Praise the Lord,” an ejaculation used during joyful seasons. St. John heard the angels singing it in heaven (Rev. 19:1-6), and in St. Jerome’s time children were taught it as soon as they could speak, and the Christian peasants in Palestine sang it at the plough. It is always used in the Mass between the Epistle and the Gospel except during times of penance.
© Evangelization Station, 2025