Burying the Alleluia on the Eve of Septuagesima Sunday

Alleluia thou resoundest,

True Jerusalem and free;

Alleluia joyful mother,

All thy children sing with thee;

But by Babylon’s sad waters

Mourning exiles now are we.

~Alleluia, Dulce Carmen; 10th cent. Septuagesima Hymn

As we enter the Pre-Lenten season with Septuagesima Sunday recalling the Original Sin of Adam, we lay aside the joyous refrain of "Alleluia" in our monastic office where it shall lie in repose until resurrected by the glad tidings of Easter Morn.