Q: For Mass, if the Alleluia is not sung, can it just be said? Someone told me this week that I was wrong for just “speaking” the alleluia at mass with the corresponding verse. Thus, if it is not sung it should not be said at all…:-)
Thanks,
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A: You’ve got some wiggle room.
According to the General Introduction to the Lectionary from 1981, “The Alleluia or the verse before the Gospel must be sung” (23). But the GIRM doesn’t state it that way. In the most recent editions for the missal currently in force, the GIRM says that at masses with one reading before the gospel the acclamation may be omitted if it is not sung (63). But on Sundays it “is sung” (62a and b).
I conclude that there is no prohibition to speaking the gospel acclamation on weekdays. But, as I’ve pointed out in my book Let Us Pray (#330), those who recite it diminish its usefulness.
I prefer to have someone sing it on weekdays, but if the reader recites it, I don’t make a deal out of it. We always sing it on Sundays.