Alleluia!

Q: How should Christians use the word 'Alleluia'?

A: The word Alleluia is a Latin form of the Hebrew word Hallelujah, literally meaning 'you all praise Yah (YHWH),' 'you all praise Yahweh,' or as is commonly translated, 'praise the Lord.' It is a proclamation and exclamation of triumph, victory, joy, exultation, and praise and worship of the One True God of Israel, the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is used 28 times in both the Old and New Testaments and is one of the most ancient prayers of praise in the worship of old covenant Israel and in the Christian Church. It addresses God by His sacred Name as revealed to Moses in Exodus chapter 3, Yahweh or Yah, 'I AM.' From the first century AD, it has been used in Christian liturgy and worship, particularly in announcing the reading of the Holy Gospel during the services of the Church or in proclaiming the glory of Christ's Resurrection. It is found in the earliest extant liturgies of Christendom, and has been used consistently by all Christians for two-thousand years.

By custom, the word Alleluia is not said or sung by Christians during Lent, because the word designates the Resurrection and is thus 'buried' during our Lenten discipline to be raised with Christ in His joyful Resurrection on Easter Day, symbolic of Christ's death and our participation in it. On Easter we celebrate by singing Alleluia once again after forty days - for Lent has ended and Our Lord has died and is risen again. 

So, it is certainly not a sin to say it prayerfully and reverently - but one could say quite the opposite. It would be a failure of gratitude and adoration of God not to say it, if one wishes to express seriously one's devotion. However, to say Alleluia in jest or joking or mocking or irreverently or as a casual turn of phrase without intending to affirm what it actually says would be a violation of the Third Commandment, that is, in such instances one would be taking the Lord's Name in vain. To say 'Alleluia' flippantly would be the same as to say 'O my G-d' flippantly - it is the same principle because both phrases invoke the Name of God. The question certainly reminds Christians that we are to be careful and reverent in our speech and are always to honour God in the language we use...