As the chancel team and choir left the sanctuary of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Corner Brook on February 19th, the last Sunday of Epiphany, they sang an English translation of “Alleluia, dulce Carmen,” a 10th or 11th century Latin hymn about putting Alleluias to rest for the season of Lent. Some 50-60 parishioners joined the procession to the Cathedral’s lychgate, where Dean Catherine Short lit a fire to burn last year’s palm crosses in preparation for Ash Wednesday. The liturgy concluded with a prayer that “our fasting be a hunger for justice, our alms, a way of making peace, our prayer, the song of humble and thankful hearts.” The rite ended with collecting the “Alleluias” to be stored until the Easter Vigil.
