SILENT NIGHT Father Joseph Mohr served the Church of Saint Nicholas in Oberndorf, deep in the Austrian Alps. In the early afternoon of December 24, 1818, the young priest was preparing for the Christmas Eve mass he would conduct later that evening. Church organist Franz Gruber broke in with bad news--the church pipe organ wouldnt work--and it couldnt be fixed in time for the service. Father Mohr was frustrated because Christmas Eve mass was such a meaningful time, and it would detract from the service if there were no instrument. There was nothing he could do about the problem so Mohr bundled up and left to make some afternoon pastoral calls. Arriving at the home of one of the poor families in his congregation, he discovered the wife was in labor and soon delivered her baby that Christmas Eve afternoon. After leaving the little family with their newborn, Father Mohr headed back to his home to get ready for the evening mass. He meditated on that baby born on December 24th and the similar circumstances between that poor family in his parish and Joseph and Mary. As Mohr contemplated this, the words Silent night, holy night, All is calm, all is bright... came to him. Arriving at the church, he quickly jotted down his thoughts into a simple poem. Just before the mass was to begin, Mohr thrust his new poem into the hands of his organist and asked him to compose a tune that could be sung with his words. Franz Gruber was reluctant but Father Mohr insisted. Gruber replied, But, we dont have an organ. Father Mohr left the room and returned shortly with a guitar. He handed it to Gruber, saying, Now you have an instrument, my friend. Gruber took the guitar and began to strum some chords and hum. A beautiful tune soon evolved. Silent Night was born and performed at that Christmas Eve mass. The song has become one of the worlds most beloved Christmas carols. And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. (Matthew 2:6 KJV)
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 17:23:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015