Catholic Teens - December 21, 2005
Hey All--
My wife is an incredible blessing to me. One of the many blessings she
offers is being from San Diego. And we'll be spending Christmas with her
family in California. I checked the forecast this morning...mid 70's and
sunny for the foreseeable future. It'll be a pleasant reprieve from our
frigid winter. Hence, there'll be no "Catholic Teens" email next week.
Below is a special article in place of the Question of the Week..the origin
of the beautiful song "Silent Night."
May Peace and Love in Christ be yours this Holy Season!
************************************************************************
Question O' the Week:
The Origin of Silent Night - A Christmas Carol is Born
Special to LifeSiteNews.com by Fr. Bernard Heffernan
For 22 years I looked after the spiritual needs of senior citizen homes.
Volunteers helped. Among them was Anna Cairnduf, a lady who hails from a
mountain town in Austria. She's the grand niece of Father Joseph Mohr, the
writer of the Christmas carol "Silent Night" which for a long time was
ignored. Why?
Great music is expected from great cities and great Cathedrals but hardly
from a poor, cold, drafty little mountain church, where a few days before
Christmas in 1818, a hungry mouse chewed through the bellows of the old
organ, silencing it. Oh no! No music for Christmas.
Nothing good was expected from the mountains and less was expected from
pathetic Father Mohr. He was not a bright light in the diocese. He would
never make a monsignor, hardly even a pastor. The bishop sent him into the
mountains to help a stern old pastor, who at the sight of his new helper
became even sterner.
At the church, the day before Christmas Eve, organist Franz Gruber arrived
and discovered the damaged organ. Exasperated, he pressed the keys and
pumped the bellows. Not a sound! He and Father Mohr pondered, "What could
be done to save Christmas?" Shyly the priest withdrew from his pocket a
paper and showed him the words he had scrawled in German, "Silent Night,
Holy night. All is calm. All is bright. Round yon virgin mother and
child. Holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in Heavenly Peace!" Franz Gruber was captivated by the simplicity of the song, that told so well
the wondrous story. Hastening home he fingered his violin and wrote the
music so he and Father Mohr could harmonize.
Come midnight Mass, the arriving parishioners and lumber jacks, trudging
through the snow, were disappointed when they heard there was no organ. No
music! Sterner than usual the pastor began the Mass and delivered his
Christmas sermon.
Then to everyone's surprise at the front of Church, appeared six children in
colourful dress and bright red bows, flanked by Father Mohr and Franz Gruber
playing his violin.
There in that little church in the mountains was heard the world premier
of "Silent Night." The surprised parishioners didn't know what to think.
But one glance at the angry pastor told them. After Church the departing
faithful quickly bid Christmas wishes and "Good Night". No one mentioned
the song. One polite lady said the children's clothes were pretty. That
was all.
Perhaps the performance of Silent Night was the last straw, causing the
pastor to complain to the Bishop. Whatever! By the time the snow had gone
and Spring had come, and the organ repair man arrived with horse and cart,
Father Mohr had long vanished like a log round the bend of the river. Up in the choir loft, the organ man found the scrap of paper on which was
written "Silent Night". He carried it out of the mountains to the world, to
its cathedrals, music halls and palaces. Authorship was attributed to
famous composers like Bach and Beethoven. Only later did the world learn of
the humble authors.
Now all the names of other Austrian Priests and organists of the time have
vanished. But the names of Father Joseph Mohr and organist Franz Gruber
live on in a museum built in their honour and in the beautiful Christmas
song, sung in 200 languages every Christmas around the world - "Silent Night" In their Austrian homeland, in the 1800 on Christmas Eve, when lumberjacks
were gathering and `Stille Nachte' rang out through the Alpine mountains,
here in Canada through forested, snow covered hills, across frozen lakes,
lumberjacks also strode to church, summoned by the bells, organs and the
beautiful Christmas carol, "Silent Night".
*********************************************************
Announcements:
The next Youth Group: Generation JPII is scheduled for this
Sunday, January 15th at 630PM.
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may
live as you wish." --Mother Teresa
My wife is an incredible blessing to me. One of the many blessings she
offers is being from San Diego. And we'll be spending Christmas with her
family in California. I checked the forecast this morning...mid 70's and
sunny for the foreseeable future. It'll be a pleasant reprieve from our
frigid winter. Hence, there'll be no "Catholic Teens" email next week.
Below is a special article in place of the Question of the Week..the origin
of the beautiful song "Silent Night."
May Peace and Love in Christ be yours this Holy Season!
************************************************************************
Question O' the Week:
The Origin of Silent Night - A Christmas Carol is Born
Special to LifeSiteNews.com by Fr. Bernard Heffernan
For 22 years I looked after the spiritual needs of senior citizen homes.
Volunteers helped. Among them was Anna Cairnduf, a lady who hails from a
mountain town in Austria. She's the grand niece of Father Joseph Mohr, the
writer of the Christmas carol "Silent Night" which for a long time was
ignored. Why?
Great music is expected from great cities and great Cathedrals but hardly
from a poor, cold, drafty little mountain church, where a few days before
Christmas in 1818, a hungry mouse chewed through the bellows of the old
organ, silencing it. Oh no! No music for Christmas.
Nothing good was expected from the mountains and less was expected from
pathetic Father Mohr. He was not a bright light in the diocese. He would
never make a monsignor, hardly even a pastor. The bishop sent him into the
mountains to help a stern old pastor, who at the sight of his new helper
became even sterner.
At the church, the day before Christmas Eve, organist Franz Gruber arrived
and discovered the damaged organ. Exasperated, he pressed the keys and
pumped the bellows. Not a sound! He and Father Mohr pondered, "What could
be done to save Christmas?" Shyly the priest withdrew from his pocket a
paper and showed him the words he had scrawled in German, "Silent Night,
Holy night. All is calm. All is bright. Round yon virgin mother and
child. Holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in Heavenly Peace!" Franz Gruber was captivated by the simplicity of the song, that told so well
the wondrous story. Hastening home he fingered his violin and wrote the
music so he and Father Mohr could harmonize.
Come midnight Mass, the arriving parishioners and lumber jacks, trudging
through the snow, were disappointed when they heard there was no organ. No
music! Sterner than usual the pastor began the Mass and delivered his
Christmas sermon.
Then to everyone's surprise at the front of Church, appeared six children in
colourful dress and bright red bows, flanked by Father Mohr and Franz Gruber
playing his violin.
There in that little church in the mountains was heard the world premier
of "Silent Night." The surprised parishioners didn't know what to think.
But one glance at the angry pastor told them. After Church the departing
faithful quickly bid Christmas wishes and "Good Night". No one mentioned
the song. One polite lady said the children's clothes were pretty. That
was all.
Perhaps the performance of Silent Night was the last straw, causing the
pastor to complain to the Bishop. Whatever! By the time the snow had gone
and Spring had come, and the organ repair man arrived with horse and cart,
Father Mohr had long vanished like a log round the bend of the river. Up in the choir loft, the organ man found the scrap of paper on which was
written "Silent Night". He carried it out of the mountains to the world, to
its cathedrals, music halls and palaces. Authorship was attributed to
famous composers like Bach and Beethoven. Only later did the world learn of
the humble authors.
Now all the names of other Austrian Priests and organists of the time have
vanished. But the names of Father Joseph Mohr and organist Franz Gruber
live on in a museum built in their honour and in the beautiful Christmas
song, sung in 200 languages every Christmas around the world - "Silent Night" In their Austrian homeland, in the 1800 on Christmas Eve, when lumberjacks
were gathering and `Stille Nachte' rang out through the Alpine mountains,
here in Canada through forested, snow covered hills, across frozen lakes,
lumberjacks also strode to church, summoned by the bells, organs and the
beautiful Christmas carol, "Silent Night".
*********************************************************
Announcements:
The next Youth Group: Generation JPII is scheduled for this
Sunday, January 15th at 630PM.
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may
live as you wish." --Mother Teresa
posted by Phil Lawson at 1:44 PM
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