Dear Parish Family,

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,
Sleep in heavenly peace.

Wouldn’t it be the most exquisite dream to sleep in heavenly peace? This beautiful song was a favorite of a very special lady and one that she requested be sung at her funeral. In the middle of summer, we heard the
wonderful melody and beautiful words. This took on new meaning as we think of our impending Christmas.

Often, we picture the navy blue night sky, filled with glistening stars, and the gild of the precious creche of our Lord, the Blessed Mother and St Joseph.  The lyrics of this carol were composed in 1816 by a young priest, Fr Joseph Mohr in a small town near Salzburg Germany.  He asked Franz Gruber to compose the melody and it was performed for the first time on Christmas Eve in St Nicholas Church in 1818. The inspiration for
this was for peace to come in a time marked by war, hunger, and natural disasters. The biblical inspiration of the Silent Night Lyrics came from ( Luke 2: 7-9) “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling
clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them at the inn. In the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night.  And an angel of the Lord appeared to them,
and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.”

And from Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and he shall be called Immanuel” ( Isaiah 7:14).

Especially during this Christmas season, this carol speaks to us that we be filled with peace and surrounded with God’s love. Now as we remember that first holy Christmas night, may our lives be filled with joy and the Star of Bethlehem keep shinning in your heart.

Mary Jo