Silent Night

In the winter of 1818 at St. Nicholas' Church in Obendorf, a village not far from Salzburg, Joseph Mohr, assistant to the priest, was faced with something of a dilemma. It was only days before Christmas, and the church organ, so vital in providing music for the services, was broken. Since the repairman was not a village local, it would be months before the organ could be put back into working condition...by which time, Christmas would be long past. Mohr's solution to this problem resulted in one of the most popular Christmas carols of all time.

Two years previous, Mohr had written a simple poem, easily understood by the people of the village, which expressed the wonder of the birth of the Christ Child. Mohr had asked his friend, Franz Gruber, the organist at St. Nicholas' Church, to compose music for his poem, so that they might sing it together using the accompaniment of a guitar.

Thus, the newly-composed carol "Silent Night..." was first performed during the Christmas Eve midnight service held at St. Nicholas' Church on December 24, 1818. It did not, however, instantly receive the worldwide recognition that it has since garnered. It was not until some years later, in 1825 when Carl Mauracher was rebuilding the broken organ, that a handwritten copy of the words and accompanying sheet music was discovered in the organ loft.

Mauracher was from an area in the Tyrol Mountains where there were many traveling folk choirs who performed throughout Europe. He returned with the carol to his home and it soon became a favored song with the traveling singers. Thus, did the popularity of "Silent Night, Holy Night" spread as these choirs journeyed the countryside, singing their songs.

There are no church or diocesan records to back up this claim. Also, there is a silly tale of mice eating the organ bellows (easily repaired). However, this is a nice song.

Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth

Keep Playing

A mother wishing to encourage her son's progress at the piano, bought tickets to a Paderewski performance. When the evening arrived, they found their seats near the front of the concert hall and eyed the majestic Steinway waiting on stage. Soon the mother found a friend to talk to, and the boy slipped away.

At eight o'clock, the lights in the auditorium began to dim. The spotlights came on, and only then did they notice the boy, upon the bench, innocently picking out "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." His mother gasped, but before she could retrieve her son, the master appeared on the stage and quickly moved to the keyboard. He whispered to the boy. "Don't quit. Keep playing." Leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass part. Soon his right arm reached around the other side and improvised a delightful obligatio. Together, the old master and the young novice held the crowd mesmerized.

The lesson:
Whatever our situation in life and history,
However outrageous, however desperate,
Whatever dry spell of the spirit,
Whatever dark night of the soul,
God is whispering deep within our beings,

"Don't quit. Keep playing. You are not alone.
Together we will transform the broken patterns into a masterwork of My creative art.
Together, we will mesmerize the world."

Parable of the Carrot, Egg, and Coffee

You may never look at a CUP OF COFFEE the same way again...

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?" "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?" Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity--boiling water--but each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. " When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?" If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you can get better and change the situation around you with God's help. How do you handle adversity? When adversity strikes, ask yourself...

ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN?