The Songs Tell the Story: A Family Advent DevotionalSample

The Song of—Shh!

Joseph Mohr was a Catholic priest in Austria. He sang in the choir and spent most of his life serving the people of Salzburg. He chose to live a simple life and died in poverty because he gave away what he had to those who needed it.

In 1816 Mr. Mohr wrote a poem called “Stille Nacht” and never knew that his poem would make him famous throughout the world. “Stille Nacht” is German for “silent or still night.”

It was the Christmas of 1818 when Joseph Mohr was asked to write a new hymn for the Christmas mass. The organ was always central to the music of the church, but tradition says that the organ wouldn’t work that day. So, Joseph Mohr used the words of his poem and a guitar to compose the carol we know as “Silent Night.” Joseph’s now-famous guitar is kept at the Silent Night Museum in Austria.

“Silent Night” is still considered one of the most popular Christmas carols of all time, and most churches include that song in their Christmas Eve services. Something about his words causes people to imagine that first Bethlehem evening.

It was a quiet night, made holy because the Son of God had entered the world. He was born of a virgin, a woman who had not conceived her baby in the usual way. God was the Father of Jesus. Everything about that “silent night” was miraculous. God chose to enter the world as a baby boy who slept peacefully in his mother’s arms. It was a holy night, different from all others.

Christmas can be a busy, hectic, joyfully noisy season. We get busy with family, friends, and fun. It’s so important to remember that our Christmas celebration is very different from the way it used to be.

People used to decorate their Christmas trees on Christmas Eve and take them down on New Year’s Day. People used to celebrate with the family and friends who lived nearby because travel wasn’t possible. We have added so much to our Christmas celebration that it might not be easy to remember how it was for Mary.

Maybe all of us should put down our phones, turn off our electronic devices, and take time this Christmas season to have a “Stille Nacht,” a silent night, so that we can remember that holy night.

I think Mary—and Joseph Mohr—would approve.