[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZtNlZmnEMU]
Something for the weekend. One of my favorite Christmas carols has always been I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. It is based on the poem Christmas Bells written by poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on Christmas Day 1863. Still devastated by the death of his wife in a fire in 1861, he had been rocked by news that his son Charles, serving as a lieutenant in the Union army, had been severely wounded at the battle of New Hope Church in November of 1863. In a nation rent by civil war, along with his personal woes, one could perhaps understand if Longfellow had been deaf to the joy of Christmas that year. Having suffered a grave personal loss this year, the death of my son Larry on May 19, I can attest that the message of salvation and eternal life that Christmas brings has a special meaning to me this year.
Christmas Bells
I HEARD the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.
The poem was set to music by John Baptiste Calkin in 1872. Another version was written by Johnny Marks in the 1950s.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJFZ1y_o9p4]
My condolences on the death of your son Larry.
Thank you icefalcon. I am consoled that he died on Pentecost. Because of his autism Larry was unable to carry on normal conversations much beyond yes or no. The tongues of fire of Pentecost I think was God’s way of indicating that he would now speak clearly in Heaven. My mother died on Easter Sunday 1984 and my father in law died on Palm Sunday 1997.
Donald,
I too wish to express m condolences and pledge of my prayers in these days leading up to our Christmas Feast. Platitudes you need not, but I do believe it is safe to say that you have a saint in your son Larry who is now praying for you and your family. May you experience the consolation of the Lord and the peace that surpasses all understanding this Christmas Festival.
Thank you Botolph. I sometimes feel Larry’s presence, the first time at his funeral when I felt the oddest wave of happiness and peace pass over me. I believe he has interceded for me and my family. Larry was a good son in life, and he remains a good son in death. I miss him each moment.