160 years of Christmas Bells

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow has endured a lot of suffering leading up to a day that celebrates the birth of Christ. Then, he received inspiration that led him to write a beloved poem that would later be turned into a Christmas Carol.

His son was shot in the face while serving in the Union Army. He even convinced his son to not serve in the military. Two years before writing the poem, his wife died after an accidental burn. He sustained burns in the process of trying to save her which led him to have a beard for the rest of his life.

The poem goes:

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,

and mild 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 would later become the subject of a beloved Christmas Carol titled, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day". Later, the same poem written by the famed poet would serve as the premise of his biopic. 

Lesson from the Poem

Fr. Mike recently reflected on the poem in a recent video with Ascension. He even pointed out that God is with us despite the turmoil, challenges, and even hardships we endure.

For us, we will endure some of the same. We are surrounded by so many things that can easily detract us from the true meaning of the holiday. It came be found in a manger. When Christ came

As we celebrate Christmas, led us remember the words the angel said announcing the birth of our savior, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will”.

Be sure to let the ringing of the bells from a church near you give you hope and faith amid the trails that are detracting you from him. Let them remind you that God is with you. He is fully alive in all of us. When you do what God ask you to do, you will prevail. Keep striving to persevere in faith while his birth gives you hope.