“What good is it to me if the eternal birth of the divine Son takes place unceasingly, but does not take place within myself? And what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace if I am not also full of grace? Christmas is the season when the birth of God must happen in us. Through love, we become vessels of the divine, and our lives are transformed into a living nativity, bringing love into the world anew.” (Meister Eckhart)
Christmas time has its own magical allure. The lights, the gifts, the music, the myriad of sporting spectacles beamed live to our sitting rooms, the gatherings among family and friends, the scent of the turkey roasting in the oven, the frenzied shopping, the carnival atmosphere in town; all combine to create something uniquely festive that eases us almost unknowingly through the darkness of the Irish winter. Now, as the year rolls to a close, a faint glow makes its presence felt. The star still shines, oft’ hidden and unnoticed, to light the way.
Christmas is a time to find peace in a world that moves at pace. We don’t need to withdraw from all that this season has become, just make time for the ‘more’ that gives it meaning. The manger draws us right back to a world made simple. Here, beneath the star, a child was born. In the rawest and most primitive of settings, a timeless light seeped into our world to herald a new dawn. The nativity scene brings us face to face with love in its purest form. Its calm and its simplicity seems at odds with what its modern version has become. Now is the hour to re-claim the original wonder of it all and let it speak to us 2,000 years on.
One slight change to your Christmas routine can make the world of difference. Taking that small step beyond your habitual ways can open up the magic of the season in ways you may not have known before; it could be visiting someone in a nursing home or hospital you once knew well, or helping out with a homeless charity to lift the spirits of the most vulnerable close to home, or making the time to check in on someone who may feel the pain of loss this Christmas, or listening to timeless carols that you may not have heard since childhood. It is then our story and the story of the nativity merge as one. How do we bring the infant child to life in our time and place this Christmas? The answer is simple. The answer is love.
100th anniversary of the Christmas Truce
One small gesture can trigger a process of transformation that knows no bounds. We all have the power to make a difference beyond the glare of the passing world. I was reminded of this in 2014 when our Peace Choir visited Messines in Belgium to mark the 100th anniversary of the Christmas Truce. A quiet melody from an age-old carol rippled across the tarnished landscape on that fateful evening 111 years ago. One German tenor singing one simple carol unearthed a common humanity among once unforgiving foes. All who listened were transported to a place where peace was possible. It struck me then as it does now that something timeless spilled out onto the battlefields that must never be forgotten.
Picture the scene. Young men and boys sunk in the blemished mud of Flemish and French trenches, ears reverberating to the terrifying sounds of shells exploding before them with a deafening defiance – scarcely imaginable to spectators from afar. Germans on one side; the French, British and Irish on the other. Between them, ‘no man’s land’ littered with the spoils of war, a sordid premonition of the fate in store for up to 13,000 soldiers a day.
Yet, amidst the chaos, hope simmered fleetingly on the horizon. The German soldiers were sent Christmas trees from home and placed them above their trenches, numbing the oppressive doom that enveloped them. A strange confluence of dark and light rose from the shadowy mire. The luminous trail extended for miles, a seamless halo from afar that transfigured the wretched landscape. The soldiers were moved. They remembered their loved ones back home.
Stille Nacht – ‘Silent Night’
They momentarily forgot where they were. And then the German tenor sang ‘Stille Nacht’. Soldiers from both sides fearlessly opted to leave the relative sanctuary of the trenches and embraced their ‘foe’ as their own. Stories were told, cigarettes smoked, brandy consumed, even a football match was played. Once hostile voices merged as one in common humanity.
A young British soldier, Albert Moren, near La Chapelle D’Armentieres, France, recalled: “It was a beautiful moonlit night, frost on the ground, white almost everywhere; and… there was a lot of commotion in the German trenches and then there were those lights – I don’t know what they were. And then they sang ‘Stille Nacht’ – ‘Silent Night’. I shall never forget it. It was one of the highlights of my life.” This all started with one person, one voice, one melody that had the power to bring peace if even for a short time.
Against the bleakest of backdrops, a spark was lit and the shroud lifted. Humanity had become participants in the nativity story 1,914 years on revealing the face of the infant Jesus to the world. Hidden in the silhouette, their hushed murmurings can still be heard. It is then they realised only kindness really matters. Echoes from afar whisper softly through veiled skies. The men of 1914 did not just remember the first Christmas; they lived out its meaning.
The mystical notes of ‘Silent Night’ are as perennial as the stars above. They linger now as they did then. Its poignant lilt of harmonies and unadorned lyrics have the power to stop us in our tracks. I’ve seen an elderly woman in a coma in a nursing home momentarily re-awaken and join us in song, noticed hardened men drawn to a space they thought they had left behind, viewed children by the crib transported on a musical odyssey back to the manger in Bethlehem, watched a homeless woman cradle the infant child while the warm, lingering lyrics from carol singers close by took on a meaning only she knew.
Christmas without ‘Silent Night’ would feel incomplete. The origin of this timeless carol is worth remembering. In 1818, a roving band of actors was performing in towns throughout the Austrian Alps. On December 23rd, they arrived at Oberndorf, a village near Salzburg, where they were to re-enact the story of Christ’s birth in the small Church of St. Nicholas. Given that the church organ was out of commission and would not be repaired before Christmas, the actors decided to present their version of the Christmas story in a private home.
Peace Choir Celbridge Dec 6th 2025.
One of the audience, assistant pastor Josef Mohr, was inspired to reflect anew on the meaning of Christmas. Instead of walking straight to his house that night, Mohr took a longer way home. His fateful journey took him up over a hill overlooking the village. He stopped to survey the peaceful, snow-drenched citadel of light below. Reveling in the majestic silence of the wintry night, Mohr gazed down at the glowing Christmas card-like scene. Time past and present froze in creative fusion. He intuitively adapted a poem he had written years previously to the play he had just seen.
Mohr enlisted the help of his friend, church organist Franz Xaver Gruber, to compose a musical setting for the poem that could sound well even without the church organ. Within hours they both sung ‘Stille Nacht’ at their Christmas Eve service before the small congregation in Oberndorf with the accompaniment of a guitar. It was beautifully understated, magical. That longer journey home that Mohr took helped provide the ‘spark’ for the carol we have today. The greatest symphonies start with one single note.
War Continues
The star shines down on a still broken world. War continues to wreak agonising torment on innocent civilians in places like Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine and tinge their once sacred lands beyond all recognition. The heroism of the young men of 1914 happened through small, microscopic moments of human solidarity beyond the glare of their unknowing masters; a soccer match, broken bread, shared stories… this silent night lingered ‘til dawn. They have handed down their song for us to sing. The peace of Christmas, this elusive heavenly peace, is within our grasp. It starts right here, right now, with me!
“Christmas is the season when love is made visible. In the simple acts of giving, in the gentle touch of a hand, in the presence we offer to one another, the spirit of compassion is alive. To celebrate Christmas is to welcome the stranger, to comfort the lonely, and to recognise in every person the face of Christ. Let our hearts be open, our words be kind, and our lives a reflection of the deepest love that Christmas brings.” (Sr Stan)
Silent Night – remembering the Christmas Peace Truce
Phil and Elaine would like to wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas. The Peace Choir will lead the ‘Silent Night – remembering the Christmas Peace Truce’ in The Church of Ireland, Celbridge on Saturday December 6th, The Edmund Rice Chapel, Waterford on Friday December 19th and The Methodist Church, Gorey on Saturday December 20th, 2025.
All are welcome!
For more information on our exciting new Celtic Ways Ireland tour offerings for 2026, check out www.celticwaysireland.com or email us directly on info@celticwaysireland.com