Admired Leader...Joseph Mohr, Author of "Silent Night, Holy Night" - JP

A leader that I greatly admire in history is Joseph Mohr, the author of the famous Christmas Carol, "Silent Night, Holy Night".

Joseph grew up in a mountain Alpine town (think Sound of Music type of town), and thier family was incredibly poor. The priest of the town recognized Josephs giftings for music and passion for God at a young age and offered to give Joseph a scholarship for schooling. During that time he was trained in the word and music. Joseph journaled often and enjoyed writing poetry.

During his service in the Alpine village, Joseph produced a poem, "Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!".

Due to poor health, he was sent to Salzburg for hospitalization and when he recovered, was assigned to St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf (1817). It was there that the assistant pastor met and became friends with the Arnsdorf schoolmaster and church verger, Franz Xaver Gruber, who also served as organist at St. Nicholas. On December 24, 1818, Fr. Joseph Mohr, took a 20 minute walk to Arnsdorf and changed the tenor of Christmas musical celebrations forever.

On Christmas Eve of 1818, the unfortunate situation happened...the church organ would not play. The reason for this was unkown, but in a Catholic Church, the church organ is the main instrument of accompanyment. Upon hearing the grave news, Father Joseph Mohr took his little acoustic guitar over to the house of Franz Xaver Gruber and together they added music to the beloved poem.

That evening, as families from all over the town gathered for evening mass, the first public performance of "Silent Night, Holy Night" was made...

It took a few years for the popularity to grow, but as we all know, it grew and grew and grew. A few years later, Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber were assigned to various parishes, faithfully serving in ministry. Thier friendship is said to have continued through the years. Joseph spent all he had in time, energy, and resources, pouring into the youth of his region, just as one man poured into him as a young child.

I admire Joseph Mohr for his lifelong dedication to the Lord, his humility in collaborating with Franz Gruber, for his church planting heart and for his committment to raising up the next generation.