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Views from the Choir Loft

‘Twas in the Moon of Wintertime

Fr. David Friel · December 26, 2014

S WE CONTINUE our celebration of our Lord’s Nativity, here is a beautiful carol penned by one of our CCW patrons, St. Jean de Brébeuf. He wrote the original in Wyandot (the native Huron tongue) as a means of evangelization.

In the hymn, Father de Brébeuf utilizes traditional concepts from Huron religion to convey the story of Christ’s Nativity. This is “inculturation” in its truest, healthiest sense. Click here for a fuller history of this carol.

The author was a courageous man very worthy of our emulation, and this is a beautiful poem quite worthy of our reflection.

‘Twas in the moon of wintertime,
when all the birds had fled,
that mighty Gitchi Manitou
sent angel choirs instead;
before their light the stars grew dim,
and wondering hunters heard the hymn:

R./ Jesus your King is born,
Jesus is born,
in excelsis gloria.

Within a lodge of broken bark
the tender Babe was found,
a ragged robe of rabbit skin
enwrapped His beauty round.
But as the hunter braves drew nigh,
the angel song rang loud and high: R./

The earliest moon of wintertime
is not so round and fair
as was the ring of glory on
the helpless Infant there.
The chiefs from far before Him knelt
with gifts of fox and beaver pelt. R./

O children of the forest free,
the angels’ song is true.
The holy Child of Earth and Heav’n
is born today for you.
Come kneel before the radiant Boy,
Who brings you beauty, peace, and joy. R./

St. Jean de Brébeuf, c. 1643
(Translated by J. Edgar Middleton, 1926, alt.)

Wishing our readers much joy as we continue to welcome Christ’s Presence among us!

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Evangelization, Inculturation Last Updated: December 22, 2022

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and teaches liturgy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

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    The organ accompaniment booklet (24 pages) which I created for the 4th Sunday of Lent (“Lætare Sunday”) may now be downloaded, for those who desire such a thing.
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    Vespers Booklet, 3rd Sunday of Lent
    The organ accompaniment I created for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (“Extraordinary Form”) may now be downloaded, if anyone is interested in this.
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    Listening to this Easter Alleluia—an SATB arrangement I made twenty years ago based on the work of Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel—one of our readers left this comment: “I get tears in my eyes each time I sing to this hymn.” I hope this person is weeping for joy!
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Random Quote

“Ordained a diocesan priest on 7 October 1827, Guéranger was quickly named a canon (a member of the cathedral chapter of Tours). Around 1830, he demonstrated his interest in the liturgy when he began to use the Roman Missal and texts for the Divine Office, unlike many of his colleagues, who still made use of the diocesan editions commonly in use in pre-Revolutionary France.”

— Source unknown

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