Advent Devotions Door County 2022

First Week of Advent: Hope November 30: O Holy Night/Minuit Chrétiens (French) -  Links & Lyrics Below In 1843, Roquemaure, France, the church organ was renovated. The priest asked a local wine merchant and writer of poems, Placide Cappeau, to write a poem to commemorate the occasion. He wrote, “Minuit, chrétiens! c'est l'heure solennelle,” which means “Midnight, Christians, is the solemn hour.” Of course, the reference is to mark the beginning of the day of birth of Jesus and the redemption of humanity. The poem was put to music in 1847 by Adolphe Adam, "Cantique de Noël.” In 1885, H.P. Hanks adapted the translation as, “O Night Divine.” Then in 1855, John Sullivan Dwight wrote the English version, which became popular especially in the American north and with abolitionists of slavery. It is a common Christmas carol, but the wide range makes it a challenging song for amateur singers. The high C-sharp raises goosebumps when sung well, and many greats have sung it, incl...

First Week of Advent: Hope November 29: Gabriel's Message (Basque) - Links & Lyrics Below Gabriel’s Message (Basque) is a version I’d never heard. However, I have to admit that “Basque” caught my attention. I was born in Spain, lived there for 20 years, and have been in and know quite a bit about the Basque region in northern Spain. The region, while beautiful, has had problems for, well, hundreds of years: political unrest, assassinations, economic hardship, and isolation from the rest of Spain, to name just a few. The Basque region - like the rest of the world - has problems. The Basque region - also like the rest of the world - needs the good news of Jesus. Enter the angel Gabriel. Only one of two angels mentioned by name in the Bible, Gabriel interprets Daniel’s prophetic dreams in Daniel 8. In the New Testament (Luke 1), we see Gabriel announcing good news… announcing to Zechariah the birth of John the Baptist, and announcing to Mary the birth of Jesus. Talk about good ne...

First Week of Advent: Hope November 28: Annunciation & Magnificat (Latin/Aramaic) -  Links & Lyrics Below Whenever I reflect about Advent, I am always reminded of the long Advent of the Jewish people and of Mary. Mary, as a daughter of Israel, waits with her people for the promised Messiah foretold by the prophets. Mary, as a chosen daughter of God, learns before everybody else of the coming of this Messiah because the archangel Gabriel appears to her and announces this great news. For nine months, Mary kept another Advent, until our Deliverer was born in Bethlehem. There’s another advent in the life of someone close to Mary, her cousin Elizabeth. As a woman and wife, certainly Elizabeth longed to have a child of her own. But she was barren. But the God who can do all things, makes the impossible possible when John the Baptist is conceived and born. Mary learns of this from the angel and as a woman of charity she goes to help her aged cousin. In the meeting of these ...

First Week of Advent: Hope November 27: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel/Veni veni Emmanuel (Latin) -  Links & Lyrics Below The word “Emmanuel” comes from the Greek rendering of two Hebrew words, “immanu” [with us] and “el” [God]. In English it is spelled either Emmanuel or Immanuel. The carol is of Latin origin and was named Veni Emmanuel [God come with us]. The carol’s origin was from the Medieval Roman church of the twelfth century and possibly even earlier. It is a series of short statements [Antiphons]. Each of the Antiphons greets the Savior with one of the many titles ascribed to Him in the Bible: Emmanuel, Lord of Might, Rod of Jesse, Day Spring, Key of David. In the nineteenth century John M. Neale, who was born in London, England translated the carol into English. This made available the rich heritage of this carol and other Greek and Latin hymns to the church and to those who sing them. The season of Advent which begins four Sundays before Christmas emphasizes the antic...