Christmas Eve 2014
When Gabriel collected
the choirs of angels for practice,
he announced
the first cantata for Christmas.
He spoke of reverence and majesty,
devotion and delight,
with joyous strains to shake the stars
and make the realms of heaven shudder.
They practiced for a millennium or two,
devising richer, more pleasant sounds,
on instruments of angelic design,
with ten thousand of sopranos,
and ten of trilling tenors,
combining mezzos and baritones
of matching number.
Assembling for the serenade
required a week or two
before the sacred eve,
because the angels needed discipline
to keep their appointed places,
since each small group
kept crowding close to the stable’s lowly door.
In final practice
the angels rumbled and roared
and shook the farthest galaxies,
while Joseph thought a storm was brewing
and quickly sought the stable’s shelter.
After birth at midnight
the mother softly sang a lullaby,
which had no place in angel music.
The angels silently formed array
and passed beside the stable door.
When all had learned of Mary’s song
they joined with her in harmony,
that rose in wave upon wave,
assuring all the universe
that love and peace would rule on earth.
Christmas 2014
Bonaventure Stefun, OFM Cap.
See more reflections here.