In 1816, near the starving and ruined city of Salzburg, Austria, a 24-year-old priest named Joseph Mohr suffered, along with his parishioners, in the wreckage of the Napoleonic Wars.
It's the fortnight before Christmas and all through the world's Catholic convents, nuns and monks are extra busy preparing the traditional delicacies they sell to a loyal fan base even in rapidly secularizing countries.
America at Christmastime provides us with moments that bring us closer to God. It should also help us realize how blessed we are that, by the Lord's grace, we live in this great country.