Fr. Jim introduces this special episode on "The Coventry Carol" which is part of a new season of the podcast, "Hark! The Stories Behind Our Favorite Christmas Carols," from America Magazine, the Jesuit Review (AmericaMagazine.org).

Listen to more episodes including, "O Holy Night," "The Little Drummer Boy," and "Silent Night" on:

Apple Podcasts, Spotify and at America Magazine: https://www.americamagazine.org/hark

Episode description: Most Christmas carols celebrate the birth of Jesus. But not “The Coventry Carol." This song centers on a biblical horror: the “massacre of the innocents,” King Herod’s order to kill all male babies two years old and under in Bethlehem. It’s a lullaby sung by mothers to children who may not survive the night. In this podcast episode, host Maggi Van Dorn travels to Coventry, England, to trace how this centuries-old lament survived the Reformation, a devastating library fire and the 1940 bombing of Coventry Cathedral during the Second World War— and how it has served the city’s witness to grief and reconciliation.

Happy Advent and merry Christmas from Fr. Jim!

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