Introducing: 'Hark! The Stories Behind Our Favorite Christmas Carols'

The Spiritual Life with Fr. James Martin, S.J.

America Media

Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.9 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 10 December 2025

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Body, mind, and spirit.
0:03.0	We believe if one needs help, so do the others.
0:06.4	As part of Catholic Health Care's holistic approach to treating the whole person,
0:10.8	here, people are not viewed as symptoms or insurance claims.
0:14.8	And when we treat the body, mind, and spirit, we believe the whole person will thrive.
0:20.5	Catholic Health Care, learn more at
0:22.8	we care you flourish.org. Sponsored by the Catholic Health Association. Hey everyone, it's Father
0:30.1	Jim Martin. I hope you're having a blessed and prayerful Advent season. Our team is busy working on an
0:36.3	all new season of the spiritual life, so stay tuned to
0:39.9	this podcast feed in the new year for many more wonderful conversations, spiritual insights, and
0:46.6	surprising guests. For now, though, I'd like to give you a little Christmas gift. My wonderful
0:52.6	producer, Maggie Van Doren, whom you know, has created a
0:56.0	podcast on the world's most beloved Christmas carols. It's called Hark, the stories behind our
1:01.9	favorite Christmas carols, and in each episode, she takes you on an amazing historical and spiritual
1:08.1	journey of these songs that proclaim the birth of Christ.
1:12.5	You can find it wherever you're listening to this podcast, and I'll link to it in the show
1:16.6	notes. It really is quite wonderful, and it mixes some history with some music and some spirituality.
1:22.3	Pretty unique, as far as I know. You'll love it. So here, as a gift gift is the first episode of the new season of Hark
1:29.5	on The Coventry Carol. So happy Advent and happy caroling from all of us at America
1:36.2	media. God 500 bombers. launched their largest aerial raid of the war on the city of Coventry.
2:01.6	Over 500 bombers flew over the city in repeated waves
2:07.6	and launched incendiaries and heavy bombs across the city.
	...

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