Christian Reflection and Prayer

O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant. O come ye,
O come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold Him, born
the King of angels.

O come, let us adore Him
 
    Christ, the Lord!

John Francis Wade made his living copying manuscripts
by hand.  Wade become famous for his artistic callgraphy,
and he had a knack for copying music as well.  Scholars
have debated whether Wade merely copied this Christmas
hymn, or whether he actually wrote it.  But recent
scholarship indicates that he did, in fact, write the hymn.

    It was originally written in Latin as "Adeste Fidelus."  
Wade was a Roman Catholic, and all services in the church
were conducted were in Latin.  In 1750 he slipped the hymn
into a manuscript he was copying for the English Catholic
College in Lisbon, Portugal.  Over thirty years later in 1785,
it was sent to the Portuguese chaped in London.  The Duke
of Leeds heard it sung there and included it in the repetoire
of his own singing group.  It soon become known around
the world.
(Read Luke 2:15-18)