+ Fourth Week of Advent +
Fr. Alfred Delp, German Martyr
Let us view these writings through the lens of our own times…
Opening of the Tridentine Mass (the Mass Fr. Delp would have celebrated):
“Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just: let the earth be opened and bud forth a Savior. The heavens show forth the glory of God: and the firmament declareth the work of His hands.”
Fr. Delp’s homily, Munich, 1941, Fourth Sunday of Advent:
“Advent has already called man three times. It called through the shaking; it called to authenticity; and it called to confession of faith. And now Advent calls a fourth time. Without this fourth call, the other three are not possible…It is an old term, a forgotten word, and a forgotten value: fear of God…Man must learn again…to reckon with God as the ultimate category of reality, as the decisive judgment of all that exists…the person who has seen God, is so totally different, so totally other, because our God is totally Other…Further, someone who observes the otherness of the believer will be changed by it…”
Fr. Delp’s homily, Munich, 1942, Pre-Christmas Reflection:
“We need to celebrate holy days in three ways. First, by recalling a historical event…there is always a clearly defined event connected to the mystery, a clear statement intended, a fact. This brings us to the second point. Within all of the foregoing, a great mystery, the Mysterium, is hidden…These two points are followed by the third way, in which we must consider the feast to be serious and important…we should not come to Midnight Mass as if we do not live in the year 1942 [or 2024?]. The year must be redeemed along with everything else. And from the Gloria, we have to take with us the peace and faith in the glory of God…and we are the last refuge for the homeless people who do not know anything about the Lord anymore.”
From Tegel Prison, Berlin, 1944, Fourth Sunday of Advent:
“Our life has become hard and harmful to an extent that far exceeds the natural measure of hardship and distress that were always part of life. The liberation must begin with the great conversion…which, gathering itself to a mighty strength, will break through the frost-encrusted ground of adversity overnight…[Man] overlooks exterior signs of reality, and dulls his senses with daily routine until the avalanche of life drives him out of the cozy homes and well-tended gardens into the streets of distress and wandering…Life brings greater burdens and bears a richer cargo than we can cope with, comprehend, or manage alone…The great outcry to God must begin and not let up…The time of the great intercessors has come…Prepare the way. This is a call to enter into history.”
PDF Printable Fourth Sunday of Advent
(For church or home use, or distribution.)
We will be finishing up with Fr. Delp’s writings during the 12 Days of Christmas.