3rd Week of Advent from "Advent of the Heart" with PDF

Sorry a bit late on this, I’ve been researching the world situation much of my time…mysterious drones, looming world war and an incoming new US administration, it all interrelates in a deeply concerning way.

ADVENT OF THE HEART

+   Third Week of Advent   +

Fr. Alfred Delp, German Martyr

Let us view these writings through the lens of our own times.  All quotes below pertain to Gaudete Sunday, when we are called to be glad…

Opening of the Tridentine Mass (the Mass Fr. Delp would have celebrated):

“Gaudete in Domino Semper!”

“Rejoice in the lord always: again I say, rejoice.  Let your modesty be known to all men: for the Lord is nigh.  Be nothing solicitous: but in every thing by prayer let your petitions be made known to God.  Lord, Thou hast blessed Thy land: Thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob.”

Fr. Delp’s homily, Munich, 1941:

“Someone facing the Ultimate will not be apathetic, not just accept everything simply because it is, and because it does not change, and because it goes on and on, and because it is happening everywhere…every overstepping of boundaries, every boundary violation and every usurping of power leads the whole thing to disaster.  Look at how these great leaders were shattered and how their work was shattered: Alexander, Caesar Augustus, Napoleon…It came when they were not content with the laurel wreath of greatness, but wanted to take the diadem of the Messiah.”

Fr. Delp’s homily, Munich, 1942:

“…we read this wonderful Epistle:

Brethren, rejoice in the Lord…and the peace of God that passes all understanding preserve your hearts and thoughts in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Are these not images of the promise, and longing, and great questions of Advent?  Are they not images of what should be fulfilled when the veils fall, when the Lord reigns over the land?  Do we not seek a life in which joy would have a place once again?”

From Tegel Prison, Berlin, 1944:

“The great deception begins, the time of noise and crowds, organized feeding-frenzies, and massive festivities.  Until suddenly the earth quakes and the subterranean thunder, which one wanted to drown out with screaming, because one failed to understand it, breaks forth fully and mightily and fills the day with its call to judgment…Only one thing will help, and that is to hear the call of John the Baptist…The view for connections and content will be reopened to life, and the earth will be fruitfully flooded again by the streams of mission, confirmation, and mastery.  These are the streams that still carry the ship of life and lead it onward.  This is the first meaning of Gaudete in Domino.  Separated from the Lord, the whole thing atrophies!  We must keep telling people this.  It is the most important announcement of these days.  And we must know it and visibly live it as examples.”

*** PDF Printable Third Week Advent ***

2nd Week of Advent from "Advent of the Heart" with PDF

ADVENT OF THE HEART

+   Second Week of Advent   +

Fr. Alfred Delp, German Martyr

Let us view these writings through the lens of our own times.  All quotes below pertain to the Second Sunday of Advent…

Opening of the Tridentine Mass (the Mass Fr. Delp would have celebrated):

“People of Sion, behold the Lord shall come to save the nations: and the Lord shall make the glory of His voice to be heard, in the joy of your heart.  Give ear, O Thou that rulest Israel: Thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep.”

Fr. Delp’s homily, Munich, 1941:

“ To this message about being deeply shaken, the Second Sunday of Advent adds a new word, a message about man’s authenticity.  Someone who encounters the Ultimate, who knows about the end, must let go of every compromise.  In the presence of the Ultimate the only thing that survives is what is authentic.  All compromise shatters there.  All cheap negotiating shatters there.  All half-truths, and all double-meanings, and all masks, and all poses shatter there.  The only thing that stands the test is what is authentic.” 

Fr. Delp’s homily, Munich, 1942:

“A variety of responsibilities will be imposed from this time forth…it is our responsibility to make a disturbance in the world that is strong enough in itself to tear this chaos out of its cycle and to lead the world back to its source.  Christians bear the responsibility to generate an authentic unrest within creation, through our existence, our word, and our work…We are obliged to be concerned about the destiny of the world.  Moreover, we must know that we gamble away our own individual salvation if we don’t play, or, to word it better, if we don’t fight, for salvation and order in the world…May we stand in this world, not as people in hiding, but as those who help prepare the way of the only-begotten Son of God.”

From Tegel Prison, Berlin:

“The great historical and personal hours of grace will always mean some form of awakening and return to a true order of reality.  This is also the meaning of Advent: not only promise, but rather conversion and transformation.  Plato would say, ‘orientation to a capability for truth.’  John the Baptist put it more simply, ‘Repent.’  The prayers and message of Advent push man out beyond every surface and bring him to a consciousness of the full sculptural dimensions and drama of his situation…A person filled with confidence in God will profit from this time and stand up to the test…May God break open the narrowness that confines us within ourselves, and make us capable of Him, and capable of His mission.”

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1st Week of Advent from "Advent of the Heart" with PDF

Advent of the Heart

+   First Week of Advent   +

Fr. Alfred Delp, German Martyr

Let us view these writings through the lens of our own times.  Fr. Delp’s theological genius is nothing short of breathtaking.  All quotes below pertain to the First Sunday of Advent…

Opening Psalm of the Tridentine Mass (the Mass Fr. Delp would have celebrated):

“To Thee have I lifted up my soul: in Thee, O my God, I put my trust, let me not be ashamed: neither let my enemies laugh at me: for none of them that wait on Thee shall be confounded. Show, O Lord, Thy ways to me: and teach me Thy paths.”

Fr. Delp’s homily, Munich, 1941:

“Much of what is happening today would not be happening if people were in that state of inner movement and restlessness of heart in which man comes into the presence of God the Lord and gains a clear view of things as they really are.  [Fr. Delp changes to the past tense, displaying his distanced vantage point from this world.]  Then man would have let go of much that has thrown all our lives into disorder one way or another and has thrashed and smashed our lives.  He would have seen the inner appeals, would have seen the boundaries, and could have coordinated the areas of responsibility.  Instead, man stood on this earth in a false pathos and a false security, under a deep delusion in which he really believed he could single-handedly fetch stars from heaven; could enkindle eternal lights in the world and avert all danger from himself; that he could banish the night, and intercept and interrupt the internal quaking of the cosmos, and maneuvered and manipulated the whole thing into the conditions standing before us now.  That is the first Advent message: before the end, the world will be set quaking.”

Fr. Delp’s homily, Munich, 1943:

“People who fail to live out of the center can be alienated from themselves so easily by outside influences.  Other values of secondary importance impose themselves, making life inauthentic and bringing it under an alien law and an alien paradigm.  Are we living out of the center of our being?”

From Tegel Prison, Berlin, 2 months before Delp’s martyrdom, struggling to write while in handcuffs.  These were smuggled out at great risk.  Do not take these words for granted:

“Light the candles wherever you can, you who have them.  They are a real symbol of what must happen in Advent, what Advent must be, if we want to live.”

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Be A Calling Voice!

“Let us not shun and suppress the earnest words of the calling voices, or those who are our executioners today may be our accusers once again tomorrow, because we silenced the truth.”

Fr. Alfred Delp

Please click on the image for a link to the book, where you will get more info and several links on this lesser-known martyr. This is an extraordinary book, which I highly recommend and it is so relevant to our own times. It can also be used as a family Advent meditation. From the publisher’s notes:

"Fr. Alfred Delp, S.J., was a heroic German Jesuit priest who was imprisoned and martyred by the Nazis in a Nazi death camp in 1945. At the time of his arrest, he was the Rector of St. Georg Church in Munich, and had a reputation for being a gripping, dynamic preacher, and one who was an outspoken critic of the Nazi regime. He was an important figure in the Resistance movement...

His approach to Advent...is what Fr. Delp called an Advent of the heart. More than just preparing us for Christmas, it is a spiritual program, a way of life. He proclaimed that our personal, social and historical circumstances, even suffering, offer us entry into the true Advent, our personal journey toward a meeting and dialogue with God. Indeed, his own life, and great sufferings, illustrated the true Advent he preached and wrote about..."

Karl Kreuser, S.J., from the Foreword:

"As one of the last witnesses who knew Fr. Alfred Delp personally, I am very pleased this book will make him better known...The more one reads his writings, the more one clearly recognizes the prophetic message for our times! Like his contemporary, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Delp ranks among the great prophets who endured the horror of Nazism and handed down a powerful message for our times."

Thankful for the Sacrament of Penance

The Sacrament of Penance, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia:

“Penance is a sacrament of the New Law instituted by Christ in which forgiveness of sins committed after baptism is granted through the priest's absolution to those who with true sorrow, confess their sins and promise to satisfy for the same. It is called a sacrament, not simply a function or ceremony, because it is an outward sign instituted by Christ to impart grace to the soul.”

Click on the link above for a rather exhaustive study of this topic. Contemplating and learning more about this great gift of Holy Church, is an appropriate way to begin the Season of Advent, a new Liturgical Year. In a culture that approaches the Birth of Our Lord with nothing but materialism, never giving sin a second thought, how much more should we do so…not only for our own benefit, but to make reparation to Him.

Having celebrated the American holiday of Thanksgiving last week, and having made a recent confession, my mind has been turned to a sense of gratitude for the Sacrament of Penance…especially after having witnessed the unthinkable last year, its prohibition in many places. In a land where there is still plenty, let us remain grateful for all the Church offers and not lose sight that it is the spiritual riches which are most important.

Several weeks ago, I decided to confess at a local church I had not been to for a while. I knew some churches were still abandoning the confessionals due to Covid, but I hoped for the best. I got a sinking feeling when I saw 2 tables decked out with hand sanitizer and blue tape over the holy water fonts. At least there were no dividers in the pews. I forged on to find there were 2 priests doing face-to-face confessions only. I was disappointed, complained to one of them (he was stunned and not very friendly), and left. I will also tell you, there were no lines for these confessions. The church was almost empty.

The following week, I tried another local church, known for being conservative. Jackpot! There was one priest hearing normal confession and the line was quite long. Give the people what they want and they will come! The more traditional churches will probably thrive in the coming days and the more “modern” will just dry up, like their fonts. I was also very happy to see several young people and children confessing. I felt I was home, where I belong and with my people. I am deeply thankful to God that this can still be found in the New York area.

Some final thoughts: We all have difficulty sometimes in the spiritual life. If you have been away from confession and have a fear of going, please just give it over to Our Blessed Lord, place it in His hands and know that He can do what you cannot. He can overcome all things. With His strength you can face a difficult confession, get through it and come out the other side unbelievably joyful! It’s the best Christmas present you could give yourself…and those you love, because being happy and at peace is the best gift you could give to them. Maybe you are the kind of person who stays away due to scrupulosity. Maybe you feel you must re-confess things or the whole process is too overwhelming for you. Again, please take this to Our Lord and He will fix it. Ask in His Name for help and you WILL receive it!

"If you shall ask Me any thing in My Name, that I will do."

John 14:14