"As we near the end of Advent ... Fr. Delp’s meditations have much to teach us."

William Doino, Jr. offers "Meditations for the End of Advent" on the First Things site, reflecting on the life and writings of Fr. Alfred Delp, S.J.:

Advent is the season of hope and reflection. It is a time of prayerful expectation for Christians who await the Second Coming of the Lord, just as they celebrate his birth at Christmas. Many, however, do not really appreciate its significance, or see Advent as a dramatic call upon their lives.

One man who did was Fr. Alfred Delp.

A German Jesuit who joined the anti-Nazi Resistance, he was arrested and executed for his activities in 1945. Though not as well known as other martyrs, the writings he left behind are among the most moving in Christian literature. Ignatius Press has published a book, Advent of the Heart: Seasonal Sermons and Prison Writings, which collects Delp’s writings during the lead-up to his arrest and six months in prison. Most of them, as the title indicates, have to do with Advent, which Delp believed to be central to the Christian life.

Five themes stand out in Fr. Delp’s meditations: the immediacy of the Incarnation, the powerlessness of man when apart from God, the trembling nature of conversion, the importance of Christian witness, and the knowledge that we are not alone in the world if we walk with God.

As we near the end of Advent, and reflect upon what it means for our own lives, Fr. Delp’s meditations have much to teach us.

When he writes about the reality of the Incarnation, Delp has a way of cutting through the externals of life, and getting right to the heart of things:

Christmas has always been subject to many misunderstandings. Superficialities, taking refuge in familiarity, idyllic playing around with Nativity scenes, and so forth, have displaced our view from the tremendous event this holy day represents….One must take care to celebrate Christmas with a great realism….One should bear in mind that we are celebrating the feast of God becoming man….That is how man must understand it. It is the incomprehensible fact of God entering into history; that He stepped into our law, into our space, into our existence—and not only like one of us, but as one of us. That is the thrill and the incomprehensibility of this event.

With the Incarnation, Christ enters history and becomes its master, continues Delp, and precisely because of that, makes himself available to us everywhere:

Read the entire essay, which has several quotes from Fr. Delp's powerful and challenging book.

Related Ignatius Insight Articles, Interviews, and Links:

• The Mystery Made Present To Us | Fr. Alfred Delp, S.J.
• "All of life is Advent": On the life and death of Alfred Delp, S.J. | Abtei St. Walburg
• Remembering Father Alfred Delp, S.J., Priest and Martyr | A Conversation with Father Karl Adolf Kreuser, S.J.
• Remembering a Priest and Martyr: On the Ordination Anniversary of Alfred Delp, S.J. | Abtei St. Walburg
• Faithful Even Unto Death: The Witness of Alfred Delp, S.J. | Fr. Albert Münch
• Alfred Delp Society website (German language only)

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Alfred Delp: Priest and Martyr | Advent of the Heart: Seasonal Sermons and Prison Writings, 1941-1944

Fr. Alfred Delp was a German Jesuit priest who was imprisoned in Berlin. 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 against Nazism.

Accused of conspiring against the Nazi government, he was arrested in 1944, tortured, imprisoned, and executed on Feb 2, 1945. While in prison, Fr. Delp was able to write a few meditations found in this book, which also includes his powerful reflections from prison during the Advent season about the profound spiritual meaning and lessons of Advent, as well as his sermons he gave on the season of Advent at his parish in Munich. These meditations were smuggled out of Berlin and read by friends and parishioners of St. Georg in Munich.

His approach to Advent, the season that prepares us for Christmas, 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.

From his very prison cell he presented a timeless spiritual message, and in an extreme situation, his deep faith gave him the courage to draw closer to God, and to witness to the truth even at the cost of his own life. These meditations will challenge and inspire all Christians to embark upon that same spiritual journey toward union with God, a journey that will transform our lives.

"As one of the last witnesses who knew Fr. Alfred Delp personally, I am very pleased this book will make him better known in America. 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." -- Karl Kreuser, S.J., from the Foreword

Comments

[Kim]

This book is my required reading every Advent. Father Delp's writings are so profound, so applicable to today that every year I feel like I am reading him for the first time. I don't underline important passages because I would need to underline the whole book. I am planning to read everything he has written in English, and relearn German so I can read his complete works. Thanks for publishing him.