"Advent of the Heart" Program with PDFs

Advent Starts Sunday, November 30th

the Beginning of the Traditional Cycle of Christmas:

The Mystery of the Incarnation, and a New Liturgical Year!

If you have been following “In Search of the Authentic Life” for some time, you know I am a big fan of the martyr Fr. Alfred Delp and the book ADVENT OF THE HEART, which is essentially an Advent program and compilation of his brilliant writings. There are many posts about Fr. Delp on this blog, you can do a search to the right>>>

Last year, as I was trying to get a prayer group going at my church, using this book, I created 5 PDFs and presented them here. I will post them again below (6 pages total). These can be used for prayer groups, family prayer or distribution.  If you are involved in an existing ministry, consider adding this to your Advent meetings.  It does not have to take a lot of time.  My prayer group never materialized and now I am trying again.  I may add supplemental content.  If so, it will be posted as I complete it.

These printouts are meant to be used in conjunction with the book. They condense each section into a few of the “best” quotes and provide discussion points. It makes it very easy to get started, rather than being overwhelmed by the whole book.

Why have I done this project? Why am I so taken with Delp’s writings? First of all, because they are genius and should be much better known.  Secondly, Delp’s insights are quite relevant for our own times.  He was living under the tyranny of the Nazis, we are living under the tyranny of the global elites who seek to destroy Christendom and usher in their New World Order of total surveillance.  Clearly, a great chastisement is coming and it is not for no reason.  If man refuses to submit to God’s laws, he will be forced to submit to the laws of other men…men who do not have his best interest in mind, but their own interests.  Fr. Delp’s writings are a gift to our times and can help us navigate through them.  They can help us to stay grounded in the midst of the chaos around us, like he did.  And we know…

“In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph!”

What else can you add to this Advent meditation program?  You can be as creative as you wish.  Prayers and discussions about a holy Advent observance, celebration of Christmas, the Christmas liturgical season…even singing Christmas songs. 

Please let us know if you decide to participate and share your experiences, which we may post on the blog.

Advent of the Heart 1st Week PDF

Advent of the Heart 2nd Week PDF

Advent of the Heart 3rd Week PDF

Advent of the Heart 4th Week #1 PDF

Advent of the Heart 4th Week #2 PDF

Talking to Young People / Being the Tabernacle, the Presence of Christ

I met 2 young men in a cafe yesterday, who I was sitting next to. It was impossible for me not to hear what they were saying. One was giving the other advice about what he might do with his future. His friend was expressing indecision and confusion about how to proceed with his goals. As a mother of a 20-something son, I felt for these young men and wanted to engage them, but did not know how. I prayed to Saint Joseph as I was eating my crepe and suddenly the words just came to me. They were very polite and receptive. I told them the world is changing in radical ways and they need to consider this when planning a future. I acknowledged it is a very hard time now to be a young person. (As we in a great interregnum, a turning, at the end of a very long cycle and the beginning of a new one, late-stage empire.) Not only were they quite interested, they even seemed to agree.

I told the confused young man, an aspiring architect, about earthships. He had never heard of them and said he would investigate. Earthships, there are many different kinds, are sustainable, off-grid homes, often using recycled materials. Many are constructed in pleasing organic shapes and rather spectacular.

This is the way we must talk to our youth. Be honest about the state of the world and don’t allow them to live with the delusions of the culture. It is doing them no service.

The song below came on my Pandora channel this morning and reminded me of those dear young men. It’s a great song, sounds a lot like Simon & Garfunkel. It’s about realizing one’s predicament of living in this inauthentic culture, where your future is planned by “men who move only in dimly-lit halls.” This is an insightful young person who sees the truth. He then dreams of an agrarian life, the “Authentic Life,” which we concern ourselves with here…and which we seek. He intuitively knows this is the better direction, but seems to conclude on a cynical note. Have a listen…

Fleet Foxes ~ “Helplessness Blues”

I was raised up believing
I was somehow unique
Like a snowflake distinct among snowflakes
Unique in each way you can see
And now after some thinking
I'd say I'd rather be
A functioning cog in some great machinery
Serving something beyond me

But I don't, I don't know what that will be
I'll get back to you someday soon, you will see

What's my name, what's my station?
Oh, just tell me what I should do
I don't need to be kind to the armies of night
That would do such injustice to you
Or bow down and be grateful
And say, "Sure, take all that you see"
To the men who move only in dimly-lit halls
And determine my future for me

And I don't, I don't know who to believe
I'll get back to you someday soon, you will see

If I know only one thing
It's that everything that I see
Of the world outside is so inconceivable
Often I barely can speak
Yeah I'm tongue tied and dizzy
And I can't keep it to myself
What good is it to sing helplessness blues?
Why should I wait for anyone else?

And I know, I know you will keep me on the shelf
I'll come back to you someday soon myself

If I had an orchard I'd work 'til I'm raw
If I had an orchard I'd work 'til I'm sore
And you would wait tables and soon run the store
Gold hair in the sunlight, my light in the dawn
If I had an orchard I'd work 'til I'm sore
If I had an orchard I'd work 'til I'm sore

Someday I'll be like the man on the screen

(Robin Pecknold)

I often reflect on the extraordinary implications of Holy Communion. In the cafe, I had literally just come from Holy Mass, just having received Our Blessed Lord. When we receive Him, we become the Tabernacle, the Holy of Holies, meant to go out into the world and bring Christ to others. It was in this disposition, that I was given the inclination to speak to these boys, and the words. In Holy Communion, we merge our hearts with that Heart so burning and overflowing with love! And believe me, others can sense this. Some will react with fear and abuse, while others will react positively, not even knowing Who they are encountering, but knowing, somewhere deep inside themselves, this person is different. As the martyr Father Alred Delp said,

“...the person who has seen God, is so totally different, so totally other-because our God is totally Other, with a fullness and order different from what the world sees at first glance. Further, someone who observes the otherness of the believer will be changed by it...

...he is master of the situation and of all things, because of being truly in contact with the center of reality..."