"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

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.”

SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT FR. DELP PDF PRINTABLE

FOR HOME OR CHURCH USE