Let Advent Take Hold of You and Wake You Up

“Advent is a time of being deeply shaken, so that man will wake up to himself.  The prerequisite for a fulfilled Advent is a renunciation of the arrogant gestures and tempting dreams with which, and in which, man is always deceiving himself…” Father Alfred Delp

I love Advent because it slows time down for me. From the first day of Advent I try, each day, to focus on the coming of Christ – to wake up from being lost within myself and my anxieties – and remember that my life belongs to Him. That my life only has meaning through Him and when I walk in His light, each and every moment, then I am serving the right purpose in my life.

So each day of Advent I wait for the King who will come to us in a manner I understand innately – a child coming from his mother. The beauty and humility of it all is overwhelming and brings tears to my eyes – tears of joy because the depths of God’s love is so far beyond my pitiful understanding yet He gives me the grace to appreciate the gift of my faith in His love. The joy and excitement I know and feel everyday that I attune myself to Advent – to “the waiting” – satisfies me like nothing else in my life ever has. “My heart is restless Lord until it rests in thee.” St. Augustine.

Immerse yourself in Advent and if you can, immerse yourself in the understanding that Father Delp gives to us – that all of our life is Advent – an Advent of the Heart. Fr. Alfred Delp was imprisoned by the Nazis and held in solitary confinement. He was tortured and executed on February 2,1945.  While imprisoned he wrote brief meditations and was able to smuggle them out of prison. Available on Kindle is Advent of the Heart: Seasonal Sermons and Prison Writings 1941-1944 By Father Alfred Delp.