Advent is the time of the promise, not yet the fulfillment. We are still standing in the middle of the whole thing, in the logical relentlessness and inevitability of destiny. To captive eyes, it still appears that the ultimate throw of the dice indeed will be cast here below in these valleys, on these battlefields, in these camps, and prisons, and cellars. Once keeping vigil, though, senses the other powers at work and can await their hour.
The sounds of devastation and destruction, the cries of self-importance and arrogance, the weeping of despair and powerlessness still fill the world. Yet, standing silently, all along the horizon are the eternal realities with their age-old longing. The first gentle light of the glorious abundance to come is already shining above them. From out there, the first sounds are ringing out like shepherds' flutes and a boys' choir singing. They do not yet form a song or melody--it is all still too far off and only the first announcement and intimation. Still, it is happening. This is today. And tomorrow the angels will relate loudly and jubilantly what has happened, and we will know it and will be blesssed if we have believed and trusted in Advent.
I originally found this excerpt in today's Meditation of the Day from Magnificat, Vol 13. No. 10. The author's name was Father Alfred Delp, S.J., a German Jesuit priest executed February 2, 1945 by the Nazis after suffering torture and imprisonment for fearlessly speaking out against their regime. I felt compelled to find out more about him, and discovered that this excerpt is from Advent of the Heart, a book of Fr. Delp's Advent sermons along with meditations that he wrote while he was imprisoned by the Nazis.What a magnificent find. I recommend it highly. CLICK HERE to get a copy for yourself.
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