December 3

 Luke 21:29-33

Then Jesus told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Alfred Delp was a Jesuit priest and prisoner of the Nazis. Shortly before Hitler ordered his death in 1945, he wrote these words for his generation and ours:  

Advent is the time for rousing. We are shaken to the very depths, so that we may wake up to the truth of ourselves. The primary condition for a fruitful and rewarding Advent is renunciation, surrender. We must let go of all our mistaken dreams, our conceited poses, and arrogant gestures, all the pretenses with which we hope to deceive ourselves and others. If we fail to do this, stark reality may take hold of us and rouse us forcibly in a way that will entail both anxiety and suffering.[1]

 Lord, shake us all until we settle for nothing less than you. Amen. 

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[1] As translated in An Advent Sourcebook, edited Thomas O’Gorman (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 1988) p. 9