We apprehend and understand Advent as the encounter of man with, the journey of man toward, the Ultimate, toward the Absolute, toward the Lord God. Standing in the presence of the Last Things, in the presence of the Ultimate, resulted in—and results in—a peculiar knowledge of ourselves. From this holy place of encounter we have perceived two Advent messages.
Here is the first message: Man facing the Ultimate must be someone in a state of being shaken, with an alert, awakened heart that does not freeze up, does not become weary, or cramped, or deadened, but sees things as they are. Someone facing the Ultimate will not be apathetic, not just accept everything simply because it is, and because it does not change, and because it goes on and on, and because it is happening everywhere.
And that brings us to the second message, the message of authenticity, which says: In the presence of God, the Absolute Ultimate, nothing counts but that which is real. Man can pass the test of the last days only without pathos, without cramps, without lies, without masks. This requires an honesty of being that has measured itself against the Ultimate, an honesty of being that, in the presence of the Ultimate, passes the test. by, Father Alfred Delp, S.J.