Words of Hope presents excerpts from the writings of the twentieth century Christian martyr, Alfred Delp (1907-1945), a Jesuit priest executed by the Nazis. The book, designed to be opened anywhere, offers an immediate word of spiritual guidance, reflection, or consolation on every page.
Father Delps writings indicate that he had recognized the cause of distress afflicting people of his time, who had become incapable of God and needed help. Man can place himself as a hindrance between himself and the coming kingdom of God in two ways: through the personal condition of his life that he has decided upon, and through the social order of his life in which he finds himself, and which he tolerates or supports. Hence, man must be led back to himself and made receptive for God, because God belongs to the defi nition of what it means to be human, and, the minimum in personal attitude that man has to muster is his alert and willing openness to God. The prerequisite for all further efforts,according to Delp, would be the establishment of a new social order. In this, he brought together the social justice teachings of the Church and the personal dignity of man, in the idea of a personal socialism, his Third Idea, which would independently, as something new, stand in opposition to individualism and Marxist socialism. This, Delps vision from 1944/45, applies today to challenges of solidarity and current social conditions. (From the Introduction by Rita Haub)
Father Delps writings indicate that he had recognized the cause of distress afflicting people of his time, who had become incapable of God and needed help. Man can place himself as a hindrance between himself and the coming kingdom of God in two ways: through the personal condition of his life that he has decided upon, and through the social order of his life in which he finds himself, and which he tolerates or supports. Hence, man must be led back to himself and made receptive for God, because God belongs to the defi nition of what it means to be human, and, the minimum in personal attitude that man has to muster is his alert and willing openness to God. The prerequisite for all further efforts,according to Delp, would be the establishment of a new social order. In this, he brought together the social justice teachings of the Church and the personal dignity of man, in the idea of a personal socialism, his Third Idea, which would independently, as something new, stand in opposition to individualism and Marxist socialism. This, Delps vision from 1944/45, applies today to challenges of solidarity and current social conditions. (From the Introduction by Rita Haub)