The Prison Meditations of Father Alfred Delp

by Alfred Delp

Spiritual

Genres: Religion, Spirituality, Theology

193 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1963

About the author

Alfred Delp was a German Jesuit priest and philosopher of the German Resistance. A member of the inner Kreisau Circle resistance group, he is considered a significant figure in Catholic resistance to Nazism. Falsely implicated in the failed 1944 July Plot to overthrow Adolf Hitler, Delp was arrested and sentenced to death. He was executed in 1945.

Reviews

[booklady · Rating 5 out of 5]

These meditations were every bit as good as I had hoped they would be. What a loss of a great man and priest too soon. I was reminded greatly of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the famous Protestant minister also killed by the Nazis as an enemy of the state. It did not take much to qualify for that in those days, yet I can see why the Nazis were afraid of men like Bonhoeffer and Delp. They were brilliant!

This is not a review worthy of this book, but I know I cannot write such a review. I have highlighted just a few of his prescient wisdom which just cut through the muck we hear today passed off as 'wisdom'. This is worth rereading as it puts all of life and death into perspective. Pray for us, Fr. Delp.

April 22, 2025: When I read this, it is good, but when I listen to his words aloud, they come alive.

Initial reflection: Have wanted to read him for years! Bits and pieces of his writing have appeared in Magnificat and other daily and monthly magazines I subscribe to, as well as throughout Pope Benedict XVI's writings. As they were fellow devout Catholic German priests, their lives overlapped, though they wouldn't be considered contemporaries, they both deplored what the Nazis had done to their country, shared a deep affinity for how far modern man had deviated from his Christian roots and possessed brilliant minds.

Since beginning, Fr. Delp's writing is every bit as good as I hoped it would be. His writing possesses the urgency of a man who knows his time is limited and wants to communicate to the rest of us that ours is as well.

[Thomas George Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Father Delp, SJ, managed to keep a diary, unbeknownst to his Nazi Guards, while he was imprisoned on faulty accusations.

Father Delp's inspirational words is not only a tribute to the man, but also to his absolute faith to the Jesuit Order. The Nazis were willing to release Father Delp if he agreed to denounce the Jesuits; he never did.

[R. Allain · Rating 5 out of 5]

For years, some self-ordained "true Christians" have been berating moves to alter (or humanize) the faith with terms like "secularization" and "supermarket Catholicism." It seems someone must forever insist he or she alone grasps the truly faithful, unimpeachable version - while some Board of Authentic Dogma prepares to grill everyone else. Into this maelstrom, enter Fr. Alfred Delp, a Jesuit priest confined to a claustrophobic cell, and whose very existence hung on the whims of his Nazi overlords. So right off, one can scarcely imagine his anguish. Yet despite his torment, this brave priest and gifted writer challenged Catholicism to be more - more genuine and more rigorous. And given the scattered, venal and often jaded version of today's faith, one sees his prophetic gift. I'd it easy to read? Hardly. And even those seeking a more fervent faith may question some of his emphases. But his is a powerful broadside - and one that still resonates - powerfully and steadily. Read it (but be ready to be challenged).

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fr. Delp was implicated in an assignation attempt on Hitler's life. While imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp, and waiting sentencing and likely execution, he wrote this diary, first published in German in 1956. He was executed along with many others on February 5th, 1945.

Fr. Delp's writing begins with reflections on Advent on December 28, 1944 . "Unless a man has been shocked to his depths at himself and things he is capable of, as well as the failings of humanity as a whole, he cannot understand the full impact of Advent."

"The conditions of happiness have nothing whatever to do with outward existence. They are exclusively dependent on man's inner attitude and steadfastness. which enable him, even in the most trying circumstances, to form at least a notion of what life is about."

[joseph george · Rating 5 out of 5]

living in a God conscious world: reality or make belief

Father Alfred plumbs the depths of man's search for meaning for his existence and his role in life to serve for the good of all men which is only possible in a God conscious world. A Godless nation shackles the individual man who is created in the image and likeness of God Fr.Dell opines and proceeds to show how. Fr. Delp often reflects on one's own hubris, pride and arrogance in play and need for reverence, faith, trust and surrender to God to live a life according to His plan: all these meditations and personal reflections "purified in the refiners fire" (as the sons of Levi) of torture imprisonment and condemned to the gallows only because he was a Jesuit- a mockery of justice

[John O'Brien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fr. Delp's thoughts are rich and have timeless application. Will return to it next Advent/Lent.

[Rita M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Book

Fr. Delp’s writing gave incite and Hope. He asked at the end that we pray for him and now I hope he is praying for us.