We should never despair, even in our darkest hours. We should remember that God shares our life, that through the Holy Spirit we can be on the most intimate terms with God and that He is always there, when outward pressure is at its worst, helping us to carry our burdens over the roughest places on our weary road. . . When faith wavers, hope disappears, love grows cold, adoration ceases, doubt nags and the whole life is shrouded like a winter landscape in snow, when hatred and arrogance predominate, life is mortally wounded. That is the time to get into reverse and let the Holy Spirit work from within, building up a new life. . .The Holy Spirit constantly helps me over my hurdles in the small hours.
– Father Alfred Delp

Father Alfred Delp was a German Jesuit priest who was arrested for being part of the Nazi Resistance. While in prison in Berlin, he wrote reflections on the holy season of Advent, Christmas, and other spiritual topics. The Gestapo offered him his freedom in return for leaving the Jesuit Order but he refused to do so. He was executed on February 2, 1945. His body was cremated and his ashes scattered over a sewage field, by order of the Nazis.