Auden identifies our defenses as a “fort” that we have made as comfortable as possible in order to fend off our fears. The Advent season encourages us to resist denial and face our situation as it really is. It might be said of Advent that it is not for the faint of heart. To grasp the depth of the human predicament, one has to be willing to enter into the very worst. This is not the same thing as going to horror films, which are essentially entertainment. Entering
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