The song of the catacombs

I once wrote about the courtyard you should set up for yourself. In 2018 I wrote about it, and again in 2020.

You told me that you set up your courtyard, and how you did it. Both the material courtyard and the spiritual one. Together, the courtyards should serve the purpose of not going mad from the madness of the times.

To squeeze some joy out of life, like juice from a lemon, and not to be robbed of that very life by the madmen before your time.

It is now late 2025. Do you have your courtyard? Or did it not work out? Or did you have a courtyard and lose it?

Back to the catacombs

You know them, those quotes whose original author cannot be definitively proven, yet they circulate because their content is important and true. (It’s an interesting tradition that has existed for thousands of years.)

One such quote is:

The day the Church abandons its universal language [meaning: Latin] is the day before it returns to the catacombs. (attributed to Pope Pius XII)

No, there is no evidence that he actually said it. Does it really fit? Pope Pius XII is the author of the encyclical Mediator Dei. One can read Mediator Dei as a defense of tradition. (A cynic might read Mediator Dei as the first opening of the floodgates through which, a decade and a half later, Vatican II broke in.)

It brings to mind the parable of the camel and the tent. At first, the liturgy in the vernacular only wanted to be also accepted. Then some confused people celebrated with clowns, others with sodomy flags. Then the Pope himself turned against tradition, and even after the death of Francis, the Mass of the Saints is persecuted and pushed aside (see for example Charlotte, USA).

Signaling right, turning left

Some had hoped that with Pope Leo XIV, a fully Catholic pope would once again occupy the Chair of Peter. Unfortunately, the new pope is increasingly coming across like a CSU politician: signaling right, turning left.

Certainly, Leo XIV wears dignified vestments again and sometimes prays in Latin. But the perceived persecution of traditional Catholics—which he could end with one phone call—sadly continues and is getting worse in some places. (The fact that one traditional Mass was recently celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica does not ease the pain locally—quite the opposite.)

Yesterday, during a climate event at Castel Gandolfo, the pope blessed a block of ice. (When the ice melts, will the blessing turn it into holy water?)

And he also implied that measures against illegal mass migration are almost as bad as the mass murder of unborn life. Some American bishops expressed a certain irritation about the pope’s statements (see for example @BishStrick, 01.10.2025).

One sighs. And one wonders whether Google Maps can calculate the fastest route to the nearest catacombs if that soon becomes necessary.

Some mills grind slowly

You don’t have to be a devout churchgoer to understand that Christian tradition is the backbone of the Church and the moral and cultural backbone of the entire West.

Please don’t believe for a second that if the West were to morally fall for good, anyone in Asia, Africa, or the Arab world would take over.

Those cultures want power—and nothing else. Only the West was „foolish enough“ to seek the good of the entire world and all people.

Nervous minds whisper that the Freemasons have occupied the Vatican and are dragging it down into the abyss of so-called Enlightenment. Do Freemasons actually worship blocks of ice? Be that as it may, it was the Christian West that, together with the Freemason Goethe, can sing:

From the source to the sea
Many a mill grinds,
And the good of the whole world
Is what I aim for.
(Goethe: Table Song; Conclusion)

Yes, Germany has now gone mad with its helper complex. At the latest, when billions of euros are thrown away on „climate projects“ (read: open corruption) around the world and unqualified young men are flown in from Africa by the planeload, while care for the elderly and dental care for children at home are being cut, the love for distant others has clearly gone too far.

But the suicidal German madness does not change the fact that only the West feels morally and practically committed to the entire world. Formerly „colonized“ countries still benefit from the improvements made by the West back then. The West has made (and still makes) an impact.

Soon private and secret

Christians are no different from some of those nations that claim to be Christian (and increasingly, with just as little right, claim to be „democratic“): The dangers from outside would be easier to withstand if it weren’t for the questionable nature of their own top personnel.

You may have settled into your „inner courtyard,“ but you know: If even a single critical opinion gets out, the state could soon be at your door early in the morning, ready for a punitive house search.

Not only traditional Christians should consider the concept of catacombs in their thoughts. Every person with reason and conscience will soon have to exercise that reason and conscience privately and secretly. In a sense, in the catacombs of their soul.

Not publicly advertised

Since Pope Francis‘ letter Traditionis custodes, traditional Catholics have had to meet semi-secretly for the traditional Mass. Traditional Masses must be approved—“woke“ bishops are not fond of tradition—and they may not be publicly advertised. From the outside, people think the Church is oh-so-traditional, but inside, tradition is often suppressed—some say: persecuted.

In Germany, non-leftist political thinkers must meet in secret, otherwise they risk attacks by Antifa thugs. Specific event locations are often announced only shortly beforehand, in the hope of making infiltration by state-funded „NGOs“ more difficult. It is said that NGOs sometimes send in their own people, who then—without evidence but with propaganda support—spread false stories about the supposedly terrible goings-on at such „secret meetings“.

Who listens to me

Both traditional Christians worldwide and „ordinary“ thinking people in Germany are already on their way „into the catacombs.“

Those who listened to me when I advised setting up their own courtyard have lived a bit more peacefully in recent years. They preserved a little more freedom for themselves.

Today, I advise occasionally considering the catacombs. If you also listen to me there, your soul and your conscience, if you have them, will survive the coming years with less pain.

Because, of course, you are not really listening to me. We are merely putting into words what the times are actually telling everyone who is willing to listen to the signs of these times.

Not everything was bad, and not everything will be bad. I am confident that in the catacombs, one can both philosophize and celebrate worship together.

So: duck your head when you enter the catacombs—and then hold your head high!