day no. 17,309: loyal sons and lifeless systems

"It is not the barbarians at the gates that worry me; it is the traitors within. Those who forget their Faith, who scoff at their history, and who welcome the enemies of Christ with open arms. These are the ones who will bring down Christendom, brick by brick." — Hilaire Belloc

Christendom can only be defeated by forfeit. The gates of Hell cannot prevail against the advance of the kingdom of Christ. The only way for the enemy to advance is for the friends of God to retreat. When Christian men take a stand, they cannot be moved. When the Church Militant marches on, the enemies of Christ are trampled underfoot (Rom. 16:20). 

Men are better than gates. Loyal sons hold off the barbarian hoards better than lifeless structures and systems. A good man is better than a good gate, but bad men are worse no gate at all. Men broken into by the spirit of compromise and cowardice are like a city without walls and broken into. Christendom cannot be taken down from without by the world, but it can be given up from within by compromise.