Best Countries for Catholic Families

[jtauke]

On a whole, I fail to see what positive change you can affect by running from your country of origin…

 

[mathematoons]

One more thought I had: I think this whole thing about running from anti-Catholic countries to Catholic ones (if such a thing even exists anymore) is really about not wanting to suffer. This is not a good Catholic attitude.

Here is an excerpt from The Sinner’s Guide worth reflecting on (Chapter 42, Section X):

SECTION X

Patience in Afflictions

To arrive at perfect obedience to God’s will, there is no more efficacious means than patience under sufferings of every kind. “My son,” says Solomon, “reject not the correction of the Lord, and do not faint when thou art chastised by him; for whom the Lord loveth he chastiseth, and as a father in the son he pleaseth himself.” (Prov. 3:11-12).

St. Paul quotes these words and develops them at considerable length in his Epistle to the Hebrews: “Persevere,” he says, “under discipline. God dealeth with you as with his sons, for what son is there whom the father doth not correct? But if you be without chastisement, whereof all are made partakers, then are you bastards, and not sons. Moreover, we have had fathers of our flesh for instructors, and we reverenced them. Shall we not much more obey the Father of spirits, and live?” (Heb. 12:7-9).

Since, then, it is the duty of a good father to correct and reprove his children, it is the duty of a good son patiently to endure the correction and accept it as a proof of love, This is the lesson which the Son of the Eternal Father taught when He said to St. Peter, “The chalice which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” (Jn. 18:11). Were the chalice of suffering offered us by another hand we might with reason refuse it; but the knowledge that it is sent by the wisest and tenderest of Fathers should suffice to make us accept it without hesitation.

…

Remember that the sufferings of this life bear no proportion to the rewards of the next. The happiness of Heaven is so great, so unspeakable, that we would gladly purchase one hour of its enjoyment by the sacrifice of all earthly pleasures and by the endurance of all earthly sorrows. …

Consider also the different effects of prosperity and adversity. The former inflates us with pride; the latter humbles and purifies us. In prosperity we often forget to whom we owe all that we are; but adversity usually brings us to the feet of our Creator. Prosperity often causes us to lose the fruits of our best actions; but adversity enables us to expiate our past failings, and preserves us against future relapses. If you are afflicted by sickness, consider that God has doubtless permitted this to preserve you from the abuse you might have made of your health; for it is better to languish under bodily sufferings than gradually to destroy the life of the soul by sin.

…

Behold how carefully God guards you, that you may not abandon yourself to your evil inclinations. When a physician finds the condition of his patient hopeless he indulges him in all his caprices, but while there is any hope of recovery he rigidly restricts him to a certain diet and forbids him all that could aggravate his malady. In like manner, parents refuse their children the money they have accumulated only for them when they find they are squandering it in play and riotous living. Thus are we treated by God, the sovereign Physician and most loving Father of us all, when He sends us trials and privations.

Consider also the sufferings which Our Saviour endured from creatures. … How, then, can you, a vile worm of the earth, presume to complain of sufferings which you have justly merited by your sins – those sins for which the spotless Lamb of God was immolated? …

Moreover, let me appeal to your self-interest. Will you not at least make a virtue out of necessity? You must suffer. You cannot escape it, for it is a law of your nature. Can you resist the almighty power of God when He is pleased to send you afflictions? Knowing these truths, and knowing that your sins deserve more than you can bear, why will you struggle against your trials? Why not bear them patiently, and thus atone for your sins and merit many graces? Is it not madness to try to escape them, and thereby lose the blessings they can give, receiving instead a weight of impatience and misery which only adds to the load you must carry? Stand prepared, then, for tribulations, for what can you expect from a corrupt world, from a frail flesh, from the envy of devils, and from the malice of men, but contradictions and persecutions?

…

To do good and to suffer are, according to St. Bernard, the duties of the Christian life. The latter is the more difficult. Prepare yourself, then, to fulfill it with courage.

Let us observe, in conclusion, that theologians distinguish three degrees in this virtue. The first consists in patiently bearing afflictions; the second in desiring to suffer for the love of God; and the third in rejoicing to suffer for the same motive. In the patience of Job we find an example of the first degree. The ardent desire of the martyrs to suffer for Christ affords us proof of the second. The joy which filled the hearts of the Apostles because they were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Christ is a bright example of the third. (Cf. Acts 5:41). St. Paul had attained this sublime height when he gloried in his tribulations. (Cf. Rom. 5:3). In this he was nobly followed by many of the early Christians, as we learn from his Epistle to the Corinthians, whom he tells of the grace given to the Macedonians which caused them to experience abundance of joy in much tribulation. (Cf. 2Cor. 8:2). This is the highest degree of virtue, but it is not commanded us.

A faithful servant of Christ will not, however, rest satisfied with the first degree, but will strive unceasingly to reach the second and even the third.

 

[mahalia]

My country is 90% Catholic but we still have to face challenges of today’s relativism and aggressive secularism… Things that have been happening in western Europe seemed unbelievable to us until a few years ago (same-sex marriage, surrogacy, aggressive LGBTQ activism, rejection of Christian roots…) but it’s all coming to us…
I think you should stay where you are and be a soldier of Christ, but if you are really thinking of leaving to a more Catholic place, in Europe there are still a few Catholic countries: Slovakia, Poland and Croatia… maybe Italy… and that’s about it.
I love the fact that I live in a place where there is a Catholic church every 500 meters and every little village has a Catholic parish…and that our prime minister goes to church… but there is no place in the world where you can find Heaven. It’s supposed to come after this world

 

[anon67074017]

My country is 90% Catholic but we still have to face challenges of today’s relativism and aggressive secularism… Things that have been happening in western Europe seemed unbelievable to us until a few years ago (same-sex marriage, surrogacy, aggressive LGBTQ activism, rejection of Christian roots…) but it’s all coming to us…
I think you should stay where you are and be a soldier of Christ, but if you are really thinking of leaving to a more Catholic place, in Europe there are still a few Catholic countries: Slovakia, Poland and Croatia… maybe Italy… and that’s about it.
I love the fact that I live in a place where there is a Catholic church every 500 meters and every little village has a Catholic parish…and that our prime minister goes to church… but there is no place in the world where you can find Heaven. It’s supposed to come after this world

You are from the former communist Yugoslavia. Atheism was promoted during those days. It is nice to see that your country recovered.