Opening Prayer: 

If you like to use music in prayer, I might suggest Whatsoever You Do as a beautiful reflection by Fr. Bill Jabusch about solidarity.

Questions for reflection-

-What is your initial understanding of the term solidarity? How is it generally employed? With what do you associate it? How would you describe it for your seven-year-old nephew?

-What rings true for you in either the song lyrics or the notion that all people reflect back to us the goodness of the Creator? Has it/how has it informed your interactions with others?

-On the whole, do you associate it with matters of faith? If so, where did that begin? If not, why not?

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Loving God, in the vast network of the human family You remind us that each individual reveals something to the world about Yourself. In our rootedness as image-bearers, guide us to be people of intention and integrity; honoring the whole of the persons we come to know. To move beyond treating others as we want to be treated, into a space that in our encounters with the whole human race, we are graced to encounter You, too. Would that that reality characterize the way we engage the world around us and establish us as a tender and compassionate people. Amen.

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“Live simply, so others may simply live.”

Excellent video

Solidarity

If this topic reminds you of Matthew 25: 35-46, where we began our discussion of human dignity, it should. Solidarity is based on the idea that every person is made in the image and likeness of God, and that their inherent dignity is respected in the way that they are treated. As Saint Paul describes, the pain, as well as the rejoicing of our brothers and sisters, is shared by all, as parts of the whole–members of the body of Christ.

More than other principles of Catholic Social Teaching, Solidarity is often met with resistance because ‘downward mobility’ is so counter-cultural to us that it is nearly foreign. To sacrifice our comfort by way of financially investing in a product that is ethically or sustainably made, voting on a law that might invite families of lower socio-economic means to live closer to my home, shopping locally or second-hand so that small business owners and charities profit rather than consuming the convenience of big businesses–each asks something of us, but is offered for the good of another. This is the premise of solidarity.

So it is with these ideas in mind that we hear from holy men and women about our moments of decision/indecision and the intentionality with which we make those decisions, that we can see, informing our lives of faith as well. These choices can tend toward a sacrificial nature, and it is little wonder that by making decisions that they bring us closer to the heart of God whose earthly ministry was very much amongst those on the margins.

It is imperative that no one…indulge in a merely individualistic morality. The best way to fulfill one’s obligations of justice and love is to contribute to the common good according to one’s means and the needs of others, and also to promote and help public and private organizations devoted to bettering the conditions of life.

Gaudium et Spes (“The Church in the Modern World”), Vatican II, 1965 #30.

But I am sure that God did not intend that there be so many poor. The class structure is of our making and our consent, not His. It is the way we have arranged it, and it is up to us to change it. -Dorothy Day

The poor are your masters and you will find them terribly exacting masters. So the more unattractive and dirty they are, the more rude and unfair they are, the more you must lavish your love upon them. It is only by feeling you love that the poor will forgive you your gifts of bread.” -St. Vincent de Paul

Particularly because we have become accustomed to a very privatized form of faith, whereby my prayer, my relationship with the Lord is my own, this more public aspect of Catholic Social Teaching can push our comfort zones more than a little. Many are familiar with the story of the boy who is afraid in the dark at bedtime. Even after being reassured by his mother that God is with him, he replied sincerely that he needed a ‘God with skin on.’

Think of solidarity as human dignity ‘with skin on.’ It is important that all of us, particularly those on the margins, and those who are suffering, know and believe that God is with them and gives them their dignity; and acts of solidarity are means of showing the Good News–God with skin on, alive and acting on their behalf in a world that feels isolating and frightening.

This is what it means to be functioning members of the body of Christ: To show up with the God-given gift that only we can offer.

Solidarity is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all. -St. Pope John Paul II

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At another level, the roots of the contradiction between the solemn affirmation of human rights and their tragic denial in practice lies in a notion of freedom which exalts the isolated individual in an absolute way, and gives no place to solidarity, to openness to others, and service of them. . . It is precisely in this sense that Cain’s answer to the Lord’s question: “Where is Abel your brother?” can be interpreted: “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen 4:9). Yes, every man is his “brother’s keeper”, because God entrusts us to one another. (St. John Paul II, The Gospel of Life [Evangelium Vitae], no. 19).

Individual citizens and intermediate groups are obliged to make their specific contributions to the common welfare. One of the chief consequences of this is that they must bring their own interests into harmony with the needs of the community, and must contribute their goods and their services as civil authorities have prescribed, in accord with the norms of justice and within the limits of their competence. –Pacem in Terris (“Peace on Earth”), Pope John XXIII, 1963#53.

The bread which you hold back belongs to the hungry; the coat, which you guard in your locked storage chests, belongs to the naked; the footwear moldering in your closet belongs to those without shoes. The silver that you keep hidden in a safe place belongs to the one in need. Thus, however many are those whom you could have provided for, so many are those whom you wrong. -St. Basil the Great

Questions for Reflection:

-In what ways can I concretely imagine my attempts to live simply as a means of offering life to those who are marginalized? Is this a compelling reason for change?

-Can you think of an example(s) of when Jesus acted in solidarity with those on the margins?

-Is solidarity an aspect of your personal faith life that you have examined before now?

-Why do you think solidarity is included among the seven tenets of Catholic Social Teaching? What do the faithful/marginalized stand to gain from its inclusion?

-Can you think of specific individuals who model solidarity for you?

*Be on the lookout in the coming weeks for opportunities to act in solidarity in your own sphere of influence.

Closing prayer

Word made flesh, Your dwelling among us is itself an act of solidarity. Guide us to imitate the example you gave us in Jesus. Would that our gifts of self be offered as gifts to You for the good of the other, that we would enter into the places where suffering exists that we might rejoice with one another as You would have us do. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The post Solidarity, part I appeared first on Unexpected Honey.

Opening Prayer:

If you like to use music in prayer, I suggest this song as a beautiful meditation on inviting God to work through our efforts:

He Is Among Us, by the Porter’s Gate. *Based on Matthew 25: 31-46

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous^* will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you? And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Questions for reflection-

-How does this song/this verse challenge or inspire you to see daily encounters as opportunities for deep reverence?

-How have I come to understand human dignity?

-How do I embrace my own dignity? The dignity of others?

-Who have you seen do this particularly well?

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Word made flesh; You dignify our being to the core of who we are. Not only did you take on flesh, but in-spired, breathed into our very souls that we could love like you. Continue to breathe Your Spirit into us that our words and actions would serve as a reminder of your presence on Earth.

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Life & Dignity of the Human Person:

Like so many words whose definitions can take on a meaning of their own over time, dignity is among them. It’s important to note that dignity means a number of things to a vast number of people, but for our purposes, the working definition as prescribed by the Church (and most Abrahamic traditions) is that the human person is made in the image and likeness of God. This belief reinforces that each individual person is a deliberate act of God’s creative love.

“The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. This belief is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching.” –United States Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

Whatever  insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary  imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and  children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where men are treated as mere tools for profit, rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and others of their like are  infamies indeed. They poison human society, but they do more harm to those who practice them than those who suffer from the injury. (Second Vatican Council, The Church in the Modern World [Gaudium et Spes], no. 27)

In the beginning

Very much as it sounds, this facet of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) holds firmly to the belief in the tremendous worth and dignity of every single person from conception to natural death. It is impossible to overstate the enormity of this principal. The foundation of this tenant can be found scripturally in the book of Genesis in both of the creation narratives:

Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth. God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis (1: 26-27)

In the second creation narrative, God breaths the breath of life into Adam’s nostrils, thus filling the human species in a way that no other part of creation is formed: With the breath, the Spirit of God. In-spired, we believe that we are literally animated by the breath of God.

Then the LORD God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

Therefore, to honor our God-given dignity we must live in such a way that allows the individual to thrive within their circumstances, and to advocate for the flourishing of others.

Excellent video

Image-bearers

From its very inception, and in a particular way, humanity is identified as being made in God’s image and likeness, the imago Dei. This is why we can say with confidence that as soon as a soul is created, God has already breathed life into that individual and given autonomy to them. One of my favorite descriptions for humanity in light of this reality is as ‘image bearers.’ I find this such a helpful reminder each time I hear it.

Exercise:

The next time someone cuts you off in traffic or makes you angry at work, rather than using any number of words to describe them, insert the words: Image bearer. See if it isn’t infinitely more difficult to hold onto a grudge or an accusation when we remind ourselves that “that image bearer just cut me off!”

You might try the same exercise while reading the news: “4 Image Bearers died in drive-by shooting earlier today.” “One image bearer executed in a Texas prison late last night after serving 27 years”. “Colorado unanimously passes law that image bearers can abort image bearers up to 32 weeks gestation.” “Image bearer killed by image bearer at routine traffic stop.”

How very important it is then, to live up to our God-given dignity and appropriately address our fellow image bearers. This language commands a different respect than words that obscure our dignity (‘the homeless,’ ‘the criminal,’ the medically fragile,’ ‘product of conception,’ ‘vegetable,’ ‘the right,’ ‘the left’….and any number of other slurs not fit for print). Perhaps this is the root of the cultural communication impasse we find ourselves in at this time in history; A refusal to acknowledge the dignity of every human life, without exception.

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“When we fail to acknowledge as part of reality the worth of a poor person, a human embryo, a person with disabilities-to offer just a few examples-it becomes difficult to hear the cry of nature itself; everything is connected.” -Pope Francis, On Care for Our Common Home (Laudato Si), 117.

All human beings, therefore, are ends to be served by the institutions that make up  the economy, not means to be exploited for more narrowly defined goals. Human personhood must be respected with a reverence that is religious. When we deal with each other, we should do so with the sense of awe that arises in the presence of something holy and sacred. For that is what human beings are: we are created in the image of God (Gn 1:27). (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Economic Justice for All, no. 28)

Any human society, if it is to be well-ordered and productive, must lay down as a foundation this principle, namely, that every human being is a person, that is, his nature is endowed with intelligence and free will. Indeed, precisely because he is a person he has rights and obligations flowing directly and simultaneously from his very nature.

Pacem in Terris (“Peace on Earth”), Pope John XXIII, 1963, #9.

We do not work toward these goals to ‘follow the rules,’ to be ‘good people,’ or to be ‘politically correct,’ we do it as a reflection and reverence for all of whom God put here on this planet at the same time in history. We are inseparable from our identity as children of God. It all stems from the same foundational and Scriptural concept. We will find this theme again and again:

Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous^* will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ –Matthew 25:34-40

That in our service toward others, our concern for those with less (money, shelter, physical ability, intellectual capacity, etc), we simultaneously take part in ministering to Christ is a distinctly Christian inclination—no other religion dares to presume God’s embodiedness in quite the same way. And the imago Dei is the reason we can confidently proclaim this reality.

Questions for Reflection:

• What about these themes around human dignity sounded familiar? Were any unfamiliar?
• If CST can still be called the ‘best kept secret in the Catholic Church,’ what do you imagine would surprise anyone hearing it for the first time today? Were you surprised by anything?
• Does this understanding of dignity change the way you expect to be treated by others, or the way you treat others?
• What resonated with you most deeply?

Closing prayer

Word Made Flesh, we give thanks for having been fashioned with such great love, that to be known in the world is to be associated with you, Creator of heaven and earth. Continue to guide us to be men and women who see the world as gift poured out and filled with your Spirit. Give us courage to acknowledge the dignity of every human person, even when that means beginning with ourselves.

We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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