Opening Prayer
If you like to use music in prayer, U2’s One might be an interesting spin on a musical reflection on the call to community, family & participation.
Loving God, you have set before us the greatest commandment which is to ‘love God with our heart, soul and mind, while loving our neighbor as ourselves.’ In so doing, we are invited more deeply into the love you have for us by reminding us that to our core, we are yours and we are tasked with the responsibility of bearing your image to the world specifically through our participation in the world. Give us courage, Lord.
In Jesus’ name.
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“If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”
― Lilla Watson
It is likely that if you have spent much time doing any kind of volunteer work, or mission work, you are familiar with this concept of not serving out of sympathy, but rather empathy. As Lilla Watson so aptly puts it, “help” is rarely the objective of those receiving aid, but mutual awareness of shared humanity and respect always is.
This practice goes by many names:
Two feet of love in action: Charity & Justice
Spiritual & Corporal Works of Mercy
Our actions are not intended to fit squarely on one side or the other, but to represent a healthy mix of both/and, motivated by a deep sense of shared humanity as opposed to ‘the way to help the less fortunate.’
‘Success’
Although I never was a PeaceCorps volunteer, I have always had a healthy respect for those who choose to spend a couple of years somewhere in the world, doing their level best to learn about a culture and leave a place a bit better for having been there. Consistently, however, I hear a theme from returned members that they did not serve in the way they anticipated. If they ‘succeeded’ at all, it is most often because they let the people they had gone to serve, lead.
Subsidiarity
Whether imagining a well, a school, a chicken farm, or women’s co-op, the local community likely offers the greatest level of expertise when it comes to what has/hasn’t worked in the past; or what would be of the most use in the future, as well as who needs to be pulled into the conversation to make it a success. This practice is subsidiarity in a nutshell—not just allowing for, but prioritizing the input of those most closely affected by an issue to have a hand in alleviating a condition or advancing a cause for change.
Wonderful video from a Journey of Generosity weekend on a little turning into enough.
This is the place where well-meaning missionary work/service work, as well as government aid, has historically gone astray. Widely implemented emergency fixes can become the foundation upon which vulnerable communities build their lives, never having had a say in its infrastructure, and long after those who implemented the fixes, were gone.
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
A community that operates on this principle is well-governed by acknowledging the most particular needs of a community in one area vary widely from another. Rural citizens, for example, have significantly fewer ballot initiatives related to access to homeless services, while urban areas should have a much louder voice related to public transit and affordable housing. One-size-fits-all policies rarely fit all and leave no room for the wisdom available in the room. This is easier to define in distinct geographic regions but can become slippery while addressing NIMBY (not in my backyard) issues when caring for my neighbor and my family might feel mutually exclusive.
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
The Church is not exempt from subsidiarity, either. When issues arise on a local level, the church is equipped to deal with issues on a local level. Of course, there are circumstances when a particular need requires and deserves ‘all hands on deck.’ Very often, however, disgruntled individuals (Catholics or not) take matters up not on the local level, but with the Bishop, Archbishop, or the public, to address a situation in a different jurisdiction entirely. Not only does this demonstrate a lack of personal investment in improving the community, but it also smacks of ‘one size fits all’ thinking at best, trolling at worst.
Desiring the good of another
If as Pope Emeritus Benedict suggests, that loving another requires us to ‘desire the good of another,’ then we likely have some work ahead of us. That work will likely mean the melding of our personal good and the good of the other, to not be mutually exclusive. The first, and most fruitful step in making this happen is to get to know people outside of our immediate neighborhood/parish/demographic/income bracket, etc. Our communities, after all, are wider than our block, our church, and our co-workers. We don’t have to travel the world to meet those who understand the world differently than we do.
Phenomenal interview with Daryl Davis, a black musician who has befriended hundreds of KKK members
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Questions for Reflection
- In what sphere do I/would I like to contribute to my community?
- Where have I/have I encountered an organization/city/culture where subsidiarity was inherently how people related to one another?
- Are there areas where caring for myself/my family feels mutually exclusive with willing the good of the other? Where?
- Do I have intentional relationships with those who experience the world from a differing perspective? If so, why so/If not, why not?
Closing Prayer
“We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become. If we love things, we become a thing. If we love nothing, we become nothing… This means we are to become vessels of God’s compassionate love for others.” –St. Clare of Assisi
May it be so. Amen.
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