Solidarity

Friends, I have been voraciously consuming all the good news I can lately. I am reading sappy stories on my social media feeds, listening to This American Life stories that I love and looking forward to any happy or touching stories at the end of the nightly news. I can’t get enough.

I know it’s due to the fact that so much has been tough lately and hard to grasp like the storms in Texas with people dying in their homes, without food, heat or water. It’s the lack of equity with health care and vaccine availability. Those good news pieces heal some of the woundedness I am feeling. You might be feeling the same way.

There was a time during the early months of the pandemic that a little project became a hit - Some Good News with John Krasinski. He was narrating happy events or feel good accounts of people doing good things. I miss that! I really think these stories are meant to be catalysts for us. They are here to remind us of the good in the world. And that ordinary people can do extraordinary things when the opportunity arises.

There are opportunities for each of us today. When I teach about hospitality and welcome, I talk about the practice of noticing - seeing what’s around us and paying attention. It is here that God gives us opportunities to be extraordinary. It’s our mission should we decide to accept.

Hospitality is a discipline or a practice that we get better at every time we try it out. We may feel awkward saying hello to a stranger or offering to help someone we don’t know in the grocery store. We might feel like it’s a little too late to start doing nice things for our neighbors if we haven’t done it before. But sharing that batch of cookies is never a bad idea and no matter what - always welcome.

When we open our eyes and notice the needs around us it takes us deeper into what it means to be a disciple. This outreach to others to ease their pain, comfort a loss, feed a hunger - can only be possible with the idea of solidarity. Solidarity is putting yourself in someone’s shoes for a time, feeling what they feel and encountering what they do regularly. When we practice this - it closes gaps, lessens divides, makes us vulnerable and more willing to look deeply in our hearts and grow in our desire to heal, connect, make right, serve, advocate and accompany.

I invite you to take time this week to notice those around you - at home, work, in public - wherever. Look with eyes of service and a goal of solidarity. Ask what needs you have noticed and make a plan to do something to meet those needs. Often it’s our time or attention that’s needed. Other times it may be our help, a meal, helping to care for an elder, babysitting, feeding or walking a dog or helping with school work, yard work or running errands.

Solidarity is a principle of Catholic social teaching. It helps us discover that we have more in common with others than we ever imagined. It is a work in progress for our church and for each of us, reminding us to be inclusive, welcoming, inviting and willing to offer the kind of hospitality that the Good Samaritan offered the stranger on the road. In practicing solidarity and hospitality God reveals so much to us and we find our faith grows stronger and deeper. If you have time this week too and would like to learn more about solidarity - check out CST 101 videos on YouTube created by Catholic Relief Services. They are beautiful and challenging. Oh, and by the way, we have free social media posts for you to use on our website in the store. Feel free to download and share!

Blessings on the week ahead,

Jane