Exploring Catholic Social Teaching

HANDOUT D
Solidarity
Directions:
Read the information below. Then, after you have viewed the video clips, answer
the questions that follow.
God is a Trinity of Persons — the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit — who are
in an eternal exchange of love with each
other. The love of the Trinity is our model
for how human society should be. In fact,
society is part of human nature! From the
beginning God made us in community, as
male and female, so that we are not alone.
In this community we are then called to
imitate the love of God by loving and serving
each other. We often use the word society to
mean “American society” but the word itself
can mean any group of persons who belong
to something greater than any single one of
them. For example, people who belong to
a construction company were called on to
rebuild after the destruction of the World
Trade Center in New York City. They were
called to do something that was “bigger” than
they were. In fact, what they were called
to do was bigger than the sum of them as
well. When we come together for a mutual
goal, we can accomplish much more than
we could if we were alone. We are all called
to give to society in our own unique ways.
Everyone has special gifts and talents to offer.
Ideally, civil society (such as towns, states,
or nations) should develop virtuous qualities
in individuals that help them grow in selfinitiative
and responsibility. And all people
should work to advance the common good of
our human family.
All who follow Jesus are unified in a very
special society of friends in Christ. This
principle is called solidarity. Remember
that we are all members of Christ’s Body,
the Church. Like all the parts of a body
are connected, so too are all the members
of Christ’s body connected. We are called
to build up something greater than all of
us — Christ’s Kingdom on earth. We practice
solidarity when we bear each other’s
sufferings, and when we make sure that
material things, like food, clothing, and other
resources, are distributed justly. Workers
practice solidarity by doing an honest day’s
work. Employers practice solidarity by paying
a just wage. Peace in the world depends on
us all being in solidarity with our Christian
brothers and sisters in other countries. Even
more importantly, we all practice solidarity
when we share spiritual goods, like prayers
and penance. Christ offered Himself as a
sacrifice for all of our sins. We can make
sacrifices and offer prayers to help our fellow
Christians, including the souls in purgatory.
We can ask the saints in Heaven to pray for us.
104
© SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS