Missionaries of the Sacred

Foster community

Solidarity comes from the recognition that we are all part of one, human family. One way to show solidarity with others is to strengthen our communities, including the sense of community within our own families and parishes as well as our local, national and international communities. Simple steps can go a long way towards fostering a sense of community. Some examples include eating meals together as a family, participating in parish events, inviting your new neighbors over for dinner and volunteering with a local organization.

Get involved in issues that don’t personally affect you

We tend to be much more involved in issues that directly affect us. While it is good to use our interest and enthusiasm for a particular issue to effect change, solidarity calls us to also get involved in issues that don’t necessarily affect us directly. For instance, perhaps a law is  being proposed that we disagree with, but we don’t take any further action because we don’t think it will negatively affect us. We can show  solidarity with those it would affect by taking further action, such as signing a petition or letting our representative know what we want changed.

Listen

Showing solidarity doesn’t necessarily mean solving someone’s problem. Sometimes what people need most is a loving listener. We are in solidarity with others when we take the time to listen to them and share in their experience, whether they are having a bad day, are facing  extraordinarily difficult circumstances and just need to vent, or simply want to share their good news and joy.