Solidarity is the social meaning of humility. Just as humility leads individuals to all other virtues, humility as solidarity is the foundation of a just society. In short, the standard of Christ today is downward mobility. That means entering the world of the poor, assuming their cause, and to some degree, their condition.
Solidarity shapes our lifestyle, which will depend on each one's vocation. Solidarity does not necessarily mean destitution. It has nothing to do with denying our training or neglecting our talents. Special obligations, for example, to family and benefactors, carry weight and deliberating about lifestyle. We should be aware of dogmatizing about having a car or a computer, about whether to say for old age, or where to educate our children. These are legitimate matters for discernment, but only for one-size-fits-all formulas.
At the same time, the objective criterion of our poverty is solidarity with the poor. We will feel uncomfortable with superfluities when poor friends lack essentials. Attachment to them will detach us from luxuries, and even necessities. As the New Testament and Christian tradition tell us, possessions are resources entrusted to us, to be administered for the good of all, especially those in need. This logic extends to other resources. What about pursuing higher education in a world of hunger? If we had that opportunity, then studying means storing up cultural capital to be administered later on behalf of those who need us.
How much should we have? Better to reframe the question: do we feel at home among the poor? Do they feel comfortable in our homes? Or do our furnishings and possessions make them feel like unimportant people?
Solidarity leads to sharing the obscurity, misunderstanding, and contempt experienced by the poor. Assuming their cause will most likely bring the world's ridicule and fury down on our heads. We might even feel left out if our friends suffer these things and we do not.
Dean Brackley, SJ, “The call to discernment in troubled times,” new perspectives on the transformative wisdom of Ignatius of Loyola.
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