Pandemic Solidarity: What the Church Teaches Us

“Let your old age be childlike, and your childhood like old age; that is, so that neither may your wisdom be with pride, nor your humility without wisdom” (St. Augustine).

Interpersonal wounds, as well as societal and economic ache, seems to be our collective theme over the past few months. It struck me recently that I didn’t truly understand what the word “solidarity” meant, although I keep hearing it used.

The dictionary definitions I saw did not fully allude to what I believed the word actually meant. According to Merriam-Webster, solidarity means “unity (as of a group or class) that produces or is based on community of interests, objectives, and standards.” According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it means “unity or agreement of feeling or action, especially among individuals with a common interest; mutual support within a group.”

Let’s simplify the secular definition of solidarity to be “unity in values and support.” Fortunately, our Catechism goes deeper and, perhaps gives us some guidance for opening up to our community in Christ, despite our isolation and personal dispositions. Its teachings can spill out into our business decisions and help shape gratitude for the workers we count on.

Pairing these catechismal realities with the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1 can also guide us as we take on spiritual intimacy in these times of increased solitude for many.  As Pope St. John Paul II said, “St. Joseph was a ‘just man,’ a tireless worker, the upright guardian of those entrusted to his care. May he always guard, protect and enlighten families” (“Familiaris Consortio”).

Sisterhood

Have you ever thought, “What could I possibly have in common with this or that specific career path?” Have you ever written someone off for not sharing your specific gifts and interests? Shamefully, these behaviors have been easier for me than ever before during this time of isolation.

On the media, we see journalists, we see nurses on the news, and we see the art created with spare time during quarantine, but we don’t see the mothers helping their kids with homework, the women taking up new jobs to support their families, the difficulty of filing for unemployment, the tears shed in frustration and grief, or the physical manifestations of increased stress (for example, high blood pressure, infertility, or the flaring up of substance abuse or eating disorders).

Working in health care response and planning, I seem to be in a hidden part of this crisis. Not only is it hard to talk about, but it’s not visible until — and if — its guidance is on widely published formats on federal government or health system websites. Yet, millions heed these guidelines.

Each of us has a laundry list of reasons why our mission feels different than other women’s. We may also feel divided in terms of life stages and even polarized due to life experiences ... but are our struggles truly that different in causation or in expression? The Catechism states, “The principle of solidarity, also articulated in terms of ‘friendship’ or ‘social charity,’ is a direct demand for human and Christian brotherhood” (1939).

Solidarity can be a nod to the fragility of life from someone like you or someone not like you at all. A quiet prayer for times of frustration may be as easy as:

Sister, I see your work, I acknowledge the limitations of my understanding, and I will place empathy before judgment.

Economy and Politics

Have you heard Alicia Keys’ new song “Good Job”? I had tears and goosebumps for all of the people who came to mind as the lyrics unfolded, commending everyone for continuing on despite significant business and lifestyle changes. The song seems to draw out the resolve for continuation of work despite hard economic times and widespread sickness. Here, this message of “good job” seems to apply to everyone — whether you are a stay-at-home mother, doctor, mail attendant, or delivery woman,  you are doing a “good job” just by doing. When the music stopped, I thought of how unfair it seems that some people’s good jobs put them at risk of economic collapse or illness.

This song is popular because it gives us some degree of solidarity, and as the Catechism states, “Socio-economic problems can be resolved only with the help of all the forms of solidarity: solidarity of the poor among themselves, between rich and poor, or works among themselves, between employers and employees in a business, solidarity among nations and peoples. Internationally solidarity is a requirement of the moral order; world peace depends in part one this” (1941).

Our resolve for peace and hope for prosperous times seem to rest on caring for one another.

The Church

“The virtue of solidarity goes beyond material goods,” the Catechism continues. “In spreading the spiritual goods for the faith, the Church has promoted, and often opened new paths for, the development of temporal goods as well. And so throughout the centuries has the Lord’s saying been verified: ‘Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well’” (1942).

In the absence of Mass and the sacraments for many laypeople, how do the “spiritual goods for the faith” go on? Here, I’d like to cite the hope that ensued this Easter, despite our circumstances; the fruits of prayer; and, perhaps, increased serious discernment during this time. We may feel hungry without the sacraments, but the Church still lives on. We are forced to turn to new ways to find our community and foster the Church, from our own prayer corners to YouTube or Facebook Live Mass streaming.

Communion of Love and Distribution of Goods and Work

“Solidarity is manifested in the first place by the distribution of goods and remuneration for work. It also proposes the effort for a more just and social order where tensions are better able to be reduced and conflicts settled by negotiation” (1940).

The theological virtues position love as similar in meaning and concurrent with charity. We have seen charity by means of mask-makers and donors, supporters of small businesses, and friends who offer dinner for loved ones who lost jobs or have a sick relative.

How often a simple gift means so much to a friend or a community! A large family whose breadwinner is out of a job recently had an unexpected knock at its front door. It was a policeman with an envelope full of gift cards from an anonymous donor.  This gesture was private, and it was an act of true charity from a humble giver.

This Easter season, we can remember Jesus’ sacrifice and know His hope is here and now, despite our aches, and within the details of stories that only He knows. He is making us new. Let us use this lesson in solidarity to carry us forward.

Molly Franzonello is a new wife and health care systems innovator in Washington, D.C. When not driving all over the metropolitan area to see “her people,” you can find her reading, writing, podcasting, or staycationing at her favorite spots in the District.