Catholic Social Teaching: Solidarity

TL;DR: Solidarity=working for common good based on common humanity.


     As we dive into 2026, we continue our series on Catholic Social Teaching by explaining another foundational principle called solidarity. Unlike subsidiarity, most people think they have a definition of solidarity: a sense of compassion or feeling bad for someone struggling. Yet we’ll discover that the Church’s vision for solidarity goes far beyond the realm of feelings to the realm of action.


     Solidarity is a moral virtue, meaning it’s a good action done repeatedly and developed as a habit. What is the good action? As St. John Paul II explains, “it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good” (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis 38). The principle of solidarity is grounded in our belief that each person (regardless of differences) is a member of the human race, made in the image and likeness of the same God. As fundamentally social creatures, we depend on one another for countless things. If you recall, the common good are the preconditions in society that help people thrive: access to basic necessities of life (food, housing, healthcare, education, transportation, communication), a sound juridical and political order, peace and security, and environmental stewardship.


     What gets in the way of the common good? The Church defines these obstacles as ‘structures of sins’. They are not reducible to an individual’s personal sins but act like a societal poison. The cycle of extreme poverty traps everyone except the extremely tenacious or the extremely lucky. Systems of injustice repeatedly belittle victims and ‘stack the deck’ against them. For many red-blooded Americans who have an entrepreneurial spirit, this theory of systemic sin seems wrong. Just work hard, pay your dues, and eventually you’ll achieve success, right? One thing is clear: Jesus Christ did not share this perspective on suffering. By becoming human, Christ united himself with all of humanity, especially those who suffer. He neither blamed the blind man (try harder) or his parents (raise him better) for his infirmity (Jn. 9:3). He constantly broke down obstacles to social integration through his healings. The disabled lived among the able, the sick among the healthy, the outcasts among the mainstream because of him. Jesus calls all his followers in every age to see his face in the “least of my brethren” (Mt. 25:31-46). Putting solidarity into practice means working habitually to improve the lives of others by pursuing the common good in Jesus’ name.


      So how can we live out solidarity in practical ways? Material support, advocacy, and friendship. Supporting our new twinning partnership with St. Michael Charanga in Kenya was an excellent demonstration that Catholics in Kenya are part of our family and need access to key resources to thrive. Donating to the Bakhita House back in the spring achieved a similar goal. Beyond donations, advocating for the marginalized and the unloved is a powerful form of solidarity through ministries like Thrive For Life (convict rehabilitation) or Voices for Justice (legislative advocacy for children, families, and the poor). Finally, befriending the marginalized in whatever form (the working poor, the disabled, cultural or racial minorities) tangibly demonstrates the love of Christ in solidarity. We are one human race, and Christ’s solidarity with us must overflow into our determined pursuit of the common good for others.

     -Fr. Stephen


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Fr Stephen's Blog

Are New Year's Resolutions Helpful? Why?

By Mary Peterson • December 18, 2025
Are New Year’s Resolutions Helpful? Why? First, a word of immense thanks for the many volunteers who have helped to make this Advent and Christmas season prayerful, generous, and life-giving! From those who helped coordinate the Advent series to the Family Life Center to liturgical ministers of all varieties and Buildings and Grounds, everyone has pitched in generously and selflessly. May the Christmas season be a time of peace and goodwill for you and your families! Switching gears, with New Year’s this week I wanted to reflect for a moment on the common modern practice of New Year’s resolutions. Are they helpful tools for self-improvement or wasted effort? Doing so brings us to the heart of Catholic liturgical and moral theology and the topic of worship and habits. New Year’s resolutions (though not in name) have existed for 4000 years. Both Babylonians and Romans made solemn promises to their gods at the start of the new year, often repaying debts and returning borrowed farm equipment to get in their good graces. By making these sacrifices each year, pagans who knew little to nothing of the God of Israel understood that divine powers ruled their world and rewarded pious and just behavior. Early Christianity generally condemned the Roman New Year (January 1st) as a day of debauchery and excess. Their new year began with Advent and included periods of fasting, increased prayer, and moral conversion in preparation for Christmas. These penitential phases like Advent and Lent built on Christians’ existing daily and weekly practices like prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and Sunday worship. When the Empire adopted Christianity (or Christianity co-opted the Empire), the Church shifted the meaning of January 1st away from pagan excess and toward the Circumcision of Christ. This feast, celebrated eight days after Christmas, commemorated Jesus’ humanity, the first shedding of his blood, and his naming, connecting it to themes of spiritual rebirth and new beginnings. Tweaking the themes of the Roman New Year allowed Christians to live in the two calendars simultaneously, the Julian calendar for public events and the liturgical calendar for their worship.  So, after that ‘brief’ history, what’s your take on New Year’s resolutions, Fr. Stephen? Briefly again, while ancient and Christian practices surrounding the New Year emphasized worship of God (or the gods), most modern resolutions focus entirely on self and its improvement. More fitness, saving money, learning a new skill, you get the picture. These desires are the vestiges of Christian moral teaching on the importance of growing in virtue by repeated habitual actions toward that virtue. To become more temperate (moderation toward earthly pleasures), we must practice repeatedly denying ourselves the piece of cake, the TV show, the nightcap. To grow in prudence (right reason in action), we must practice prudent decision-making repeatedly. New Year’s resolutions can build on this dynamic by encouraging us to take up beneficial activities habitually and grow more into the best-version-of-ourselves. But if they’re not aimed at higher things like the worship of God and the love of neighbor, the amount of time, money, and attention we pay to them far outweighs their importance. -Fr. Stephen TL;DR on Resolutions: good if growing in virtue, meh if only self-focused.