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Shortly before he suffered his Passion, Jesus proclaimed to his disciples: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another”
(Jn 13:34). The Church’s entire social doctrine is guided by the
fundamental principle that every human life has innate dignity and
incomparable value. As disciples of Christ, we are called to make a
sacrificial gift of ourselves for the sake of our neighbor.
Fulfilling
Christ’s command to love one another takes shape in our practice of
solidarity. Solidarity means putting our love for others into action and
making the good of others our own. Solidarity “is not a feeling of
vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many
people… On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to
commit oneself to the common good…to the good of all and of each
individual, because we are all really responsible for all” (Sollicitudo rei socialis 38).
While
some areas of the country now protect the child in the womb, others are
doing all they can to increase access to abortion. Radical solidarity
compels us to be at the side of vulnerable mothers in profound
friendship, compassion, and support for both them and their children,
born and preborn. It requires us to address the fundamental challenges
that lead an expectant mother to believe she is unable to welcome the
child God has entrusted to her. This cannot be accomplished by laws or
policy alone, but requires the continual transformation of our own
hearts, so that we may recognize in every person the face of Christ and
place their needs before our own. We each have our particular gifts,
role, and obligation within the Body of Christ to help build a culture
of life. May we work together to bring about a culture of life through
radical, sacrificial, Christ-like love.
Reflection adapted from “Radical Solidarity.”
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