Solidarity, Poverty, and Art

Many saints, like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Elizabeth of Hungary, choose to reject the world's wealth for the sake of solidarity with the poor. Inspired by their witness, I've been drawn to a

simple lifestyle throughout my life. However, I never considered such a lifestyle as practicing solidarity with those in poverty. After doing some service with the Capuchin Friars in Washington, D.C., my heart was changed by my encounters with people in poverty. After encountering the people the friars served, I felt something well up within me that I can only describe as "more human" than I felt in the standard grind back home. When I served and engaged with people in poverty, I felt like I came face-to-face with the love of Jesus on the cross. When nailed to the cross, Jesus could hold onto nothing. In

this posture, He was in solidarity with the poor of this world who lack the ability to reach out and hold onto what they desire: perhaps a home, good food, or supportive friendships. After engaging with such love and dignity in the poor, I wanted to practice solidarity more in my home life.

In this posture, [Jesus] was in solidarity with the poor of this world who lack the ability to reach out and hold onto what they desire: perhaps a home, good food, or supportive friendships. After engaging with such love and dignity in the poor, I wanted to practice solidarity more in my home life.

One way I intended to practice solidarity was by simplifying my life. Solidarity is the virtue "enabling the human family to share fully the treasure of material and spiritual goods" (Benedict XVI). By simplifying my life, I hoped to take one small step towards making more material and spiritual goods available to more people. St. Mother Teresa speaks much of a simple lifestyle's ability to help the poor. Knowing she was only one among many saintly voices who praised the benefits of a simple lifestyle, I sought further inspiration and picked up a collection of St. John Chrysostom's homilies titled, "On Living Simply." The contents were not what I expected. I expected tips for how to live with less money and with a slower life pace. Instead, I found encouragement to put one's gifts to use. While sometimes he meant financially, more often than not Chrysostom spoke of living simply by putting one's social or professional gifts to use for the sake of God's kingdom. To not do so, he argued, was to selfishly hold onto such gifts like a selfish king holds onto his riches while the rest of the kingdom starves (Chrysostom).

Instead, I found encouragement to put one's gifts to use. ... To not do so, he argued, was to selfishly hold onto such gifts like a selfish king holds onto his riches while the rest of the kingdom starves (Chrysostom).

To use my gifts as a way of serving the poor seemed counterintuitive initially. How could I help people in poverty by painting more? As I continued reading his homilies and increasing my own painting practice, I discovered his encouragement to be true. As Benedixt XVI clarified, solidarity provides both material and spiritual goods to humanity. Breaking cyclical poverty does not only involve nourishing people's physical needs; it also involves elevating all aspects of their person, including the cultural aspects. Of course, we should always activate our gifts in addition to nourishing people's physical needs. Simply giving the orange I want to eat later in the day to the homeless man I pass on my way to work is another way to practice solidarity. (That's a story for another time. He was a wonderful man!)

Breaking cyclical poverty does not only involve nourishing people's physical needs; it also involves elevating all aspects of their person, including the cultural aspects.

To live poverty is to live with your hands open. To live with your hands open is to put into practice the gifts God gave you, holding onto nothing for yourself. It touches and convicts me to know God calls me to the virtues of simplicity and solidarity through creating art. How does Jesus ask you to live with hands open?

Works Cited:

Benedict XVI. "Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the Participants in the 14th Session of the Pontifical Academy of the Social Sciences." Vatican Library. 2008. Chrysostom, John. Weyer, Robert Van de."On Living Simply." Triumph Books. 1997.