Editorial: Economic challenges invite us to pull together

The difficult economic situation Americans have been facing for many months now doesn’t show any sign of a quick end in sight. Costs are high on the necessities of life — food, transportation, housing. There is a sense of uncertainty about when or if it might get worse before it gets better. 

Put that in the midst of fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic as people grapple with increased anxiety and mental illness and addiction, and alongside increased crime and violence and the strange cultural moment we’re in, and all the rest, and things can feel a bit precarious. 

When that happens, the temptation is to turn inward, to keep our heads down and “take care of our own” and leave others to fend for themselves. 

While those feelings are understandable, our faith would suggest doing the opposite. If times do, indeed, get tougher, it will be more important than ever for us to be ready to help each other and to pull together. 

Our faith teaches us that we are both individuals and creatures that necessarily exist in relation to others. Yes, we have our own needs and responsibilities and rights, and yes, even our communal existence begins close to home, with our families and parishes and neighborhoods and expands out from there. 

But we should never lose sight of the fact that we exist in relationship, and that we do have obligations to each other. Hard times in particular call us not to close in on ourselves but, with trust in God’s providence, to step out in faith and perform the works of mercy, helping those in our midst who are most in need.