While a graduate student at Clemson University, I was the student advisor for the Engineers Without Borders club – a group of students who wanted to use their skills to do humanitarian work in developing countries. We traveled each year to El Salvador and worked with local technicians to do the surveying, design, and installation of a water system for local communities near the Pacific coast. The students stayed in groups of two in the homes of families that also provided a hearty breakfast for us each day before work. One year we visited the convent church where Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated while celebrating Mass. As we sat in that little church, a Salvadoran nun explained to us all about the civil war between peasants and landowners and about the faithful courage of Msgr. Romero. At the end of our trip, we also met with a Jesuit priest. The students told him how they felt like their trip was not worth much because the local technicians knew much more about water systems than they did. The priest assured them that the gift they were bringing was their solidarity. “You have chosen to spend your spring break here, instead of many other things you could do. The people know that, and they are so appreciative.” The Catholic principle of solidarity is the moral principle that we are all one human family, calling us to practice global love, interdependence, and a firm commitment to the common good. One year we also helped release baby turtles whose eggs had been protected by a local conservancy. The turtles instinctively knew to march towards the ocean where they would mature and then return to lay their eggs once again in this very same spot. We, too, have an inner compass that leads us towards love of God and solidarity with our neighbor. – Fr. Jim