Who

Catholic Relief Services is in 91 countries, housing the homeless, feeding the hungry, and comforting and healing the sick. Representing the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, CRS lives the Gospel call to stand in solidarity with the poor, who are our sisters and brothers. In 2012, 93 percent of your donations to CRS went to programs overseas, touching more than 100 million lives.

Across the world, the virtue of Christian living is fashioned each day as CRS works with local dioceses and other partners. It assists people in their immediate needs and supports communities on long-term solutions that will free people from the scourge of poverty and neglect.

You will find this virtue in the daily briefings of the staff and their continual reflection on how their work expresses the joy of the Gospel that is found in loving service and continuous gratitude. In service, you see the heroic work of responding to global crises with professionalism and charity, empowering people to participate in solutions to their immediate needs, while putting in place sustainable long-term changes that will strengthen their communities.

This global solidarity, an expression of the universal nature of our church, is nurtured by CRS staff in habits of gratitude, for donors and for all those who carry out the work. Their deepest gratitude is for the love, friendship and wisdom of those they serve. All of us are pilgrims together, and CRS is one of our institutions that help us on our journey. I invite you meet some of the people and communities CRS has served at their website, www.crs.org.

What

One of the important programs that the American bishops sponsor through CRS is the “CRS Rice Bowl.” It is a Lenten spiritual path of prayerful preparation — a way to “live Lent.” It also raises money for CRS and its mission of mercy. The money each of us gives is a small sign of the great change of heart God offers us as we come to know the needs of others and develop relationships with the poor, personally and through those who work on our behalf. Concrete giving expresses our desire to share in the lives of the poor and helps us convert our lives in response to our God who loves and sustains us. That conversion immerses us in the joyful mystery of God’s presence among us, transforming us into the “church of mercy” that Pope Francis is calling us to be.

Where

In your homes, parishes and other Catholic institutions, CRS Rice Bowl can be a Lenten path of conversion and change. It is a way to reflect daily on the Christian call to service and love. At www.crsricebowl.org you will find a remarkable opportunity for personal transformation. You can read and watch stories of those CRS serves across the globe. You will find ways to prepare for your Lenten journey, links to advocacy for justice, global solidarity and peace. Hawaii parishes have been contacted and materials have been ordered. Ask your pastors and parish lay leaders and become part of your community’s CRS Lenten journey. If your parish hasn’t been contacted, please call us at the Office for Social Ministry at 203-6700 or 877-263-8855 (toll free) ext. 734. You can order materials directly from CRS, or we can help you order them.

When

This is the time and this is the place. We are one community, one family of human persons across this one planet, an island of God’s loving creation. Lent is our time to be conscious of the gifts we have been given and to take responsibility for each other and the creation we celebrate with each breath. It is a time to honestly appraise our faults, those actions and omissions that have expressed our selfishness and lack of love and mercy. The joy of the Gospel heals us because it is the joy of our relationship with Jesus in and through the church. It heals us so that we can live its call to our full humanity in the embrace of our God who loves us even in our sinfulness. That call is a call to serve the poor and work with the poor for justice and peace. That is the work of CRS.

How

CRS developed its Rice Bowl program to aid our spiritual and material preparation for Lent and the coming of Easter. It even has a mobile app to help. The Rice Bowl path is a path of prayer for each other and the global church. It is a path of fasting that reminds us to remove the things that get in the way of our relationship with God. Living with a little hunger each day reminds us that everything we have — the air we breathe, the water we drink, the nourishing food we eat —are all gifts from our loving God. In fasting, we remember those whose hunger will not be satisfied if we do not act on their behalf. Finally, it is a path of giving. Our interior journey of prayer and fasting is lived out in our daily giving of alms for our sisters and brothers in need.

Why

I ask you to consider this path of prayer, fasting and giving this Lent because, frankly, our lives are so busy, so distracting and so often consumed with only our own agendas, with “me and mine.” We must begin to live the joy God calls us to live, the joy found in letting go of “me” and risking a loving relationship with others. The Gospel and the church exhorts us to open our relationships with the least among us, to recognize that our family encompasses the entire community of human beings whom God has loved into existence. Our faith gives us hope in a God who walks with us, shares our tears and stands with us to overcome all of our fears. CRS Rice Bowl is one of those simple supports for a life-renewing transformation of heart through prayer, fasting and giving. A joyous Lent of hard work becoming who God is calling us to be!