Majd Nasser Hassan, left, and friend at a CRS-sponsored school. (Photo by Philip Laubner/Catholic Relief Services)
OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“CRS Rice Bowl is not just about collecting money in a cardboard box. It is literally and symbolically a box full of stories of hope, prayers and opportunities to help put our faith into action and to share our Lenten journey with each other, transforming all our lives.” (Bishop Larry Silva, 2018 CRS Rice Bowl letter, see page 2)
Lent will be here soon, and we all know what that means — stomachs full of malassadas on Fat Tuesday followed by foreheads marked with crosses on Ash Wednesday. It also means “CRS Rice Bowl time!”
Lent is a 40-day journey of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. CRS Rice Bowl makes it easy to experience a Lenten spirituality of prayer, fasting and mercy connected to Catholic social teaching. Rice Bowl provides tools and tips for bringing Lenten spirituality into the home, where the foundation for a lifetime of faith begins.
The Rice Bowl itself is full of stories of hope, prayers and recipes for food and action from far off places in the world such as Iraq, Nicaragua, Burkina Faso, Haiti and Malawi. Rice Bowl also provides plenty of videos and fun family take-home activities. Rice Bowl is a ticket to take a trip — to share a journey where your prayers, fasting, almsgiving and acts of mercy support others worldwide who are forced to flee their homes to find safety or better opportunities — to become companions on a shared journey of faith.
During Lent, this Talk Story column will be sharing some of those resources such as the stories of hope and the Stations of the Cross. We will begin by sharing the everyday Rice Bowl Lenten Prayer and first story of Hope.
God of the Journey
Whenever we stumble on life’s roads, You are with us.
Your love enables us to get back up and start again.
May our Lenten prayer, fasting and almsgiving be an encounter with Your mercy.
May our experience of Your selfless love inspire us to “go and do likewise” becoming companions for our neighbors most in need, and for every member of our human family. Amen
First Story of Hope: Iraq
Eight-year-old Majd thought his family was going on a picnic. His mother Lamya, said they would be back in a week. But when ISIS attacked their home in Bahzani, Iraq, the family fled for good.
“What worried me the most were the kids,” Lamya said. “Our life was stable and we were doing well, but when we fled, I was not able to bring anything for them, not even food.”
Fortunately, the family found an apartment in northern Iraq to rent with other displaced families. The children now attend a CRS-sponsored school and the routine provides hope, stability and a sense of belonging.
“Education is very important,” said Lamya, who teaches at Majd’s school. “Majd is now so motivated to go to school. He just wants it to be morning so he can go. He is relaxed, having fun and more confident.”
For Majd, school means a normal life, now and for the future.
Share the journey. Safety and security are essential to living a dignified life, what refugee families are seeking.
Please visit crsricebowl.org to watch a video and learn more about this Iraq story of hope.
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry