The students in the religious education program at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu received CRS Rice Bowls on March 3 in preparation for the upcoming season of Lent to help them better understand and to put into practice the Christian virtues of charity, solidarity, and the preferential option for the poor. Photo: Dann Ebina
WITNESS TO JESUS | CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES’ RICE BOWL
Dear Friends in Christ,
Peace be with you!
God invites us to reach out beyond ourselves and encounter God in the experience of sharing with other vulnerable persons. This Lent, CRS Rice Bowl — Catholic Relief Services’ Lenten faith-in-action program — reminds us that the journey through the desert ultimately leads to resurrection, and that it is our Gospel call to share the hope of the Resurrection with all in need.
Through the Lenten Rice Bowl, the U.S. Conference of Bishops invites us to join nearly 14,000 faith communities in 180 dioceses around the U.S. in prayer, fasting and almsgiving to support those worldwide who are forced to flee their homes to find safety or better opportunities. CRS Rice Bowl is not just about collecting money in an empty cardboard box. It is a box full of stories of hope, prayers and opportunities to help put our faith into action and to share our Lenten journey with others in need, transforming all our lives. CRS Rice Bowl provides resources to bring a Lenten spirituality of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to life for families, parish and school communities, while continuing to connect Catholics in our diocese with our brothers and sisters in need around the world.
This year’s CRS Rice Bowl continues the global migration campaign, Share the Journey, launched by Pope Francis. Through stories, videos and family activities, we can include migrants and refugees in our Lenten prayers, and remember families who have been through so much, as we fast from food, give alms and do works of mercy.
By sharing the journey, we not only become companions with those in need around the world, but also in Hawaii. Twenty-five percent of the funds collected here by Rice Bowl is shared through the diocese’s initiative “One Ohana: Food and Housing for All” in social ministry with the vulnerable in our communities. Participating in CRS Lenten Rice Bowl is also an excellent way to implement our efforts to focus on the priorities of Family, Faith Formation, Youth and Young Adults, and Leadership in our Stewards of the Gospel Diocesan Plan.
I strongly encourage you all to participate in the CRS Lenten Rice Bowl program, to share the journey, and to witness to Jesus by helping others in need survive and thrive.
God bless you always!
Most Reverend Larry Silva
Bishop of Honolulu
