A woman receives food from a volunteer serving free meals to hungry Venezuelan migrants Nov. 17, 2018, at the Divine Providence Dining Hall in Cucuta, Colombia. The cooking is done exclusively by volunteers from local church groups and small businesses. (CNS photo/Manuel Rueda)
OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“Throughout Lent this year, the CRS Rice Bowl reflects on the hopeful Gospel story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with just a few loaves and fishes. At the heart of this Gospel miracle, a poor youth offers to share his humble food with others who are hungry. Christ transforms his sacrifice into a miracle of abundant nourishment.” — Bishop Larry Silva, Catholic Relief Services Lenten Rice Bowl letter.
Lent provides an opportunity to reflect on ways we can encounter God by sharing with others in need here in Hawaii and around the world. Bishop Larry Silva in his Lenten Rice Bowl letter recounts the Gospel story of Jesus miraculously multiplying loaves and fishes to feed a hungry crowd, a special focus of this year’s CRS Rice Bowl program. We were able to experience that inspiring miracle this month during a visit with migrants on the Colombian-Venezuela border.
Every day, thousands of Venezuelans flee their troubled country. Many suffer from hunger, malnutrition, fear and violence. They cross into Colombia in hopes of finding food, shelter and basic social services. After long, sometimes treacherous journeys, they are “miraculously” greeted by more than 800 volunteers — young and old — from the Colombian Catholic Diocese of Cucuta, who welcome the weary travelers with warm hospitality and nutritious meals. Through a program called “Testigo de la Caridad de Cristo en la Frontera (“Witness to Christ on the Border”), the Casa de Paso (Transit Home) provides loving nourishment for migrants from ninos (keiki) to ancianos (kupuna).
We witnessed Colombian volunteers sharing their time, talent and treasure with Venezuelans, and we were blessed to encounter Christ in talking story with some migrantes: a 92-year-old great-great-grandmother in a makeshift wheelchair accompanied by her elder migrant daughter and son-in-law; a young migrant mother breastfeeding her four-month old twins; a migrant father with one leg and his four children. All broke bread together in thanksgiving after traveling for weeks through mountainous terrain. This miracle is multiplied daily through the Testigo de la Caridad De Cristo en la Frontera program feeding lunch to more than 16,000 migrants on the border and at a nearby convent converted into a comedor (feeding center) for children under the age of 6 and elders over 60.
Pictures of Pope Francis hang on the walls in recognition of the Vatican’s substantial support through Caritas Internationalis (a Rome-based family of Catholic relief and development agencies working across the globe) for this project. It is a vital part of what our Holy Father calls an “Iglesia sin fronteras” — “A Church without borders.” Some of the other Caritas-supported diocesan projects include a sewing cooperative and a bakery for migrants ages 14-18, where they learn a trade instead of falling victim to human and drug trafficking. These are the kinds of projects that Catholic Relief Services (a member of Caritas Internationalis) supports with the funds raised from the CRS Lenten Rice Bowl.
This year’s Lenten Rice Bowl shares compelling “Stories of Hope” about three young girls whose lives have been transformed through CRS support: Maria Ana, a 16-year old from Honduras; Trinh, a 12-year old from Vietnam; and Yvonne, an 11-year old from Kenya. Through creative multimedia materials (including videos, prayer calendars and family activities), Rice Bowl helps us share the journey of coming closer to God and encountering Christ with members of our human family around the world through prayers, fasting and acts of mercy.
Bishop Larry Silva strongly encourages us all to participate in the CRS Lenten Rice Bowl program and “Witness to Jesus through the miracle of transforming sacrifice into hopeful nourishment with others in need.”
For more information about CRS 2020 Rice Bowl, please visit www.ricebowl.org, www.catholichawaii.org and www.officeforsocialministry.org.
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
