OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“Every moment of our lives is a time for believing, hoping and loving. The call to experience Lent as a journey of conversion, prayer and sharing of our goods, helps us to revive the faith that comes from the living Christ, the hope inspired by the breath of the Holy Spirit and the love flowing from the merciful heart of the Father.” (Pope Francis, Message for Lent 2021)
Lent is a special time to quietly reflect, renew and deepen our connection with God and with others. As Pope Francis suggested in his Lenten 2021 message, this can be done by considering new approaches to traditional Lenten practices. “The path of self-denial (fasting), loving care for the poor (almsgiving), and childlike dialogue with the Father (prayer) make it possible for us to live lives of sincere faith, living hope and effective charity.”
In his Ash Wednesday homily, the pope called us to use this time to search for what is truly in our hearts and convert, “return to the Lord.” For in moments of recognizing and sharing our vulnerability, God is there, inviting us “to return to him, to rediscover the joy of being loved.” Our Holy Father likens the journey of Lent to the exodus of God’s people from Egypt to their homeland — “an exodus from slavery to freedom. Our journey back to God is blocked by our unhealthy attachments, by the false security of money and appearances, by the paralysis of our discontents. To embark on this journey, we have to unmask these illusions.”
Fasting can help free us from all that weighs us down. By minimizing our time and attention spent on the illusions portrayed on TV and social media, we open the doors of our hearts and make space and time for God in our midst.
Prayer helps us listen to God’s message of hope, and as Pope Francis says in “Fratelli Tutti,” become persons “increasingly concerned with speaking words of hope, comfort, strength, consolation and encouragement” to others and be “willing to set everything else aside in order to show interest, to give the gift of a smile, to speak a word of encouragement, to listen, to encounter the Father of tender love.”
Almsgiving is about charity as acts of mercy, effective love. The pope points out, “following in the footsteps of Christ, in concern and compassion for all, is the highest expression of our faith and hope. Love rejoices in seeing others grow. Hence, it suffers when others are anguished, lonely, sick, homeless, despised or in need. All of us have a responsibility for the wounded, those of our own people and all the peoples of the earth … brothers and sisters all.”
Here in Hawaii, people practice effective love all over the diocese by providing food supplies to families and elders in need. Every year throughout the United States, Catholic Relief Service’s Lenten Rice Bowl offers an opportunity to practice acts of mercy by reaching out to people around the world through their stories of faith, hope and love. For example, Central American youth in El Salvador believe they can overcome drought, even during this pandemic, by using new techniques of farming to feed their families and bring hope to communities struggling to survive through working together as one family, as brothers and sisters all.
Pope Francis reminds us that the Gospel and the Lenten season call us all to care for the needs of every man and woman, young and old, with “the same fraternal spirit of care and closeness that marked the Good Samaritan because love is indeed a leap of the heart. It brings us out of ourselves and creates bonds of sharing and communion.” For inspiring ways to experience Lent with sincere faith, living hope and effective love, please visit the crsricebowl.org and officeforsocialministry.org.
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
CRS RICEBOWL STORY OF HOPE FROM EL SALVADOR
Edwin Carlos Calvio, center, learns how to grow and prepare coffee. (CNS photo)
“He who knows has an obligation to act.” (Edwin Carlos)
Some young people in Ahuachapan in eastern El Salvador think that being a farmer is a thing of the past. Their families have farmed for generations, but climate change and soil erosion have caused harvests — and their incomes — to shrink considerably.
Edwin Carlos, a 17-year-old eager to support his parents and two little brothers, did not see farming in his future. However, after a teacher told him how new techniques and technology were changing the way farming was being done to help restore the environment, he changed his mind. Carlos decided to join a group of 220 students who are learning skills like the importance of distancing when plowing and how burning harvest residue can harm the land and air.
Sadly, El Salvador has lost 75% of its rich land because of the large number of trees cut down and harmful agricultural practices like the extensive use of fertilizers, which have made it one of the most food-insecure countries in the hemisphere. “He who knows has an obligation to act,” says Carlos, who now knows how to use water properly so that it is not wasted, and organic manure and other resources to provide nutrients to the soil to produce larger and healthier crops.
Thanks to the school program, CRS’ Raices Ahuachapan, Carlos has also learned how to grow vegetables at home — an extremely important skill during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the days of the confinement, nearly 1,200 families started home vegetable gardens to grow nutritious foods like onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and squash. They can eat what they harvest or sell the produce at their church or the local market for additional income.
Pope Francis reminds us that “young people demand change. They wonder how anyone can claim to be building a better future without thinking of the environmental crisis.”
Thanks to programs like CRS’ Raices Ahuachapan, young people are becoming active agents of that change.
