CRS
OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“Rice Bowl provides resources that ‘bring to life’ the Lenten spirituality of prayer, fasting and almsgiving for families, parishes and schools in our diocese, connecting us all with our global ‘ohana.” (Bishop Larry Silva, 2023 Rice Bowl Letter, see page 2)
On Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22, Christians worldwide will gather to begin a 40-day Lenten journey to come closer to God through encountering Christ in prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Rice Bowl is the Lenten program of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the relief and development agency of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CRS Rice Bowl program is an opportunity to experience and understand how the journey and encounter with Christ through the traditional Lenten practices can connect with, and impact, our sisters and brothers in need here and around the world.
In the CRS Rice Bowl Lenten program, prayer provides a space where God invites us to slow down in the silence and look for him around us, in nature and in people who need us most. Fasting is an act of solidarity with hungry people, and it helps us empathize with the challenges they face just living day by day. Almsgiving flows from prayer and fasting as we reflect on the needs of the world.
Through prayer and fasting, God calls us to make room for the needs of others, for the Holy Spirit to work within us. When we see our sisters and brothers suffering, we are moved by compassion and inspired to share, to give alms. Almsgiving, flowing from prayer and fasting, is an act of love for God and neighbor that can transform the world.
This Lent, the CRS Rice Bowl takes all on journeys to Honduras, the Philippines, and Kenya through “Stories of Hope” that demonstrate the ways Rice Bowl donations are changing lives. Rice Bowl helps us stay connected with our sisters and brothers around the world and strengthens families in the U.S. domestic church. During Lent, the Rice Bowl cardboard box is a familiar sight in the homes of Catholic families across the country. The simple box is a tool for focusing on the Stories of Hope and collecting Lenten offerings. The Rice Bowl also comes with a calendar that serves as a valuable guide through the 40 days of Lent with prayerful reflections from Pope Francis and others related to the Stories of Hope plus delicious recipes from Honduras, the Philippines and Kenya to prepare meatless meals on Friday.
Since its inception in 1975, the CRS Rice Bowl program has raised more than $320 million to help prevent hunger and poverty in more than 100 countries each year. Twenty-five percent of Rice Bowl donations raised locally stays here in the islands, supporting social ministry projects that are part of the Diocese of Honolulu statewide initiative called One Ohana: Food and Housing for All. This initiative supports projects that engage parishioners in a broad range of outreach ministries, including parish food pantries and community gardens, transitional and affordable housing for homeless families, legal and social services for vulnerable migrants and refugees fleeing violence in their home countries.
For more information on the CRS Rice Bowl program and where to view and download all their resources (including videos on the Stories of Hope and the Stations of the Cross) please visit www.crsricebowl.org. For more on the Diocese of Honolulu statewide initiative One Ohana: Food and Housing for All, please visit the OSM website officeforsocialministry.org where you can also find the full text of Bishop Silva’s 2023 Rice Bowl letter which he concludes by stating, “I strongly encourage all to participate in the CRS Lenten Rice Bowl journey to come closer to God and witness to Jesus by responding to Christ’s call to help our sisters and brothers in need.”
Let us begin this Lenten season with a Rice Bowl prayer:
“Our Father, as we begin Lent, let our hearts be filled with your Spirit so that we may grow deeper in your love. May our prayer lead us to a sincere desire to be close to you. May fasting help us rely on you and transform us into better people. May our almsgiving be a chance to serve our one human family around the world.”
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
