The season of Lent is marked by many traditions among Catholics in the United States. Symbolized by its ubiquitous card board box, CRS Rice Bowl has been a tradition for generations of Catholics.
Beginning in 1975 as a response to a growing famine in Africa, CRS Rice Bowl today shines a light on the Catholic community’s commitment to poor and vulnerable families – our brothers and sisters. Their lives are improving in meaningful, measurable ways through the humanitarian programs and services provided by Catholic Relief Services and the Church around the world.
This year, CRS Rice Bowl provides a path for Catholics in the United States to build, what Pope Francis calls “a culture of encounter.” By following the daily Lenten calendar, sharing the weekly stories of hope, and making the meatless meals, participants will follow a personal journey that leads to us seeing ourselves in the faces of our neighbors, cultivating a spirit of global solidarity and encountering God’s love anew.
Pope Francis told Catholic leaders that the “ability to see yourselves in the faces of others, this daily proximity to their share of troubles and their little acts of heroism: this is what enables you to practice the commandment of love, not on the basis of ideas or concepts, but rather on the basis of genuine interpersonal encounter.”
“We do not love concepts or ideas,” the pope said. “We love people.”
“CRS Rice Bowl is about people and the hope we have for each other. It’s about our ability to encounter our neighbors no matter where they live, to love them as God loves us,” said Joan Rosenhauer, executive vice president of U.S. Operations for CRS. “At a time when there is so much conflict in the world, this Lenten program gives people of all ages a way to respond to human suffering with compassion and action. To learn the names and stories of our brothers and sisters, to include them in our prayers, to contribute our Lenten sacrifices so they can live better, healthier lives; this is the way we deepen our faith, building a culture of encounter and holding up the dignity of each and every one of us.”
For more than 40 years, CRS Rice Bowl has provided an inspired collection of resources for families, parishes and Catholic schools to incorporate into their Lenten season. With CRS Rice Bowl, each week of Lent is a new opportunity to meet a family from a different country overseas, hear their personal stories, learn about their culture and experience a meatless meal they serve at home. Each Lenten story illustrates a principal of Catholic social teaching – an essential element of Catholic faith that says every human being is created in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus Christ, and therefore is invaluable and worthy of respect as a member of the human family.
“We want to meet people where they are in their day-to-day lives, in schools, in parishes and on the go. CRS Rice Bowl is an easy to use tool that helps people deepen their Lenten journey by participating in our Lenten traditions – prayer, fasting and alms giving – in a time and way that suits them best. For some families this means following the Lenten calendar at home, for others it means downloading the App, or making the Lenten recipes, or watching the Lenten stories of hope on their tablets – any way people choose is a good way to make this Lent a season to encounter ourselves, our neighbors and our God and serve the poor around the world,” said Beth Martin, program director for U.S. Operations.
CRS Rice Bowl is global in its reach, bringing tangible goods and services to people in need around the world. Twenty-five percent of all contributions stay in local dioceses to support hunger and poverty prevention programs such as community gardens, food pantries, soup kitchens, support groups and job centers. The remaining 75 percent goes to support CRS’ humanitarian and development pro-grams overseas, providing life-saving assistance and hope to impoverished and vulnerable communities.
Resources available online
Catholic Relief Services has a lot of resources for you and your family this Lenten season. Besides the traditional CRS Rice Bowl cardboard bowl kit you can download online, there is a free mobile app, daily Lenten reflections, “Stories of Hope” from people who have been aided by CRS, a video series exploring the meaning of Lent, and meatless recipes from the countries featured each Lent. All materials are available in English and Spanish.
FAMILY LENTEN KITS
Fasting from meat on Fridays during Lent helps us “acquire a mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2043). Fasting is meant to free us. It helps us feel our physical hunger, and in turn, our spiritual hunger for the infinite love found only in God. When you’ve cleaned your plate, put the money you saved by not buying meat – an average of $3 per person per meal – into your CRS Rice Bowl to feed our brothers and sisters in need around the world. It takes just $1 per day ($40) to provide a family with food for one month.
Go to www.crsricebowl.org/families for prayer resources and activities to use during dinner, in the car on the way to school or whenever you have just a few moments to gather together, pause and pray. Download a family kit to make your own CRS Rice Bowl, print Lenten-themed placemats, activity sheets and coloring pages, a Lenten calendar, prayer cards and more.
FREE MOBILE APP
Bring Lent into your life anytime, anywhere with CRS’ free Rice Bowl app for both Android and Apple devices. It features videos, recipes, reflections and a collection of “Stories of Hope” from people around the world helped by CRS. Join the conversation on social media, receive daily Lenten reflections on your device, set and track progress towards a personal Lenten goal, and use a variety of simple, meatless recipes to prepare and share on Fridays throughout Lent.
Go to www.crsricebowl.org or download the free app from the iTunes or Google Play stores.
STORIES OF HOPE
For each of the six weeks of Lent, download a recipe and read a story from a different country, focusing on a family or individual – lives that are being changed for the better by a CRS program. Each story illustrates a principle of Catholic Social Teaching and makes the connection between the gift of service and our faith – the “what” with the “why” of charity.
Go to www.crsricebowl.org/stories-of-hope/week-1.
DAILY REFLECTIONS
CRS Rice Bowl will offer daily reflections for each day of Lent, from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. Go to www.crsricebowl.org/daily-reflections.
STATIONS OF THE CROSS DIGITAL RETREAT
One-minute video reflections immerse you in Jesus’ walk to Calvary.
VIDEO SERIES: ‘HOW TO PRACTICE LENT’
So, what is Lent? A series of videos featuring Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, Jesuit Father James Martin, Christopher West, Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, CRS staffer Thomas Awaipo, Kerry Weber of America Magazine, CRS President/CEO Dr. Carolyn Woo and others seek to answer this question from different angles. Go to www.crsricebowl.org/about/how-to-practice-lent to watch the entire series.
How to give
If your parish or school participates in the CRS Rice Bowl campaign, giving guidelines are provided. You can also give directly to CRS Rice Bowl securely online at www.crsricebowl.org; by phone at 1-877-435-7277; or mail to CRS Rice Bowl, P.O. Box 17090, Baltimore, MD 21297-0303.
HICKORY — The Development Office of Diocese of Charlotte will host a Diocesan Stewardship Conference Saturday, March 25, at St. Aloysius Church in Hickory.
Anyone interested in embracing stewardship as a way of life will benefit from attending the conference, which aims to provide inspiration, information and motivation for promoting stewardship in all areas of parish life.
The conference will feature two tracks: one for beginners and another for those who have been practicing stewardship in their parishes for a number of years. Each track will offer workshops, presentations and discussions around stewardship, and innovative parish programs.
Father Patrick Sheedy, pastor of Blessed Trinity Church in Ocala, Fla., will be the keynote speaker. Blessed Trinity has been a “total stewardship” parish since 1992. Under Father Sheedy’s leadership, the parish has grown spiritually, has experienced a significant increase in parishioner involvement and giving, maintained Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration, and has become involved in numerous outreach projects locally, nationally and internationally.
Pre-registration is $16, on-site registration is $20, and includes conference materials, lunch and snack.
For details and registration information, go to www.charlottediocese.org/development. Questions about the conference can be directed to Kerry Ann Tornesello, associate development director, at 704-370-3302 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
— Catholic News Herald
CHARLOTTE — At the conclusion of the Mass for the World Day for Consecrated Life celebrated by Bishop Peter Jugis at St. Patrick Cathedral Feb. 4, 12 women religious were honored for their decades of service to the Church.
Religious sisters celebrating special jubilee anniversaries in 2017 include: Mercy Sister Alma Pangelinan (70 years); Mercy Sister Therese Galligan (60 years); St. Joseph Sister John Christopher (55 years); Mercy Sisters Carolyn Coll, Sister Jane Davis, Sister Rose Marie Tresp and Sister Donna Marie Vaillancourt (50 years); St. Joseph Sister Geri Rogers (50 years); Missionaries of Charity Sister M. Martinella (25 years); and Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul Sister Pushpa Jose, Sister Christie and Sister Agnes Maria (25 years).
Bishop Jugis called each jubilarian present at Mass to join him at the steps of the sanctuary so he could acknowledge them and thank each of them personally.
At the conclusion of Mass, he joined the jubilarians and members of their communities from across western North Carolina in the Family Life Center at St. Patrick Cathedral for a luncheon in their honor.
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
MOUNT HOLLY — Preserving history was important to the late Carlton Heil, a Queen of Apostles Church member of Irish descent. In his later years he helped take care of St. Joseph and Mary Church, one of North Carolina’s oldest Catholic churches built by Irish settlers back in 1843.
Adjacent to the historic wooden church is the grave of Father T.J. Cronin, the founding pastor, who died shortly before the church was completed. St. Joseph and Mary Church is one of the two oldest standing Catholic churches in North Carolina.
When Heil passed away last fall, he left a bequest of $2,000 to help care for the beloved old church where Father Cronin lived and died.
“Given in the true spirit of stewardship, the gift will go to help maintain Father Cronin’s original dream for the Irish community,” said Ray-Eric Correira, director of planned giving for the Diocese of Charlotte.
The historic church is currently maintained by the diocese with help from local residents and groups such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians, who gather for Mass at the church every year on St. Patrick’s Day and other important feast days connected to Irish heritage.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization which is open to practicing Catholics of Irish decent. Their goals are to foster the history, culture and traditions of the Irish people, support the Church and its clergy, and defend life.
Joe Dougherty, president of the N.C. state board of the AOH, knew Heil and saw first-hand his devotion to the upkeep of the old church.
“I knew Carl and worked with him for six years or so,” Dougherty said. “For the past six years, the two divisions of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Ladies AOH had a Mass celebrated at St. Joseph’s on March 17, in honor of St. Patrick and the Irish immigrants that built the church.”
As Heil was the caretaker of St. Joseph’s, he was the person the order worked with to organize the annual Mass, Dougherty said.
“Carl would come to the church each time to open the church and help in any way he could. He cared so much about St. Joseph’s and its upkeep. He would stay until the last person left, but did not make anyone rush. He would answer any questions about the church that was asked of him, and he knew everything.”
“More and more people are making gifts to the Church in their estates – some making gifts in the thousands, others in the millions. We are grateful for gifts of any amount to help support the Church,” said Jim Kelley, diocesan devel-opment director.
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
Pictured: St. Joseph and Mary Church in Mount Holly is one of the oldest Catholic churches in N.C. The Ancient Order of Hibernians coordinate an annual St. Patrick’s Day Mass there every March 17.
CHARLOTTE — Parishioners and friends filled St. Peter Church one recent Saturday morning to hear from someone who has wholeheartedly answered the Church’s call to go to the margins of society to stand with the weak, the despised and those considered disposable.
Jesuit Father Greg Boyle has ministered in one of the most gang-infested areas in Los Angeles for three decades, founding Homeboy Industries to give thousands of young gang members job skills, a sense of self-worth and self-sufficiency, and a way out of the dehumanizing violence surrounding them. The author of “Tattoos on the Heart,” Father Boyle was the guest lecturer for the parish’s 2017 Kennedy Lecture Jan. 28.
“We stand at the margins and we brace ourselves, because people will accuse us of wasting our time,” he began, but the prophet Jeremiah reminds us that “the voice of joy and the voice of gladness” will be heard again in the land of waste.
“We stand at the margins because with God and Jesus, and the whole Church, we want to make those voices heard.”
First, he told the audience, we have to understand who God is, and what our relationship to Him is, before we can answer the call to love and serve our neighbor – “erasing those margins” between us.
“We’re endlessly creating God in our own image,” he said. “We’re human beings, we can’t help ourselves. This happens if we don’t graduate from our third-grade sense of who God is, and move into what St. Ignatius calls the ‘God who is always greater, the spacious expanse of God,’ the God who loves us without measure and without regret, the God who is too busy loving us to have any time left for anything else, the God that Jesus knew in His own mystical union with this tender, intimate close God.”
But, he said, “We have this notion that somehow we have to measure up and we are eternally disappointing Him. Somehow we have to get beyond that. Otherwise, we’re going to be unable to stand at the margins in the way that God hopes we will.”
As a loving parent, God “wants to be united to us, and who in fact doesn’t want anything from us. He only wants for us.”
Fortified by this loving, parent-child, covenant relationship with God, Father Boyle said, we are able to reach out in truth to others – not as service-provider and service-providee, but as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
“We don’t go to the margins to rescue anybody or save anybody, or to even make a difference,” he explained. “You go there because our whole life depends on it. This is how God has set this up.” When God tells us “so I have loved you,” He doesn’t ask us to love Him back – He asks us to love one another, especially with a preference toward the poor – widows, orphans and the stranger, he said.
God singles out these particular people among the poor “because He thinks they’re trustworthy to lead the rest of us to the kinship of God,” he said. “That’s my experience.”
Father Boyle recalled how an interviewer once asked him how it felt to have saved thousands of lives, and he replied: “Honest to God, I’m not trying to be coy or cute, but I don’t know what you’re talking about. I know that I show up every day and my life is absolutely altered.”
He continued, his voice cracking with emotion, “The homies rescue me every day from my cowardice and from my judgment. They rescue me and they return me to myself, and I’m deeply, profoundly grateful to them for the ways that they have saved me. That’s the truth.”
The truth is, he said, the poor are always treated with shame and disgrace. Part of serving to the poor involves reaching out to “dismantle that shame and disgrace,” he said, and relieve their burden.
Father Boyle peppered his talk with humorous, often poignant stories about the “homeboys” and “homegirls” he has shepherded out of gang life using the ultimate weapons the Church has in its arsenal: unconditional love and mercy.
He said he likes to bring one of the Homeboy Industries homies with him when he gives talks, so they can share their stories, he said. At one particular talk with a group of social service providers, his homie Jose accompanied him.
“Jose gets up – he’s about 25 at the time, gang member, tattooed, felon, in prison, parolee – but he had worked his way through our 18-month program and landed for a time as a very valued member of our substance abuse team, a man solid in his own recovery, and now he’s helping younger homies with their addiction issues. Been to prison and everything, but he also had a long stretch as a homeless man, and an even longer stretch as a heroin addict.
“He gets up in front of these 600 social workers and he says, ‘I guess you could say my mom and me didn’t get along so good. I think I was 6 when my mom looked at me and said, “Why don’t you just kill yourself? You’re such a burden to me.”’ Well, 600 social workers audibly gasped. And then he says, ‘It sounds way worser in Spanish.’ And we got whiplash going from gasp to laugh.
“He said, ‘I think I was 9 when my mom drove me down to the deepest part of Baja, California, and she walked me up to an orphanage. She knocked on the door, the guy came to the door and she said, “I found this kid.” And she left me there for 90 days, until my grandmother could get out of her where she had dumped me. My grandmother came and rescued me. My mom beat me every single day of my elementary school years – things you could imagine and a lot of things you couldn’t. Every day my back was bloodied and scarred. In fact, I had to wear three T-shirts to school every day – the first T-shirt because the blood would seep through, the second T-shirt because you could still see it, finally the third T-shirt you couldn’t see any blood. Kids at school would make fun of me: “Hey, fool, it’s 100 degrees. Why are you wearing three T-shirts?”’
“Then he stopped speaking, so overwhelmed with emotion, and he seemed to be staring at a piece of his story that only he could see. When he could regain his speech, he said through his tears, ‘I wore three T-shirts well into my adult years because I was ashamed of my wounds. I didn’t want anyone to see ’em. But now I welcome my wounds, I run my fingers over my scars. My wounds are my friends. After all, how can I help heal the wounded if I don’t welcome my own wounds?’
“Awe came upon everyone,” Father Boyle recounted. “The measure of our compassion lies in not of our service of those on the margins, but only in our willingness to see ourselves in kinship with them. For we are all crying for help, and if we don’t welcome our own wounds we will be tempted to despise the wounded.”
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor