Faithful of the parishes and schools of the Diocese of Trenton are urged to fast, pray and give alms as they participate in the annual Catholic Relief Services’ Lenten program “CRS Rice Bowl” which begins Ash Wednesday, Feb. 14. Donations help provide lifesaving support to more than 190 million people in more than 100 countries – including the United States.
“Ash Wednesday always marks the beginning of CRS Rice Bowl,” said Beth Martin, CRS’ director of Formation and Mobilization. “And this year, Ash Wednesday falls on February 14, or Saint Valentine’s Day, and we think CRS Rice Bowl is the perfect way to celebrate the love we have for our global family.”
“During Lent, we are meant to express the love that we feel when we receive the Eucharist through prayer, fasting and almsgiving,” said Martin. “CRS Rice Bowl gives us the means to do that – to put our love into action.”
While 75 percent of CRS Rice Bowl donations go to CRS programs around the world dedicated to ending hunger and poverty, 25 percent of the funds stay in the diocese where they are collected.
In addition to the cardboard rice bowls themselves, the program offers daily reflections, stories of hope, meatless recipes from the featured countries, bilingual posters and video collections. Resources may be found at crsricebowl.org and crsplatodearroz.org.