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February
19, 2007
VOL.
45, NO. 4Oakland,
CA
Operation Rice Bowl gives
U.S. Catholics a way to show solidarity
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The traditional
Lenten practices of fasting and giving financial aid to those in need
can take on very practical applications through Operation Rice Bowl, the
annual Lenten program of Catholic Relief Services.
This year more than 15,400 groups in the U.S. are expected to participate.
Many parishes
will give their members cardboard rice bowls provided by CRS. The bowl
can be placed on the family dinner table during Lent as a reminder that
many people throughout the world are hungry, not even able to afford a
small bowl of rice.
The bowl can also be used to collect money for CRS relief and development
programs among poor and marginalized people in 40 countries. Some parishes
host Lenten soup suppers, fish fries and hunger banquets to raise Rice
Bowl funds.
CRS also encourages participants in its Rice Bowl program to pray for
those who struggle with hunger and poverty.
Established in 1943, CRS is the official overseas aid agency of the Catholic
Church in the U.S. Its programs include projects that help farmers improve
crop yields, bring clean water into communities without plumbing, support
microfinancing of small businesses and provide basic health and nutrition
services to women and children.
Its website (www.crs.org/org) has
many resources to help American Catholics join Operation Rice Bowl in
solidarity with people around the world. An interactive map shows countries
in which CRS programs operate.
There are simple recipes from Angola, Cambodia, Mexico, Niger and Pakistan
along with profiles of CRS beneficiaries in those countries.
The website also offers a Stations of the Cross, a Lenten calendar with
daily prayers and reflections, and activities for children, families and
parish communities.
Operation Rice Bowl raises about $8 million each year. Seventy-five percent
of the funds are given to CRS; the remaining 25 percent stays in local
dioceses to support local hunger and poverty alleviation projects.
The program started in the Diocese of Allentown, PA in 1975 and was adopted
nationally by CRS in 1976.
