February 10, 2015 // Local

Where will Lent take you this year?

Todays Catholic

By Melissa Wheeler

This Lent, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) invites us all to live in solidarity with our poorest and most vulnerable brothers and sisters through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. CRS Rice Bowl celebrates 40 years of our faith-in-action program for families and faith communities.

With CRS Rice Bowl, we journey through Lent with daily reflections from our Lenten calendar and on our CRS Rice Bowl mobile app. We also offer suggestions for small sacrificial gifts to fill your Rice Bowl and Stories of Hope from around the world where CRS works. Depending on your vocation and/or ministry, CRS Rice Bowl has something to offer you on your Lenten journey.

Bring your parish community together for simple meals and prayerful reflection.

• Pray the CRS Rice Bowl Stations of the Cross, which are based in Catholic social teaching.

• Gather for a simple meal using the CRS Rice Bowl meatless recipes.

Live global solidarity in your family with families around the world.

• Place your family’s Rice Bowl on the center of your table.

• Start or end each day with a reflection or “Story of Hope” from CRS Rice Bowl.

Encourage your students to explore tenets of the Catholic faith in a global context.

• Go to crsricebowl.org to get our “Educator’s Guide,” which includes lesson plans for grades 1-8.

• For high school and youth ministry resources, download or order our “Youth in Solidarity” resources and bring Catholic social teaching alive.

Discover what it means to be an individual in a global community.

• Download the CRS Rice Bowl mobile app to get daily reflections sent right to your phone.

• Bring your friends together and reflect on being a global citizen in the Catholic Church and with our “Community Reflections” resource found at crsricebowl.org.

Reflect on what it means to be a diverse Church.

• CRS Rice Bowl resources are available in Spanish and English. For Spanish resources, go to crsplatodearroz.org to share the global solidarity message.

• Download our bilingual mobile app at the Google Play Store or iTunes.

Everyone can follow our Rice Bowl journey with our weekly reflections right here in Today’s Catholic. Each week we will focus on one theme of Catholic social teaching.

Week One: Dignity of the Human Person

Week Two: Care for Creation

Week Three: Dignity of Work and Rights of Workers

Week Four: Option for the Poor

Week Five: Call to Family, Community and Participation

Week Six: The Common Good

Be sure to pick up your Rice Bowl in your parish before Ash Wednesday. To order a free Rice Bowl, visit crsricebowl.org or call 800-222-0025.