CRS Rice Bowl has become Lenten tradition

Catholics in the Diocese of Corpus Christi and throughout the U.S. live a vibrant Lenten experience through CRS Rice Bowl. The familiar cardboard box and the Lenten calendar tucked inside is the primary resource for families and individuals. It helps turn awareness into response.

"As we are gearing up for the papal visit for the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, the Rice Bowl is a good way to have the family come to do works of mercy," Father Ray Yrlas, CRS Diocesan Director, said.

The Catholic Relief Services' annual Rice Bowl program offers help to Catholics in meeting their Lenten obligations, as well as helps many to keep their New Year's resolutions, especially when trying to change one's eating habits to reduce calorie intake. There is nothing like getting some made-to-order recipes from a popular chef to help keep one motivated.

Weekly recipes created by Father Leo Patalinghug, host of Grace Before Meals, have been linked to Rice Bowl, the 40-year-old CRS campaign to raise awareness about hunger and raise funds to combat hunger and poverty. Father Patalinghug provides five recipes, one for each week of Lent.

The recipes are available from the CRS Web site, www.crsricebowl.org, and on YouTube. They feature low-cost, meatless ingredients. The CRS Web site also includes recipes from previous years that can be searched by year and country of origin.

In addition to the recipes, CRS has a free Rice Bowl app available for smartphones and tablets. It allows users to schedule delivery of daily reflections during Lent, to set and track progress toward a Lenten goal and view the recipes or see stories about people whose lives have been changed by the program. The app can be downloaded at: iTunes, the Google Play Store or the CRS Web site.

Recipes, reflection and other information about the campaign are also available on the CRS Web site, which also provides parishes and schools resources–in English and Spanish–for helping the entire community celebrate Lent richly. There are prayer services, intentions for Prayers of the Faithful, bulletin notices, a letter to families, weekly 10-minute enrichment resources for religious education, and activities.

Catholic schools are provided weekly lesson plans, prayer services and activities for various age groups. For both parishes and schools, there are prayer services for the beginning and end of Lent that integrate CRS Rice Bowl into the community's Lenten life.
For teens, special resources for prayer, learning and action are provided for both parish and school settings. Young adult groups and universities have community reflection resources designed for them.

This year, for the first time, CRS is making available a video series on Lenten practices; this is a formational series that does not focus on CRS Rice Bowl itself.

Father Ray Yrlas, CRS Diocesan Director

"We invite pastors and principals to engage in the Rice Bowl program to help us engage in works of service," Father Yrlas, who is also pastor at Sacred Heart in Rockport, said. "It helps our young people focus on people beyond our own neighborhood. It gives them a new perspective on problems children face in other parts of the world."

(Catholic News Service, Catholic Relief Services and South Texas Catholic contributed to this article.)