CRS Rice Bowl shares Easter hope throughout the world

+ Enlarge

Greetings of the peace of the risen Lord!

The Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl reminds us that we are a global church living in solidarity with our brothers and sisters no matter the miles that may separate us. The money we place in our Rice Bowls as part of our Lenten practices of fasting, prayer and almsgiving make it possible for CRS to serve people in Ukraine by meeting refugees at train stations with food baskets, hygiene items and a warm and helping welcome as the refugees face the tragedy of invasion there and in other parts of the world.

Contributions to Rice Bowl also make it possible for CRS to assist the poor nation of Moldova as it welcomes Ukrainian refugees. To date, CRS has provided 5,000 hot meals at border crossings, is preparing to offer cash assistance to 100,000 refugees, and purchased beds, mattresses and sheets for refugee accommodation centers. CRS is also training frontline staff to address the psychological trauma experienced by refugees.

CRS is also working with its Caritas International partners in Poland and Romania, providing transportation and accommodation support, cash assistance, food and services to a growing number of unaccompanied children fleeing Ukraine.

In addition, Rice Bowl bolsters CRS’ ongoing work across 190 countries. In the Central African Republic, for example, CRS has long been on the ground helping to bridge religious and ethnic divides. Your gifts train communities to seek long-term solutions, support livelihood projects and provide trauma counseling and context-specific education that promotes empathy, critical thinking and personal responsibility.

As this year’s CRS Rice Bowl Stories of Hope relate, in Guatemala, CRS training and assistance helped Raúl and Lilian achieve their dream of starting a business. Now they sell their produce to schools so children in their village have fresh fruits and vegetables. In Bangladesh, Noornobi wanted to help his family succeed. Now his niece and nephew can attend school and work towards their dreams;  he makes enough to feed his family every day. In Rwanda, Gloriose and her husband wanted their children to attend a good school. Now they earn enough money to make that happen and Gloriose learned how to prepare balanced meals for her children so they can grow to be strong. (For more information, visit Catholic Relief Service https://www.crsricebowl.org/stories-of-hope/intro.)

All of this incredible effort, from meeting immediate health and safety needs to helping families reach their full human potential, is made possible through our faithful commitment to “go in peace, glorifying the Lord through our lives,” to paraphrase the final blessing of the Mass. Almsgiving for people living in poverty is one way we share our Eucharistic experience in our global community.  

As we celebrate the joys of Easter Sunday, let us share Easter hope with the people in Ukraine and elsewhere, through Catholic Relief Services’ Rice Bowl. Our generous donation helps the poor recognize the love of God for them in their need and a new life from the Risen Christ.

Thank you and Happy Easter!