Students at a Tampa Bay school get a taste of another culture while participating in Operation Rice Bowl and learning lessons of the Lenten season.

Msgr. Joe Ciampaglio holds an Operation Rice Bowl bank while talking about Catholic Relief Services at St. Ambrose parish in Cheverly, MD. Photo by Jim Stipe for CRS

St. Ambrose Parish in Cheverly, MD kicked off Operation Rice Bowl this Lenten season by hosting Msgr. Joe Ciampaglio, a CRS Global Fellow. Msgr. Ciampaglio shared how participation in Operation Rice Bowl helps support Catholic Relief Services development projects around the world. St. Ambrose Parish joins Catholic Relief Services and more than 13,000 other faith communities in the United States in a 35-year tradition of praying with our families and faith communities; fasting in solidarity with those who hunger; learning about our global community and the challenges of poverty around the world, and giving sacrificial contributions to those in need.

CRS staff members reading an opening prayer before a Lenten meal of soup, bread and water at the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Photo by David Snyder for CRS

Operation Rice Bowl is not just about putting money in a Rice Bowl during Lent. It combines four equally important components: praying, fasting, learning and giving. The alms are collected in the home or in the parish during Lent as one part of the program. Alms are a part of our Lenten sacrifice that includes praying and fasting. With the help of materials such as the Lenten Calendar, Operation Rice Bowl participants have a daily guide for prayer and fasting in solidarity with the poor. In addition to giving alms, participants also have the opportunity to learn more about the developing world and to deepen their Lenten experience with spiritual reflection.

Find out how well you know the world. Take the ORB World Awareness Quiz.

Lane Bunkers, CRS’ country representative in Ethiopia, talks about how programs like Operation Rice Bowl enable Catholics in the U.S. to contribute to much needed development programs in poor countries.

Rainfall patterns in Ethiopia are changing, much as they are all around the world. Previously, farmers could rely on two distinct rainy seasons each year but that’s not the case anymore. We’re also entering our third year of drought conditions which further complicates the growing cycles for these farmers.
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This Operation Rice Bowl recipe is papa with chakalaka (corn porridge with spicy vegetables) from Lesotho. Photo by Jim Stipe/CRS

Operation Rice Bowl offers easy recipes from around the world using food staples like rice, beans and vegetables from developing countries. Preparing these dishes together allows Catholic families to observe Lent and experience a simple meal while learning about places where people live on less than $2 a day – and where meat is often considered a luxury. Donate the money you would have spent on a big meal, and you can support development projects that improve people’s ability to access food in communities in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the United States. All of the recipes are basic, simple and meatless, and take very little time to prepare. For dozens of recipes, including dishes from Bolivia, Afghanistan and Lesotho, visit http://orb.crs.org/recipes/.

At the Shrine of the Sacred Heart school in Baltimore, MD, fourth-grade teacher Rosita Jackson talks to her students about Operation Rice Bowl. Photo by Jim Stipe/CRS

Rosita Jackson, a fourth grade teacher in Baltimore, has participated in Operation Rice Bowl for several years, using the opportunity to teach her students about far-flung places like Ethiopia and Bolivia, turning the program into an important geography lesson all at the same time. The enthusiasm of her students to learn about CRS beneficiaries and their way of lives is a great reminder of how important it is to learn about our global neighbors. And ORB offers learning and prayer resources for all ages and situations. Whether cooking the meals together as a family and praying that our brothers and sisters will have enough to eat, to participating in ORB as a parish, Operation Rice Bowl is a multi-faceted program enabling everyone to get involved in their own way.

What is your favorite Lenten tradition?

CRS staff from the northeast office join local parishioners at the Annunciation BVM church in Philadelphia for an Operation Rice Bowl meal. Photo by David Snyder for CRS

There are many ways that families and parishes can enhance their Lenten observance. The Diocese of Memphis is asking parishioners to abstain from daily cups of coffee and after-dinner snacks, donating that money to Operation Rice Bowl. Not sure how to organize your own Lenten activities? Operation Rice Bowl offers a week-by-week guide for parishes, including tips on how to involve parish committees and incorporating ORB into weekly activities. It also includes a timeline that will help parishes plan and organize Operation Rice Bowl in their community.

A family prepares to enjoy a simple, meatless meal and talk about Operation Rice Bowl in their home. Photo by Jim Stipe/CRS

Consider prayer, fasting, community service, sacrificial giving, or a combination of these.

Millions of Catholics are already participating in Operation Rice Bowl, CRS’ annual Lenten program that provides 40 opportunities to learn about, pray for and help those who don’t have enough to eat. Participants make the small sacrifice of preparing simple, meatless recipes each week and putting the money they otherwise would have spent on a big meal into symbolic rice bowls. That money goes to support CRS’ mission to fight global hunger and poverty.

With a calendar suggesting daily reflections and prayer, as well as concrete ways to act, Operation Rice Bowl lets us observe Lent in both a spiritual and practical way.