Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church
Hot Springs Village, Arkansas
Dear Families,

The season of Lent gives us a wonderful opportunity to reflect and make room in our hearts to welcome the stranger.  Through our prayer, we encounter Jesus, who is present in the face of every member of our human family.  When we fast, we encounter the obstacles that prevent us from fully loving God and our neighbor.  When we give alms, we share what we have with others.  During Lent, our commuity will participate in CRS Rice Bowl, a faith-in-action program that invites us to reflect on the challenges of global hunger-and our Gospel call to care for our global human family.

Matthew's Gospel invites us to remember that we are responsible for helping all our sisters and brothers, even those who are strangers to us.  When we do this, we care for Christ.  In Matthew 25:40, Jesus tells us that,  "Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me."  Through our Lenten prayers, fasting and almsgiving, we can respond to the needs of our sisters and brothers, including the millions of men, women and children around the world who experience chronic hunger.

CRS Rice Bowl provides many resources for daily reflection throughout Lent.  Consider these suggestions in your family's Lenten plan:

*  Use your CRS Rice Bowl and Lenten Calendar each day to guide your prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
*  Read the Stories of Hope and daily reflections to inspire your Lenten journey.
*  Use the CRS Rice Bowl recipes to prepare simple, meatless meals on the Fridays of Lent to eat in          solidarity with our sisters and brothers around the world.
*  Visit www.crsricebowl.org to watch videos of the people and communities you support through your        Lenten gifts to CRS Rice Bowl.

CRS Rice Bowls will be collected at the end of Lent, so stay tuned to learn more.  Thank you for participating in CRS Rice Bowl with your family.