Joyful Gospel Living-March 16, 2025

SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT

 “My brothers and sisters…stand firm in the Lord.”

Whenever my husband Jeff and I have been on pilgrimages to other countries, we have had the privilege to meet many priests and religious who serve in the foreign missions.  When Jesus shared the Good News with His first followers, He expected them to go out to all the world and share what they had seen and heard.  In their limited understanding of the world at that time, though, those first disciples were limited by geographical borders that were known mainly by trade routes or conquests.  So much of the world was still waiting to be explored!

Why was St. Paul compelled to tell the Philippians to “stand firm in the Lord”? Even in their time, people living ordinary lives in common society had to be reminded that people of faith, whose minds were occupied with earthly things, are citizens of heaven. During our Lenten journey, is our daily prayer helping us to stand firm in the Lord?

During our pilgrimages, the missionaries that we met shared many stories of their compassionate encounters with people in developing countries: education, health care, maternity services, cooperative projects for sustainability, and trauma relief for those who had seen great violence and destruction. In our Lenten experiences, most of us are safe from harm, comfortable with our food, clothing, and shelter, and far away from those who are suffering.  A good question to ask ourselves during Lent: How does Catholic social teaching on solidarity shape our almsgiving?  Do we hear the cry of the poor when they are suffering?

Before Ash Wednesday, I was on a special Zoom call hosted by the Franciscan Sisters of Philadelphia in Aston, PA.  Their guest speaker was a staff member of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), who spoke about the need to continue funding programs that provide care all over the world.  After the speaker’s opening remarks, we shared questions and comments.  One of the elderly religious sisters (who participated on that call from Africa after midnight!) was a 30-year missionary to Kenya, where she had been working faithfully in AIDS ministry to children.  Because of CRS support, she told us with gratitude that they no longer had any children who passed away due to AIDS.  She was concerned about what would happen there when their current supplies of medicine are expended and there is no additional funding to obtain medicines.

Motivated by this Zoom call, the Franciscan Sisters’ Care for Creation Committee voted unanimously to focus the community’s Lenten almsgiving on the CRS Rice Bowl project.  I visited the CRS website to see what kind of new insights were there for donors to appreciate the challenges better.  The CRS Mission Statement resonates with the Gospel’s message of transfiguration:

“Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. We are motivated by the Gospel of Jesus Christ to cherish, preserve and uphold the sacredness and dignity of all human life, foster charity and justice, and embody Catholic social and moral teaching.”

On the CRS home page, I found a special link that was posted on March 5^th:

CRS’ Rice Bowl Program Celebrates 50 Years of Global Hunger Reduction | CRS

I can still remember the joy that our family had when our four adult children were growing up to fill the CRS Rice Bowl together during our Lenten journey.

As I thought about the Franciscan sisters, who take a vow of poverty, live in service to others, and made this a special Lenten priority because the need in the world is greater now than ever, I thought about God promising Abram that his descendants would be more numerous than the stars in the heavens.  So many centuries later, his descendants (Jewish, Christian, and Muslim) number in the billions and live on five continents!  Yet CRS reminds us that we must urgently take care of many of these brothers and sisters who need our compassion and generosity:

“According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, more than 580 million people could be chronically undernourished in 2030 – just five years away – if the trajectory is left unchecked. Elevated hunger levels are quickly becoming the new normal, causing long-term and generational harm to children, families and communities.  More than 340 million people around the world are currently facing some level of food insecurity, with nearly 2 million facing catastrophic hunger – primarily in Gaza and Sudan. Many of these food crises involve overlapping issues that increase year after year.”

We can inspire our children and grandchildren to stand firm in our world that is too often preoccupied by earthly distractions by taking less than two minutes to watch this YouTube video about the CRS Rice Bowl’s history:

https://youtu.be/5QoPVNxKEGE

It is so easy to stand firm in solidarity with the poor:

Online: crsricebowl.org/give

Phone:  877-435-7277 (8 AM-11 PM ET) for CRS Rice Bowl

Mail (Please write “CRS Rice Bowl” on memo line of check):

Catholic Relief Services (Attn: CRS Rice Bowl)
P.O. Box 5200
Harlan, IA 51593-0700

May this CRS Prayer shape our Lenten desires:

“Jesus, Bread of Life, as we encounter You in the Eucharist this Lent, nourish us with Your love, unite us in communion with our sisters and brothers, showing us how we are connected.  Transform [transfigure] our hearts, that we may be moved to share bread for life with our global family and work for a world where all can thrive.  AMEN.”

Teresa S. Redder, OFS

Saint Katharine Drexel Regional Minister