Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent, a period where
many Christians engage in fasting, prayer, almsgiving and confession of sins.
It cumulates in Holy Week, the week before Easter: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and
Holy Saturday. Lent finishes on Easter
Sunday, the day that celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Though we are living in an increasingly secular world, these traditions continue to hold cultural meaning and value for those who participate, either as the community of faithful or as special occasion worshippers. A significant aspect to the Lenten period is the remembering of those less fortunate. Although, this, I argue, should be part of one's daily life in the form of volunteerism, advocacy, activism, financial contributions or acts of general kindness, people are not perfect and get caught up in other aspects of their own lives. Lent is a good opportunity for all of us to take time to remember others and renew our engagement to volunteer, advocate for those who are marginalized, give donations of time, resources, money or skills, and remember to be kind and thoughtful.
Though we are living in an increasingly secular world, these traditions continue to hold cultural meaning and value for those who participate, either as the community of faithful or as special occasion worshippers. A significant aspect to the Lenten period is the remembering of those less fortunate. Although, this, I argue, should be part of one's daily life in the form of volunteerism, advocacy, activism, financial contributions or acts of general kindness, people are not perfect and get caught up in other aspects of their own lives. Lent is a good opportunity for all of us to take time to remember others and renew our engagement to volunteer, advocate for those who are marginalized, give donations of time, resources, money or skills, and remember to be kind and thoughtful.
The Catholic Relief Services (CRS), a humanitarian and
emergency relief organization, has developed an app for their yearly
fundraising campaign, Lenten CRS Rice Bowl 2014, the Lenten program known for
its colorful cardboard rice bowl -- in 2013 the program raised $7 million to
fight hunger and poverty. "With the App people can schedule delivery of daily
reflections to their mobile device, set and track their progress towards a
personal Lenten goal, view the simple meatless recipes to prepare and serve on
Fridays during Lent, and read or watch stories about the people whose lives
have been changed. The App is free and can be downloaded from the iTunes and
Goggle Play stores or at crsricebowl.org/app."
Learn more here: http://www.crsricebowl.org/
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