Ash Wednesday 2025 kicks off a Lenten Journey of Hope and Action

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of CRS Rice Bowl, a powerful Lenten tradition uniting Catholics in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to combat global hunger. Since 1975, this initiative has transformed lives—one meal, one family, one community at a time.

“We are called to reach out to those who find themselves in the existential peripheries of our world and to show them the tender love of God.” – Pope Francis

This Lent, we invite you to walk alongside families in Nigeria, Guatemala, and Bangladesh, where food insecurity threatens futures. Stories of Hope, like Hongkham’s in Laos, remind us of the real impact of our giving. Once struggling to feed her children, she found support through CRS and became a community leader, ensuring local schoolchildren always have warm meals.

As our world faces an unprecedented food crisis, your sacrifice can be someone’s survival. Let us stand together as one human family—nourishing bodies, uplifting hearts, and sowing seeds of lasting change. Give today and be a part of the hope.

To learn more about ways to share love with others, visit the Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl website.

For meatless recipe ideas on Ash Wednesday, try this tasty dish from the Philippines!