Operation of the Heart

One of the best parts of my new job at Catholic Charities Houma-Thibodaux is coordinating Operation Rice Bowl. It’s the Lenten program of Catholic Relief Services, the official relief and development arm of the U.S. Catholic bishops. Throughout Lent, Catholics drop their spare change in cardboard containers shaped like rice bowls to support the work of Catholic Relief Services throughout the developing world and in the U.S.

As I spoke with directors of religious education and parish secretaries in preparation for Operation Rice Bowl, one story was repeated from Morgan City to Larose. Every Easter, the rice bowls are returned from CCD classes and Catholic schools, and the bookkeepers and volunteers empty the children’s bowls to count the change. They always find, intermingled with the nickels and dimes, Chuck E. Cheese tokens. We got a chuckle out of the story, shaking our heads at the charming naïveté of children even if they miss the mark by a little (and make the bookkeepers’ jobs a little bit harder).

Of course, we often underestimate the wisdom of children, and in remembering this story I realized that the kids got it right. What kid doesn’t think Chuck E. Cheese’s is utter paradise? It follows that the kids who shared something so special and exciting were the ones who really paid attention during their Operation Rice Bowl lessons, the ones who really understood. Their gift can remind us of something: how important it is to help others, and the true joy that comes from giving from the heart.

You might associate hearts and love more with that other late winter holiday, Valentine’s Day, than with the somber Lenten season. But Lent is just as much a time of the heart. In Lent, we are called to change our hearts and turn them back toward God, to “open the eyes of [our] hearts,” in the words of a popular praise and worship song. When we open our hearts’ eyes, we can’t help but see those around us, too. We open our hearts’ eyes to the injustices that have been done them, and we open them, too, to the inalienable dignity that each of those people possesses. In this time of hearts, our hearts are filled with compassion and stand strong in solidarity, which is the sense that, whether we suffer or rejoice, we do not do it alone. The struggles of one in Zambia or Peru are our struggles, too. And in this time of doing penance for our wrongs, we rectify our mistake of forgetting each other. Those little cardboard boxes of Operation Rice Bowl are the humble vehicles of an endeavor of the heart.

The Catholic Relief Services projects sponsored by Operation Rice Bowl and supported by the generosity of hearts like yours are more than a band-aid solution to poverty and hunger. Catholic Relief Services seeks to build justice and to give those they serve the tools they need to rise out of poverty and into a life that recognizes their dignity. They provide a broad range of services in their countries where they work in order to help whole communities. In Egypt, Operation Rice Bowl dollars support a micro-lending program that allows women to start their own businesses and add to their families’ incomes. Catholic Relief Services programs in Honduras and the Philippines offer grass-roots classes for farmers to help them improve their methods and increase productivity; farmers who graduate go on to share their knowledge with others in their communities. In Tanzania, Catholic Relief Services provides AIDS orphans with the support they need — through food, health care, education and vocational training, and counseling — to turn their suffering into the strength to help others. Just as importantly, the Operation Rice Bowl program touches hearts here, too.

Through traditional Lenten practices, Operation Rice Bowl participants learn about life in other parts of the world, pray for the brothers and sisters they learn about, fast in solidarity with the poor, and give what they have from the bottom of their hearts. You might not have started participating in Operation Rice Bowl yet, but there’s a month left in Lent, and there’s still plenty of time to engage your heart. For more information and resources, like a home calendar guide, global vegetarian recipes perfect for Friday nights, and prayers, contact your parish. You can also contact Catholic Charities Houma-Thibodaux’s Office of Parish Social Ministry at 876-0490 or kanderson@htdiocese.org. Let your heart be glad in the good we’re doing!