A Midcoast retreat is just one of many events, faith sharing groups, and unique opportunities being planned at parishes around Maine for Lent 2022. Lent is a period of spiritual renewal that helps prepare for the celebration of the Paschal mystery of Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection, at Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday (March 2, 2022) and ends on Holy Thursday (April 14, 2022) ahead of the Easter Triduum.
“Gritty Prayer,” an opportunity to “uncover what’s buried and share it with God,” will be offered in three of the churches of All Saints Parish in March. The free, three-part retreat for adults will feature presentations, music, prayer, and guided journaling with no small or large group sharing. The experience will be facilitated by Sheila Murphy, who holds degrees in music and pastoral theology and is a trained spiritual director.
“God desires our friendship. This friendship grows by our sharing what’s important to us,” said Murphy. “Often our most important things are those that we’ve somehow buried. This retreat will help us uncover these and make us freer to respond to God’s call to be actively involved in bringing God’s love to our world.”
On Monday, March 7, “Gritty Prayer” will be held live at St. Patrick Church in Newcastle and livestreamed to St. Mary Church in Bath and St. Charles Borromeo Church in Brunswick. Then, on March 14, the second part will be presented live at St. Mary Church and livestreamed to St. Patrick and St. Charles. Finally, the concluding session on March 21 will be offered at St. Charles Borromeo Church and livestreamed to St. Patrick and St. Mary. Each session will be offered twice on those days (10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.) to accommodate a variety of schedules.
“Participants can attend all three or any session, and we will also provide the livestream links to people who want to participate from home,” said Murphy. “Whether it’s one part or three parts, people will have a fruitful experience attending.”
All sessions will be available for viewing at allsaintsmaine.com at the “Gritty Prayer” link. Registration is recommended but not required. To register, call the parish at (207) 725-2624. For more information, visit allsaintsmaine.com/news/lenten-retreat-gritty-prayer.
The Diocese of Portland has a special Lent web section (portlanddiocese.org/lent-resources) featuring a variety of resources to assist you on your Lenten journey. In the section, you can find Mass times; Holy Week information; Scripture study and other faith-enriching offerings at parishes, both in-person and livestreamed; virtual and in-person retreat and parish mission opportunities; a schedule of Lenten meals; confession opportunities; Stations of the Cross schedules; “Echoing God’s Word in the Catholic Community”; “Saints of Lent”; Lectio Divina in English and Spanish; a “Sharing Our Gifts” section providing outlets for charitable giving; messages from Pope Francis and more.
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