St. Joseph Catholic Church, 231 Main St., Ellsworth, Maine 04605 Phone (207) 667-2342

• Lent is a 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. It's a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter. During Lent, we seek the Lord in prayer by reading Sacred Scripture; we serve by giving alms; and we practice self-control through fasting. We are called not only to abstain from luxuries during Lent, but to a true inner conversion of heart as we seek to follow Christ's will more faithfully. We recall the waters of baptism in which we were also baptized into Christ's death, died to sin and evil, and began new life in Christ.

  Many know of the tradition of abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent, but we are also called to practice self-discipline and fast in other ways throughout the season. Contemplate the meaning and origins of the Lenten fasting tradition in this reflection. In addition, the giving of alms is one way to share God's gifts—not only through the distribution of money, but through the sharing of our time and talents. As St. John Chrysostom reminds us: "Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours, but theirs." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2446).

  In Lent, the baptized are called to renew their baptismal commitment as others prepare to be baptized through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, a period of learning and discernment for individuals who have declared their desire to become Catholics.

Pope Benedict XVI’s apostolic exhortation, The Sacrament of Charity, inspired Living the Eucharist. This exhortation calls on all Catholics to renew our experience of the Sacrament of the Eucharist as a mystery to be believed, a mystery to be celebrated, and a mystery to be lived.

Living the Eucharist renews and heightens parishioner involvement in the Sunday Eucharist, helps parishioners connect the celebration of the Eucharist more closely with the mission of Jesus Christ and the Church, and inspires them to live more intentionally as missionary disciples of Jesus during the week.

Thirteen small groups from within our Cluster met to pray over the meaning of Lent, certain aspects of the Mass and the Sunday Readings. Through heartfelt faith sharing and discussion the participants found inspiration and an enriched Lenten Journey during these six weeks.  We are sharing photos of those groups.

LTE – Facilitators & Coordinators
Kate Gile, Sandy Nelson, Edith Lyman, Ray Walters, Paul Saltysiak, Kit Lane, Fr. Cahill, Kristi Losquadro, Kate McLoud, Bill Landmesser, Sandy Rossomondo, Wendy Johnston, and Joe Losquadro

Monday – Bar Harbor Group
Joan Sheridan, Kathy Perrine, Edith Lyman, Carol Stabinsky, Sue Seavey

Saturday – Brooklin Group
John & Sandy Rossomondo, Diane & Frank Bianco, Marcia & John Diamond

Sunday – Blue Hill Group Jim Ford, Glenna Ford, Rick Seger 
David Putnam, and Rita Seger (Kit Lane taking photo – see reflection 

Tuesday – Ellsworth Group
John Lynch, Fr. Cahill, Jill Jameson,
Dale Worthen, Trish Worthen, Joe Losquadro (Judy Losquadro not in photo) 

Wednesday – Ellsworth Group
Sue Hann, Lorraine Mooers, Irene McCallister
Suzanne Sargent, Sandy Nelson, Tammy Proctor, Kate Gile
(Gloria Tarr not in photo)

Thursday – Corea Group
Vickie Brochu, Rose Arnett, Kate McLoud,
Rose Ann Schultz, John Primeau

Castine Group
Carolyn Ciampa, Wendy Johnston, Anne Leonard, and Lourdes Wellington

Stella Maris – Monday, Wednesday and Thursday Groups
Three groups combined in this photo – 5 participants were absent at time of photo

Stonington Group
Claudette Kydd, Wendy Johnston, and Martha Goss

Bar Harbor – Tuesday Evening Group
Seth Robins, Eileen Doreika, Theresa Robins, Kristi Losquadro, Ray Walters, Edith Lyman, and Jim Elk.