By Sheila O’Connor-Ambrose, Ph.D.
Our Lady of Lourdes, Utica
Pope Francis, during his historic US visit last month, reminded us that God is restless for our hearts: “Jesus keeps knocking on our doors, the doors of our lives. He doesn’t do this by magic, with special effects, with flashing lights and fireworks. Jesus keeps knocking on our door in the faces of our brothers and sisters, in the faces of our neighbors, in the faces of those at our side.”
Prayer, he says, is “where we experience the joy of knowing that Jesus in our midst.” This joy—this contagious joy—is the theme and mission of this year’s all-day Syracuse Catholic Women’s Conference on Saturday, November 7, at the Oncenter. Three nationally known speakers will speak: Father Andrew Apostoli, CFR, writer Simcha Fisher, and Sister Miriam James Heidland, SOLT.
Sister Miriam, known on Twitter as “@onegroovynun,” belongs to the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT), a missionary community that serves needy areas. In college, Sister Miriam played volleyball on a scholarship and majored in communications. She has served in SOLT missions in Rome, Seattle, and Texas—and has worked with schoolchildren, coached high school volleyball, and co-hosted a Catholic radio program. She speaks widely on theology of the body and the dignity of women, and her story has been shared across secular and Catholic media, including Catholic Answers Live, National Catholic Register, Relevant Radio, and EWTN. In 2014, Sister Miriam published her first book, Loved As I Am.
Visit syracusecwc.com or call (315) 475-9332 for more conference details or to register. We look forward to welcoming you—and hundreds of other women—to a prayer-filled day of grace, fellowship—and contagious joy!
