Franciscan Sister Speaker at Connected 23: Holy Spirit and You

Sister JulieAnn Sheahan

January 18, 2023

Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity Sister Pam Biehl was invited to speak at Connected 23: The Holy Spirit & You on January 15, 2023. Organized by Jeri Keepers, Director of Religious Education at Holy Family Parish, Marinette, Wisconsin, high school students came from surrounding parish communities to St. Thomas Aquinas Academy High School Gym for an afternoon and evening of spiritual enrichment and community building. Pastor of Holy Family, Marinette Fr. Celestine Byekwaso and other adults lent a hand in creating an atmosphere of welcome and involvement.  Young adults were also specially invited to be part of a panel responding to questions and answers at the end of the day. Other invited speakers included Maggie Melchior and Maximus Cabey. Live worship music, a salad and sandwich bar, games, Adoration, and a raffle of prizes were other planned activities.

Here are some meaningful takeaways from Sister Pam’s talk

Holy Spirit and you!

  • The presence of God dwelling in us can be described as the Holy Spirit, that God within our deepest self. That Presence needs to be recognized, honored and drawn upon to become a living Presence within us.
  • Know these things :
    • that we are loved that much by a God whose love for his creation knows no limits
    • that we are loved by a God who loves us despite everything and because of everything we do
    • that we are loved by a God who wants us to once again rejoice in themselves and in one another as sons and daughters of God
    • that we are loved by a God of joy, a God of hope, a God of everything that is good

Sister gave a Joy Test surveying 8 things that happy people choose to do everyday.

One of the things happy people do every day is PRAY.

She shared a prayer challenge that the Diocese of Milwaukee has created to help people build a habit of prayer.

 Take 1% of your day to get to know Jesus better.

One Percent Prayer (archmil.org)

The group took time to do a 1/2% percent time to pray using a handy prayer guide found on the site.

Article Comments:

Sister Anne Marie Lom 01/18/2023 @ 8:21 am

What a beautiful summary of what looks to be a significant gathering of high school students. Thank you for sharing the content as well as photos of the environment. I intend to ask Sister Pam for a copy of the Joy test.

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