One of the topics that comes up frequently in our small Christian community is distractions. We are constantly bombarded with messages from so many different messengers it can be overwhelming. When is the last time you were in a place that had complete silence? I am not talking about somewhere that had the television on mute with the closed captioning running. I am talking about nothing happening but you and God. That is the ultimate benefit of being unplugged and focused. You know that Jesus was very effective because he was very focused on his mission. He came to earth to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for us. Everything he did was about that. His training of the disciples and followers was about bringing his salvation message in service to others. His preaching was about helping us to understand why he was willing to give of his life for us--the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus also spent time in the desert and elsewhere in silence. If Jesus needed to separate himself in order to communicate with God, where does that leave us? It is imperative that you carve out time each day to talk with God and then just listen. Sit in silence with God each day. Start small (say one minute) and then increase the time gradually until you feel it is enough. God will talk to you but you have to be focused on listening. If your mission is to live eternally with God in heaven, don't you think you need to begin to work on that goal? God is waiting to save you. Will you answer his call?

Wanted to share an article from U.S. Catholic with you. Let me know what you think. The Rev. Martin Schlag is a trained economist as well as a Catholic moral theologian, and when he first read some of Pope Francis’ powerful critiques of the current free market system he had the same thought a lot of Americans did: “Just horrible.” But at a meeting in May, Schlag, an Austrian-born priest who teaches economics at an Opus Dei-run university in Rome, reassured a group of Catholics, many from the world of business and finance, that Francis’ views on capitalism aren’t actually as bad as he feared. “You can get the impression that the pope is against capitalism,” said Schlag, who heads the Markets, Culture and Ethics Research Centre at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, located near the Vatican. But he explained that what Francis—the first Latin American pope—understands as capitalism is in fact the “crony capitalism” that is found in the pontiff’s native Argentina and much of Latin America. Schlag defined “crony capitalism” as “a form of capitalism where people get rich not because of their work but because of their friendships and political connections and the privileges they have.” That is quite different from the American system, he said. “Does the pope understand the United States? I think he doesn’t know the United States,” said Schlag, who is also an adviser to the Vatican department that deals with social and economic issues. Schlag said he believes that the pontiff’s Sept. 22–27 visit to the U.S., his first to the country, will be an opportunity for Francis to learn more about America and to appreciate the positive aspects of what Schlag said is the most successful economy in history.

Pope Francis visited one of Latin America's most notorious prisons, calling himself "a man who was and is saved from his many sins." "I couldn't leave Bolivia without seeing you, without sharing the hope and faith given in the cross," he told people at Palmasola prison in Santa Cruz. Speaking on the final morning of his less than 48-hour visit to Bolivia, the pope called for conversion and a changing of attitudes among inmates in their relations among each other and the broader society, which often views such populations with suspicions. "When Jesus becomes part of our lives, we can no longer remain imprisoned by our past," Pope Francis said. "Instead, we begin to look to the present, and we see it differently, with a different kind of hope." The visit again reflected the pope's preoccupation for prison populations, who, in Latin America, often serve their sentences in overcrowded and violent facilities -- if they're sentenced at all. Palmasola has an especially notorious reputation, especially after a 2013 incident in which a gang armed with improvised flamethrowers killed 31 inmates and left more than 30 others badly burned. Three inmates told Pope Francis of their tribulations inside the prison. "I consider this place to be Sodom and Gomorrah. There is no control here," Leonidas Martinez, who has spent 18 years in Palmasola, told Pope Francis. "No authority does anything to stop any of this abuse." Papal well-wishers lined a muddy road to the prison, where families of the inmates say they have to pay for everything on the inside -- including food and places to sleep. The prison is open for the most part, families say, with an economy of shops, services and food spots set up; the wives and children of some inmates live on the inside. The prison ministry reports 84 percent of inmates have not been convicted of any crimes. Overcrowding in prisons tops 300 percent. Access to justice is limited, and inmates are forced to pay the transportation costs or give gas money to attend their court days. "(It's) judicial terrorism," while those with money pay for lawyers and exit quickly, said Analia Parada, who spoke for the female prison population, which included "many pregnant women." Prison officials spend the equivalent of 87 cents per prisoner per day on food, forcing families to feed and maintain their loved ones on the inside. "You can imagine the kind of food we're being given," inmate Andres de Jesus Cespedes, 19, told Pope Francis. Equally difficult for the inmate population, most of whom have not been sentenced, "No one knows how long they will be here," he added. Officials of the Bolivian bishops' prison ministry were blunt in their assessment of the problems in Bolivia's prisons. "Holy Father, we have to tell you with the prophetic voice of a committed church: It's a scandal for Bolivia," said Archbishop Jesus Juarez Parraga of Sucre, president of Caritas Bolivia and national director of its prison ministry. "We see in (the inmates) the contradictory signal of being victims and victimizers, the evidence of a society that produces poverty, inequality and violence; the weakness of morals in the family, education and even in religions," he said. The papal visit, Archbishop Juarez added, "makes real and present the words of Jesus: 'I was in prison and you came to visit me.'" Pope Francis called for solidarity with prison populations, but also for inmates to show solidarity among themselves. "Being imprisoned, 'shut in,' is not the same thing as being 'shut out.' Detention is part of a process of reintegration into society," Pope Francis said. "The way you live together depends to some extent on yourselves. Suffering and deprivation can make us selfish of heart and lead to confrontation. "Do not be afraid to help one another. The devil is looking for rivalry, division, gangs." The pope ended his speech by asking the inmates to pray for him, "because I, too, have my mistakes, and I too must do penance."

Have you ever been approached by someone who asks you if you believe in the afterlife? How did you respond? I think that we have all heard the adage that it is better to believe and be wrong than not believe at all. The Bible talks about faith a lot and Jesus dealt with the faith issue head on in the post-resurrection incident recounted in John 20:24-29 which says, “Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." While not specifically about the afterlife, it does speak directly to maintaining our faith while still having doubts. The opposite of faith is not doubt but unbelief and there is a big difference. Jesus addresses this matter in Mark 9:22-24 when he encounters a man who has faith and doubt. Jesus does not condemn or turn away from the man but instead removes a demon from the son of the man. It is a human condition to have doubt but we must work to overcome it. We should seek to identify the root of doubt and that usually involves getting to know who God is and exploring our understanding of what being a Christian really means. Christianity is certainly not a blanket of protection that will ward off all bad things but instead a confidence in knowing that we should turn to God in all things. He will lead us down the right path. In addition, we should not keep our doubt to ourselves but seek guidance from God and others who can help. Speak to your priest, spiritual advisor, family or Christian friend. The apostles turned to Jesus for guidance when they had doubts. There is our example.

In his last encounter during his visit to Ecuador, Pope Francis on Wednesday warned priests and religious against career ambitions that lead to 'spiritual Alzheimer’s.' “When a seminarian or priest thinks too much about his career, he starts to suffer from spiritual Alzheimer's and he loses his memory and forgets where he came from,” the Pope said. “Never forget where you came from; don’t forget your roots.” Emphasizing that “everything is a free gift,” he pointed to the example of Mary. “She was never a protagonist. All her life she was a disciple. Mary knew that everything she had was a freely given gift from God,” he said. “And God’s free gift is shown in you, religious men and women, and priests and seminarians.” “We need to go back to that free gift of God,” he continued. “You paid no entry ticket to be who you are or to be where you are in the seminary or in religious life. You did nothing to deserve it.” The Holy Father encouraged the clergy and religious to recognize that everything is a free gift from God and to “give back to the Lord.” He invited them to look at Christ each night before bed and thank him for the free gift of everything in their lives. Even things that may be difficult, such as being sent to a new location as a priest or religious, is part of the freely given gift from God, he said. “We are the objects of those freely given gifts and we are important only insofar as we never forget that,” he stressed, warning against those who say, “Oh look at this one, look at that one, look at this bishop or that one they’ve made a monsignor.” “If we do that we slowly move further and further away from the example of Mary, the example of the gift.” Pope Francis lamented situations when a priest or religious abandons the use of their native tongue – especially in Ecuador, where there are more than 20 indigenous languages spoken by the nation's diverse cultures. “It's sad when priests or religious forget their local dialect, or don't want to speak them anymore – it means they've forgotten where they came from.” In addition, he exhorted the crowd to remember that “yours is a life of service: God chose you to serve. Service is for others – not for me, my time, my things.” He cautioned against a priest insisting his office close at a given time, or who complains about house blessings because he's tired; or saying there's a soap opera on TV – “I say this to the nuns,” he jested. These examples, he said, “are not service.” “Service means doing what you have to do, even when you're tired. Even when people irritate you … service means dedicating ourselves to others.” “Please, do not ask to be paid for having received grace,” the Pope added. “May our pastoral work be a free gift.” He said a consecrated person who lives out their free gift, who is aware of their memory, can be recognized by their joy. “Joy is a gift of Jesus, which he gives us if we ask for it.” “We have to pray that we never lose our memories, never forget, that we never feel we're more important than others.”

Like on any true pilgrimage, a group of Floridians met strangers along the way and were greeted by local people as well as travelers doing things both secular and recreation on a sunny summer Saturday in the Florida Keys. They sang hymns, prayed part of the Divine Mercy, read a pilgrim prayer and recited the rosary. They prayed the Stations of the Cross, heard reflections from the nation's Founding Fathers, stopped to admire sacred artwork, stained-glass windows and historic grottos, and walk through an elaborate prayer garden. For the fourth year in a row and as part of the nationwide U.S. bishops' Fortnight for Freedom effort, a small group of South Florida Catholics embarked June 27 on a daylong pilgrimage to the five Catholic parishes in the Florida Keys. The fortnight event is a call to U.S. Catholics to defend their freedom of religion and monitor ongoing threats against religious liberties that impact church entities nationwide. Adding urgency to the Floridians' fortnight conversations this year was the fact that just one day earlier, on June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Constitution guarantees a nationwide right to same-sex marriages, prompting further concern that the federal government may interfere with long held religious beliefs and marriage traditions among faith communities such as the Catholic Church.