If there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. The scripture, taken from St. Paul’s letter to the Church at Philippi is proclaimed on the various National Holidays in our Church. This reading is meant to call to mind the things we have to be thankful for and that are worthy of living out and defending. It was also used this year as the scriptural theme for the Kurs Encampment. During the Encampment we focused on various traits we are called to embody: Confidence, Humility, Gratitude, Fortitude, Conviction, and Heroism.
If there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
The scripture above, taken from St. Paul’s letter to the Church at Philippi is proclaimed on the various National Holidays in our Church. This reading is meant to call to mind the things we have to be thankful for and that are worthy of living out and defending. It was also used this year as the scriptural theme for the Kurs Encampment. During the Encampment we focused on various traits we are called to embody: Confidence, Humility, Gratitude, Fortitude, Conviction, and Heroism. Let us pray that all of the youth attending as well as our adult leaders took these traits to heart and found new ways to live them out each day. The capstone of both the Men’s Retreat and Kurs was the Prime Bishop’s presentation on Freedom given particularly in light of the 250th anniversary of our nation.
What is Freedom?
If you ask the average person on the street, the typical reply is: ‘I can do whatever I want!’ or ‘I am free to do as I please!’ Unfortunately, that answer is 100% wrong, and is in fact a perpetuation of all that is wrong. Properly understood, freedom is the ability and opportunity to live out the virtues previously mentioned plus all of the other good things we are called to do. Freedom allows us to excel and exceed our present circumstances and work for the betterment of our communal life. Freedom allows us to show forth our Christian commitment without fear, and work diligently for the establishment, not of our nation’s power, but for God’s Kingdom. Those other things, doing whatever I want, doing as I please are mere excuses for the baser things in our life, be it simple laziness or engaging in sin without accountability. St. Paul reminds us whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Let us do that with our freedom.
Welcome to our July/August 2026 Newsletter. Certainly it is a bit late coming out. Father Jim's many responsibilities throughout July put a bit of delay on everything, but here it is.
The Newsletter notes Fr. Jim's activities throughout the summer. There is a thank you to all who attended the 2026 Men's Retreat. A full report should be in the August issue of God's Field. We will be at the Altamont Fair Chapel once again, this year on Friday, August 21st with Holy Mass at 11am. The big news is our upcoming Parish and Community Picnic honoring Service Members and Veterans. There will be giveaways for Service Members and Veterans and their families and all of our usual great picnic food. Check out the details inside. Most importantly, we pause in these months to give thanks for our nation and to pray for her.
All that an more in our July/August 2026 Newsletter.
