Ep 84 - Unleash Your Inner Catholic Cowboy: A Spiritual Ride with Fr. Bryce Lungren

The Manly Catholic (00:00.344)
making sure. Okay, we are recording. Excellent. Okay, perfect. So yeah, what I have started to do father is I'll introduce you but then I'll if you don't mind, I'll have you lead us in prayer. And then I'll have you give us just your own personal background. I just find people give their a better intro than what I can ever do. So I'll just kind of kick it to you. And then I'll ask you the

the patron saint. If you could be the patron saint of anything, and then we'll just kind of dive in. I know I, like I said, I loved your books, I kind of quoted you a bit here. And then we can, again, this doesn't have to be we don't have to stick to that we can kind of freelance it. I want this to be a genuine conversation. So that was just kind of to guide us. So if anything pops up in your head, we can, we can go for there. Okay. Awesome. Any questions before we before we get rolling?

Fr. Bryce (00:31.614)
end.

Fr. Bryce (00:39.053)
Yeah.

Fr. Bryce (00:47.95)
Yeah, I think it's helpful. Yeah, that sounds good.

Fr. Bryce (00:57.11)
No, I don't think so. No, I'm pretty free for them. Yeah, over an hour. I mean, it can make for a good discussion. So I've done some of these, so this is good.

The Manly Catholic (00:58.849)
Okay. Perfect.

Excellent. And then is it Lundgren? Is that how you say your last name? Okay, excellent. Perfect. And then do you prefer always do you prefer Father Bryce or Father Lundgren? Father Bryce. Okay. Perfect. Let's go with that. Okay. All right, let's do this.

Fr. Bryce (01:09.905)
Yeah, that's good. You bet.

Fr. Bryce (01:16.926)
I do. Father Bryce is how I go by. So that's cool. Yeah.

The Manly Catholic (01:25.592)
Hello all, welcome to another episode of The Manly Catholic. I am James, your host, and with me tonight, we have a very special guest. We have Father Bryce Lundgren. Father Bryce, welcome to The Manly Catholic podcast.

Fr. Bryce (01:38.218)
Hey, thanks, man. It's an honor and privilege and joy to be here with you.

The Manly Catholic (01:42.648)
Yes, absolutely. Well, thank you again so much for your time. So for those of you who don't know Father Bryce, Father Bryce wrote this amazing book. I'm going to flash it on the screen here. Hopefully you guys can read that. Okay. But it is the Catholic Cowboy Way, Finding Peace and Purpose on the Brank Called Life. So we will be discussing this, this awesome book again, I just finished it a couple days ago and I was highlighting it like crazy and I'm quoting them a bunch and stuff. So I'm really excited to discuss this from, from the man himself. So, but before

Fr. Bryce (02:06.894)
Okay.

The Manly Catholic (02:12.08)
We get into that. Father Bryce, do you mind leading us in a word of prayer, please?

Fr. Bryce (02:15.234)
Let's do it. Yep, in the name of the Father and Son and the Holy Spirit. Lord, we just give you thanks for our lives and for the gift of our masculinity, this nature that you blessed us with. And we just pray that we can always use it to honor you and to accomplish your will in our lives. So please bless our conversation tonight, open our hearts and minds and all the listeners that we may have a deeper encounter with you and with your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

We ask this all through Him and the unity of the Holy Spirit. One God forever and ever, amen. In the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, amen.

The Manly Catholic (02:54.972)
Alright Father, so the leading question I always ask, if you could be the patron saint of anything, what would you be and why?

Fr. Bryce (02:58.528)
Mmm.

Fr. Bryce (03:03.326)
Yeah, that's a fun question. I'm glad you asked that. And I would just have to say, man, the patron saint of cowboys. I would love to go down with that title. And it's kind of fun because here on Saturday is the feast of the Mac and heart of Mary. And me and the parish and mainly the men in the parish, we've been.

The Manly Catholic (03:12.727)
I knew it. I like to try to guess, and I got this one.

Fr. Bryce (03:32.822)
doing a 30 day preparation for total consecration to Mary on that day. And I kind of led a little retreat to proceed that. And I was kind of talking about the guys, the different saints is kind of take on entrustment to Mary. And Louie de Bonfort is like, hey, I'm gonna be a slave for Mary, you know? And Maximillian Colby was, I wanna be a knight for Mary, you know? And I was kind of praying with this. And I felt like I heard Mary say,

I want you to be my cowboy. And I'm like, I'm just like, dude, bring it. You know, it just, you know, it just like taps into our nature, you know? So yeah, I mean, whatever it is, that would be cool.

The Manly Catholic (04:17.552)
Oh, that's, that's a bit, you know, to be the patron saint of cowboys, I mean, you're in your pickup truck right now as we're speaking, I mean, what more cowboy could you need right there? That's awesome. Well, I love it. Well, that's great. Father Bryce, for those maybe who haven't heard of you, just maybe give our audience a brief background to kind of, you know, where you're located now, what made you get into, I guess, whatever you wanna share as well, then we can dive into your book.

Fr. Bryce (04:29.552)
the

Fr. Bryce (04:42.646)
Yeah. No, thanks man. Um, yeah, I just brief history. I'm, you know, I'm like fifth generation of Wyoming homesteaders. So our roots go pretty deep here in Wyoming. And I was, I, you know, I was raised Catholic for sure. And we, we practice our faith. We went to mass and, but it was really when I left home at the age of 18, I worked in Montana for a number of years.

And it was really then that I made, thanks be to God, the decision to keep going to Mass. I mean, you're just kinda, I guess it's up to me now. It was just kind of a steady progression in my faith. And eventually, I was ranching at the time in Montana, and I was engaged to the rancher's daughter kind of thing, but she wasn't Catholic, I was Catholic. And it caused us to kinda wrestle with that dynamic

And I just caused me to learn about my faith. And a lot of things have been stern prior to that, but the more I learned, the more I fell in love with the church. And I'm like, what is this? I love this church unconditionally, like a spouse. Really, my heart was primed for the priesthood, but I was resistant because I was committed to this relationship. But the Lord really did break through.

And at the end called me to the priesthood and I answered. And at the age of 28, I entered the seminary and I did four years of college seminary out at Mount Angel Seminary. And that was a cool experience at a monastery. And that was really super graced because I never liked intellectual stuff. And so like being totally removed and like held up here, I got into it and.

So that was a fun experience. And then from there, I did four years of major seminary, if you will, in Denver, at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary. And then I was ordained five years ago on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. So five years ago, or yeah, tomorrow, I'll be ordained, yeah, for five years. Super neat gift. So now I'm...

The Manly Catholic (07:01.529)
Awesome.

Fr. Bryce (07:06.438)
I'm the associate pastor in Gillette, Wyoming, which is the Northeast corner of the state. So we have, there's two of us priests here in Gillette. And then we serve the outlining missions. And so there's one up by Devil's Tower in Hewlett, Wyoming, and then Moorcroft, Wyoming, and then down and right, Wyoming. And I pretty much do the mission circuit. So on a Sunday, that's a 200 mile loop for me. And so-

The Manly Catholic (07:34.227)
Oh wow.

Fr. Bryce (07:35.654)
It's kind of fun. I enjoy those little communities. So yeah, that kind of gets you up to speed. I just renewed assignment here as associate pastor. And it's great. I love it. I love the priesthood. I love my current assignment. It's all good, but it's fun to kind of look back after five years.

The Manly Catholic (07:58.312)
Sure, well, I mean, one thing I really appreciate you, Father Bryce, too, and just meeting you and talking with you, but when you read your book, you can just see Father Bryce coming alive in the pages, you know, and I mean, it's just totally you, and I know you talk about that in your book, too, but you know, one of the quotes that I wrote down here is that people often ask me when I knew I wanted to be a priest, and I replied that I never wanted to be a priest, and I still don't, but God created me for this.

And I'm happier more fulfilled in this way of life than I would have been in any other way than I could have ever imagined. I just love that because it's, it's that vulnerability, which I will talk about in a little bit too. But, you know, I don't think a lot of people are comfortable saying that, you know, it's like, when did you know you want to be a priest? Like I, I never wanted to be a priest. No, God just kept kind of kicking me and grabbing me and saying, Hey, you're gonna be my priest, man, you got to come with me. So maybe expand on that a little bit because I just love how, as you described a raw and real.

as you do in the book and why that is so important for you to just kind of share that and experience that.

Fr. Bryce (09:02.73)
Yeah, it's fun. That's an introduction. This is the first project I've done of this sort, a magnitude that really the publisher reached out to me and asked if I'd be interested in doing this. I didn't really seek it out, though I enjoy writing. My editor, he said, why don't just write the introduction? Then I can kind of get the...

feel for your style will go from there. So I don't know, I just went for it. You know, I just, I was just gonna write from the heart. I had a game plan in mind, but I always, you know, as well let's find out if you can say this stuff or not, you know, and the editor will catch it. And I've said that before that line, but yeah. So it's tongue in cheek, but it does set the tone for the book in a sense. So it's kind of jarring, but.

But yeah, take that for what it is. Yeah, I never want to be a priest and I still don't. Well, who aspires to not get married? And who aspires to just like, just hole up in the rectory? I mean, that's kind of the image growing up of the priest, that you just sit around all day and not get married. Those are the two things that seem to stand out. And so-

A man's heart doesn't necessarily aspire to that, right? But it does aspire to go on all in with the Lord, right? To just using every faculty he's given you to glorify him and to fight for the kingdom. Yeah, you know, that does inspire or inspire our hearts. But on the surface level, no, I don't wanna be a priest, right?

But when the Lord calls and I'm here to serve you, amen, so be it. Okay, then the second half of that, that is when I do trust him and know that he has my best interest in mind, I'm happy and more fulfilled. I love it. I love the priesthood. Yeah, five years now. But I love celebrating the sacraments. I love the intimacy that celibacy affords with the Lord.

Fr. Bryce (11:24.038)
I love ministering to the people in all its various ways and everything else that the priest brings. But as you'll see throughout the book, you don't sign up to just be a cog in the wheel. You don't sign up to priesthood to fit the mold. The Lord calls you personally. And so I'm able to still be Bryce as I serve as Father Bryce. And that's where I find.

the deepest fulfillment and trust that, you know, Lord, you made me for this.

The Manly Catholic (11:56.364)
No, Father Bryce, that's beautiful because I mean, truly, if you think about it, you know, if you're going to pick, you know, your profession, you know, it's like, hey, do you want to be just in a rectory, probably by yourself, you're not going to get married, you're going to be celibate, you know, I mean, what guy would sign up for that? I mean, really, so this and that's the beauty of the priesthood is that it truly is a calling. It's your vocation. And I think that the opting gets kind of overlooked by the laypeople is

you know, the tremendous sacrifice, but most priests like yourself, Father Bryce will say, I don't see it really as a sacrifice. It's just fulfilling my duty that God called me to. So I just love that you added that and it kind of dives into the general theme. Now, I kind of chuckled out loud when I was reading it, but you described a scene like if you're out ranching and it's just you and, and another cowboy with you. And you know, we talked about being vulnerable.

you know, as men, you know, get in touch with your feelings and stuff. But most guys don't connect with that. But and if you say that to your fellow calories, like, dude, like, what's, what's up with you, man? Like, what are you talking about? But if you say it is like, hey, just be raw and real, bro. I think that's those direct quote from you, then you know, you can have that real conversation. So I guess, tell me in your words, then why? I mean, because vulnerability, in a sense, I think it's gets misconstrued in our society, like it's a sign of weakness.

Fr. Bryce (12:57.25)
in my mind.

The Manly Catholic (13:21.48)
But at the same time, men often, we try to hide kind of our true character and our true selves. And then when we expose ourselves to that vulnerability that we are thinking of, that authentic vulnerability, then those real conversations can be had with each other, especially as men. So I guess explain to our audience the importance for men to be vulnerable with one another and how that can actually strengthen us in the long run.

Fr. Bryce (13:46.89)
Yeah. Now it is kind of the key to not just the book, but what I call the Catholic cowboy way that we do need to be in touch with our hearts. And it does require vulnerability, but there again, like if you just, if you invite somebody to that, just a normal average Joe on the pew, you might not get that far. But if you're just like, just

What's on your heart? What's on your mind, man? Lay it out there, you know? And I mean, use whatever words you want. And, you know, trying to kind of get them to that deeper level to just open up and be raw and real. Like, tell it how you see it, you know? And I always kind of feel that, the Cowboys already do this. I mean, they size you up as you're walking towards them and probably kind of tell you what they think in the midst of it. And not in a bad way. I'm just saying it's-

Typically cowboys are pretty straightforward. And that kind of brutal honesty with just life is the kind of brutal honesty we need to have with ourselves and with the Lord. And if we can do that, we can get somewhere. It's just a different take on the same thing. But yeah, typically trying to kind of go the vulnerable route with guys.

it kind of seems like, hey, get in touch with your feminine side. I'm like, well, no, but yeah, I mean, get in touch with your heart, man. But that doesn't mean like being all soft, let it hang out there. And, you know, as fun as we're talking about this on the eve of the sacred heart of Jesus, Jesus was vulnerable, man. His heart was on the outside of his chest. Super vulnerable. And it was also wounded.

You know, there's a risk when you let it hang out there like that.

The Manly Catholic (15:46.02)
100%. You know, I love that, the brutal honesty that, and especially in our society nowadays, it's quite frankly, it's a dose of good medicine that I think a lot of us need because it's, you know, one thing I always tell people that I love so much about reconciliation is, I grew up Protestant and I remember dealing with the same sins and, you know, I'm still struggling with certain things, but it's so easy to justify yourself.

Fr. Bryce (15:49.088)
Mm-hmm.

The Manly Catholic (16:15.588)
Right? So it's like, yeah, I might be committing a sin, but you know, at least it's not as bad as this. So this isn't really that bad, you know, but then when you have that brutal honesty, it's like, no, like what you're doing is wrong. And you need to take that to confession and having those brothers, like you mentioned, like a cowboy in your ring, so to speak, to say, hey, you're, you're messing up, you need to go to confession. Like what you're doing is wrong because we need that honesty in it that like we mentioned already, it just helps us grow as men.

Fr. Bryce (16:27.083)
Mm-hmm.

The Manly Catholic (16:44.496)
which is what we are trying to do anyways, you know?

Fr. Bryce (16:47.742)
Yeah. I was thinking about that was I mean, I listened to some of your old podcasts and kind of heard a similar deal about, you know, you kind of confession is new and what that's like. And I was thinking, you know, you really do have to be pretty vulnerable to go to confession. And really the priest, it's kind of your ultimate accountability partner, you know, that like

The Manly Catholic (16:51.122)
And

Fr. Bryce (17:17.522)
Yeah, I can do this, but I'm going to have to owe up to it in front of another man.

The Manly Catholic (17:24.275)
100% yeah, I was talking to Father Vincent a Lampert in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and I interviewed him he said I always tell this to young people, you know going to confession is like throwing up, you know, you never want to do it. But when you after you complete it you feel so much better and I just tell that to everyone now like that is the perfect and that's because when I first did confession that's exactly how I felt had this pit in my stomach like I don't want to go to confession but obviously we know it's it saves your soul.

Fr. Bryce (17:51.693)
Yeah.

The Manly Catholic (17:54.364)
But kind of transition here a little bit. You had this quote too, and you said, what if all cowboys and professionals out there sought first the kingdom of God? I just wanted to ask you if you don't mind kind of explaining what seeking the kingdom of God is and why that is so important, especially as men.

Fr. Bryce (18:14.826)
Yeah. You know, I love this project to write in the book. It was really like a discovery to put, you know, my thoughts into words on paper like this. And that was one of them. And I do, I mean, I love either whether it's being a cowboy or anything. I mean, I've done other stuff, so, but I kind of highlight that cowboy way. But it takes a lot of thought and fortitude and drive.

to run a ranch, let's say, but what if you just, you took all that energy that it takes to do that and to fight for the kingdom, to build the kingdom with that same kind of vigor instead of, well, I wonder if I got time to go to church this week or not, you know, as I'm sitting in the pew thinking about everything I gotta do, you know? What if you just like, you sought first the kingdom of God and used all that energy

to serve God and to build up his kingdom. And I do, I remember that the next line of that is like, I dream of a world like this. And I do, man. I mean, what if we were all warriors like that? And not even just, you know, bring it kind of mentality, but like really sought to use all the gifts God gave us to serve him and to build up his kingdom. It'd be heaven on earth. And I-

In a sense, that's what I think heaven is like, is us just using everything we have for God's greater glory and the building up of his kingdom. So yeah, I read a whole other chapter on that called, Riding for the Brand, where I kind of outline what that actually, how we can serve God in the workplace and stuff, because it's not all about being a...

a consecrated religious or a priest. It's just focusing first on the kingdom of God. Everything I do on earth is ordered towards the kingdom of heaven and the service of my brothers and sisters glorifying God. That's the right perspective to have. Then I can use the things of this world properly.

The Manly Catholic (20:33.708)
Yeah, 100%. And I know you described to as, you know, fighting for the mass, you know, and like you mentioned going to mass every Sunday, which we're supposed to do. But then, can we take it a step further, maybe add in like a daily mass, and our go to two daily masses a week, things like that, because we're, we're always in we're in this fight, like we're gonna be fighting for something on this earth. So it might as well be the one thing that is worth fighting for. Right. And that's for our soul, which is to get to heaven.

You know, so for fighting, you know, like, oh man, like, you know, Father Bryce's homily is a little too long today. You know, I'm missing the start of the football game type of thing. You know, so it's like what what's our mindset when we go into mass and the importance of seeking first the kingdom of God, because everything needs to be rightly ordered towards him, like you mentioned. And then you even mentioned to just, you know, working and the importance of work for men as well. And then you mentioned to work without prayer is like a body without a soul.

it is dead. So then I want to kind of flip it back to you. So why I mean, we I think we're on the surface level, we understand that work is important. I think too, like for me, who's a husband and a father, when I think of working, what most people think of is, okay, we work to provide for our family, obviously, to have, you know, shelter, food, things like that. But it definitely goes much deeper than that. So maybe you can expand on, you know, why is work so important? And then how can we use prayer?

and incorporate that into our work as well to make it Seeking the Kingdom of God first as well.

Fr. Bryce (22:07.178)
Yeah, like you say, in part of the book there is kind of writing from experience. And so there's a lot of overlap with what other people have said in, you know, either more philosophical, theological way and even a deeper way. But mine is just kind of the same take, but from kind of experience, like personal experience, it doesn't exhaust it. So when I think of work and I think of

both the example that my dads and uncles gave me growing up, like even ranching and things like that. And their example of hard work inspired me to do the same. And as I did do that fight and kind of threw that in the early years when you didn't want to, but aspiring to it and developed a work ethic, man, it just, it enlivened me. And-

But like anything, it can be taken to extreme. You can become a workaholic, right? But I feel like, you know, Catholic anthropology has always upheld the unity of the body and soul, right? That we are one person, both body and soul, and the tendency out there is to divorce the two. You know, that, you know, I just do.

physical things, not spiritual things or vice versa. They don't overlap and integrate. And it's always, one always feeds the other and builds off the other whether we know it or not. So we've got to be attuned to both of them. So what I do with my body affects my soul. What I do with my soul affects my body. So when it comes to work, if I have a healthy, let's just say physical

work ethic, a balanced work ethic, that feeds over into my spiritual life and my relationship with God that not only do I glorify Him in my body, but the physical activity I do is a way of encountering Him. So yeah, it's kind of the aura at Leborra, but maybe on a more experiential level that as I

Fr. Bryce (24:32.218)
as I exert and work, whether it's digging a ditch or pushing a pin, they're both ways of being active and productive. It's not just a way of making money, it's a way of encountering the Lord who Himself worked and was productive. So it's really deep, and I know John Paul II would have wrote extensive on that.

The Manly Catholic (25:02.453)
Thank you.

Fr. Bryce (25:02.602)
the dignity of work, but I find, and I still do it today, I find the more I, in a balanced way, physically are exerting energy in a constructive way, the more I encounter the Lord. But again, yeah, that one quote, work without prayer is like a body without a soul, it's dead. You can get sucked into that, man. You can be a workaholic and...

and just, you know, just marth it hardcore and not sit at the feet of Jesus. And it just becomes vain in a sense.

The Manly Catholic (25:36.564)
Hmm.

The Manly Catholic (25:45.008)
Yeah, 100%. You know, and don't feel bad. John Paula too, he says everything in an extremely profound way. He's my patron saint for confirmation. So some of the things he writes, I'm like, man, how did he ever come up with that? But yeah, probably because he worked. He worked at it, yeah.

Fr. Bryce (25:59.502)
Probably because he worked, right? He said his most formative years in becoming a priest was his time in the rock quarry.

The Manly Catholic (26:17.824)
Yes, I remember that. Yeah. Oh, gosh, that man's amazing. But I didn't want to ask you, you know, because you mentioned and you just touched on it briefly, but you mentioned the book as well that, you know, ranching is kind of like your, your chance to like refresh yourself or kind of restore your soul. So I have to ask, what is your favorite part of ranching? And why does it help you kind of reinvigorate yourself going into your profession, your vocation?

Fr. Bryce (26:18.599)
Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Fr. Bryce (26:23.079)
Mm-hmm.

Fr. Bryce (26:45.866)
Yeah, so, you know, as you kind of see in the book, I put a lot of emphasis on what I call sonship, and not, I don't just call it, it's a thought in the church, which is basically living out of our baptismal identity as beloved sons and daughters, and really as beloved sons, because we're baptized into the person of Jesus, you know, the second person of the Trinity, the Son. But in that, from that comes our individual

personal natures as male and female and then just more personal, what's part of your personal nature. So living out of that, this is key, finding my identity in my relationship with God the Father that is foundational. It's a rock. It can't be moved. So then it's from there that I'm able to.

be a disciple, I'm able to serve in my vocation, and then it's properly ordered. So I always say like, I'm a son before I'm a father. And I don't mean that in the sense of like, hey, sorry, I need some me time kind of stuff. No, I just, my identity is found not in my, the work I do as a priest, which I love, but my identity is found in my baptismal identity as a beloved son of God the Father.

And it's not just one of many sons, it's Bryce. You know, he calls us by name. And part of my nature is fifth generation Wyoming rancher, in a sense, you know what I mean? But that's who I am and that's what makes me tick. And so as I spend time doing those things I naturally love, then I'm able to serve him.

as a priest. So I say like living out of my sonship fuels my vocation to be a father. And there again, it doesn't contradict or bifurcate. It unites, it's properly ordered. And I would also say Jesus, Jesus emulated or Jesus invented this. He talked all the time about being a son, the son of man, the son of David, the son of God.

Fr. Bryce (29:10.77)
And he rarely alluded to being the Messiah. You know, he lived out of that relationship with his father, all the while focused on his mission as Messiah. But it stemmed from his identity as a son.

The Manly Catholic (29:27.04)
Yeah, I mean, I never really thought about that. Yeah, I guess he never really said that unless he was explicitly asked. Like, Hey, are you the Messiah? Yeah. And even then he didn't always answer straightforward. Yeah, just know. He didn't need to really talk about it.

Fr. Bryce (29:34.478)
Even then, yeah, even then it was. He showed it right. He he I mean, he are well, I mean, he you know, he was on a mission and that was it. But he let his he let his actions speak for themselves. You know, the fair she's like, well, just give us a sign like, dude, I just raised somebody from the dead. Like, what more of a sign do you need?

The Manly Catholic (29:53.224)
100%.

The Manly Catholic (30:03.969)
No, but you really gosh, that's such an important point you made though Father Bryce is that no often our identity is tied up in our work, especially as men, you know, I find, you know, I've told this story before, but when I got fired from one of my jobs, I realized I went through like a mini depression because that was my identity. You know, this is who I am and no instead of you know, as you mentioned as well, the rightly ordered

way of life is when we identify ourselves as, first of all, I am a son of God. And if you always identify with that, then everything else rightly ordered, again, will kind of flow freely from that. You know, because exactly what you mentioned too, you know, fifth generation rancher. I mean, that easily could be your identity. Like I'm the priest with the cowboy hat. And you know, that's my identity, but no, no. Because when that starts to happen, then everything gets chaotic and our life gets kind of thrown.

thrown out of whack. So I appreciate that.

Fr. Bryce (31:02.454)
No, I love it. And it's actually I think it's key and it's and it's foundational and it's but it's super important that and I will like, just because you're you said it as far as like our work becoming what we identify as whatever you know I mean it's where we find our worth or who we are, whether it's work or even our family or our spouse.

and still not deep enough. And not that those things aren't great and good, but if that becomes who we are and where we find our dignity, then we're on shifting sand. Because it can work for a long time until it doesn't, until you get fired or something else. We're taught this in seminary to various degrees. I'm taking a certain...

swing at it. But I went through all this good formation and that's why I'm who I am, which isn't perfect, but I can speak about it. But later in life, I did discover, shoot, I'm drawing a blank on his name, Wild at Heart, John Eldridge, that book. And I'd seen it before, but I read it. And I really, he lays it out there well, but the one thing I take away from that,

The Manly Catholic (32:19.38)
Oh, yep.

Fr. Bryce (32:28.518)
is if you allow anything other than God to validate you, you also allow that thing to invalidate you. So, and the classic example is a woman and nothing derogatory in that any way, shape or form. And this happens a lot. If I allow a woman to validate my identity, my masculinity, who I am, I'll also allow her to invalidate it,

Um, whether it's breaking up with me or, you know, all, everything's good. Honey, let's go. And I'm like, Oh, sorry. Sorry guys. I got to go. You know, I mean, she, in the sense controls me, not that I'm not saying there's any, there's nothing good there, but that's that it can be disordered. If that's where I find my deepest. Validity as a person there, it's not deep enough because.

When things go south, I go south with them, but not with God. If my identity is grounded in my relationship to God as Father, me as Son, nothing can shake that. Not a job, not a spouse, nothing.

The Manly Catholic (33:44.484)
No, I love that. You know, and you talk about too, briefly, I mean, you have a whole section on Mary, and we'll kind of tighten that in a second, but you mentioned, I wrote it down here too, because you mentioned there's something in the feminine nature that brings out the man in men, and then later on you say men need a woman to fight for and to die for, and we already mentioned Saint Pope John Paul II, and I love this story about him is that when, for those of you who don't know, his mother died when he was young.

Fr. Bryce (33:57.614)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

The Manly Catholic (34:14.932)
and his dad basically, I just, gosh, I'm in goosebumps. His dad basically took him and I forgot where they went, but it was in front of either a picture of Mary or a statue. And he said, this is now your mother. And that became his motto, totus tuus, and all that. So I guess a touch briefly on, cause you mentioned a little bit on the strength that can come from the femininity in nature.

that can arise and help men become more masculine, but also there's counterpart to that. But I guess, just I guess expand on briefly on why is it that this feminine nature kind of brings out can bring out properly ordered the best in men and their thing bring the authentic masculinity to the surface.

Fr. Bryce (35:03.906)
For sure. So just to kind of build off where we were, the Sunship stuff is the foundation, but it doesn't stop there. Then we build the house with the Lord and through relationships. So the deal is if I stop short and find my identity or worth with either work or a spouse or something, I actually overburden them. That's a weight that they cannot carry.

So it does both injustice to them and me in the long run. But then if I go deeper, me and God, then from there, I can love people and even work to the proper degree and what they're intended for, right? So now I can enter into a relationship with a spouse as you're talking and love them as they're intended to be loved and receive their love.

as it's intended to be received, which is beautiful. But even for a celibate man, we still need the feminine counterpart. And I would say it's not enough just to, okay, you're married to the church, right? The people of God, cool. And it's true. But show me like a visible spouse. And I don't mean that weird. But there's

Like I say in the book, there's something in the feminine nature that brings out the man and men. And I mean, we see it on a natural level and this is probably my favorite. It's probably my favorite chapter, Behold Your Mother is the name of the chapter. But my favorite story is right now in the springtime in Wyoming, we're branding calves. You calve cows in the, you know, kind of the early spring. And as they're

you know, a month or so old, then you round them all up and you, you drag the calves out and you brand them and, and doctor them and stuff. And I always call it like the original rodeo, you know, it's kind of where you, you know, you do it all. And so those still go on and I love to help out with them. And I've seen it in years past, but, but I even just joke on today. So like if we're, you know, if we're wrestling calves and I see my buddy Ryan, like have a

Fr. Bryce (37:26.782)
a nice throw on a calf. It inspires me and a healthy sense of competition to outdo him. But if there's a cute cowgirl walking around the pen, then it's all of a sudden they're like, hey, partner, you cowboy up. And all of a sudden, the dust is flying. It's not so much your buddy you want to outdo, but the girl you want to impress. That's just human nature. I'm not talking about... Yeah, it is, but it...

The Manly Catholic (37:45.876)
Thank you.

The Manly Catholic (37:52.304)
Right? Absolutely.

Fr. Bryce (37:55.626)
It fires you up. And only a woman can do that for a man. I don't know what else to say. It's meant to be. But I think of that classic scene of Mel Gibson's, Passion of the Christ, where our Lord, I mean, just fighting to fulfill the Father's will. And he hits the ground with the cross and he looks up and him and Mary's eyes meet. And he's just given the inspiration, the fuel to keep trucking.

And that's where it's at. That's what the feminine nature can do for us. It can propel us to do extraordinary things that work or money or nothing can excite us to do. And no just pure idea can. You gotta encounter it. And so, I mean, I could see that definitely on a human level, but in a spiritual level, I would say Mary totally inspires us to that same degree. And

especially as a celibate man, a priest, who she's the model of the church that is my spouse. I mean, when I fight for her, however you wanna say it, it inspires me to be fully the man God has created me to be and to carry out His will in extraordinary degrees, even dying, but more importantly, living.

The Manly Catholic (39:19.952)
Yeah, no, gosh, that's I mean the another quote by John Paul just keeps popping up. But he mentions, you know, is the duty of every man to uphold the dignity of every woman. And as you mentioned, obviously, Mary is our ultimate example of, you know, authentic femininity, you know. And I do want to ask you, is this the first time that you've done the consecration to marry the OK, you've done before?

Fr. Bryce (39:43.582)
No, no. Yeah, there's a lot of fun stuff there. And John Paul was a key player. I mean, I really never, I didn't know him really until the day he died. I just happened to be home that Easter evening when, or I guess it had been the Divine Mercy, the octave evening when he died. I knew

Fr. Bryce (40:14.274)
took an interest. And I don't see that as a coincidence. I think because since then he spoke heavily to my life. But yeah, I got into kind of an understanding of that. And there was a desire in my heart to consecrate my myself to Mary. And I had already made the commitment to go to seminary. And I was I was wanting to do that. But back then I like

I don't know, I didn't know all the technology and stuff, but it was so interesting. Actually the gal that I was engaged to, that I went to seminary, she in a sense encouraged me to go. It wasn't easy, but we both knew it was something I had to do. So I was not at the same location as her. I was back home, but I was going to seminary the next day. But I had sent Maximillian Colby's place.

Like, hey, I want some information on consecrate myself. Well, it got mailed to the ranch where she was on and she got it. She's like, hey, I got this thing. And she called me and so she was like faxed it to where I was. And so like the, yeah, I know it's like, comes printing out, you know? And it was the consecration prayer. And so is the, I guess it's probably the evening before I went to seminary. I...

The Manly Catholic (41:26.076)
Hahaha!

Fr. Bryce (41:42.002)
I received this and I went and we have, we actually have a little shrine to our Blessed Mother on our place back home. And I went there and I prayed this prayer in front of her. And it was also the feast of the Assumption of Mary. And I mean, just I just not only look at the way that I mean, here's a woman, you know, just a human woman.

The Manly Catholic (41:56.776)
Hmm

Fr. Bryce (42:11.374)
pushing or handing me over to our spiritual mother Mary. And so actually entrusting myself to her on her feast day when Maximilian Kolbe would have died and right before going to seminary. I mean, at the time, you don't really feel that, but I look back at that like that's game changer, man. She's been with me forever or since then. And I'm just like hardcore Marianne.

You know, everything I do, I do for her. And I'm super looking forward to this feast of the macular heart to re-consecrate, renew my consecration to her. So it's just ever deepening.

The Manly Catholic (42:54.08)
100% gosh, that's beautiful. It's so I just love hearing these stories. You look back on your life. You know, you can see the I mean, we kind of imagine the big moments in our life, right? But like you mentioned, these subtle moments that you probably didn't think of, like you mentioned much of at the time, but then you're like, Oh, yeah, that was a big moment. And the fact is, love that you got a fax from your from your former fiance.

Fr. Bryce (43:15.022)
in the next video.

You're so funny.

The Manly Catholic (43:21.496)
you know, even just adding the layer of depth to the story, you know, and then just going in front of it and consecrating yourself to her. That's, gosh, this is such a beautiful moment in your life.

Fr. Bryce (43:25.912)
Yeah.

Fr. Bryce (43:30.766)
Well, and it kind of goes back to where we started. It's raw and real, man. This is not hypothetical stuff. It's real. And I don't know. I don't, my life is what it is. I'm thankful for it. But it doesn't have to be all that dramatic always. You know, I mean, some people might not have that same kind of story to share, but yet they still got their story and it's real. It's not just an idea.

The Manly Catholic (43:35.6)
Yes.

Fr. Bryce (43:59.01)
So the more we can incarnate it into our lives and connect those dots on a human level, we'll encounter God naturally.

The Manly Catholic (44:07.28)
Yeah, 100%, 100%. And this was like the perfect summary for me of your book here, so I didn't wanna read it. So it said, the Catholic cowboy way is to put our money where our mouth is and fight for mass with an undivided heart, with a pure soul, with an informed mind, and with the strength of a warrior. And I think we've touched on all of those a little bit. So I guess, just in your own words, I mean, that could be the perfect description of it. In your own words, Father Bryce, what would...

be the Catholic cowboy way.

Fr. Bryce (44:40.17)
Yeah, well, so it's again, it's interesting how the book unfolded, but I do kind of see like the climax of the book in this, like the middle of it, the sixth chapter, titled Fight From Ass. It was like, kind of build up of who Jesus is and stuff like that. And then, and our Lord was asked one day, hey, what's the greatest commandment? And he just simply, to love the Lord your God with all your heart.

all your mind, all your soul, and all your strength. He does follow it up with, and then the second is this, to love your neighbors yourself with those first, the first greatest commandment. And I'm just like, awesome, right? That's great. What's that look like? I'm just like, show me what that actually looks like. It can just be hypothetical, but okay, you wanna put that into action, you wanna put flesh on that, fight for the mass. Jesus.

The Manly Catholic (45:30.69)
You're right.

Fr. Bryce (45:39.246)
comes to us at every mass we celebrate, body, blood, soul, and divinity, he's there for us. We can encounter him on a real level. And so if I wanna really show the Lord I love him with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, why not incarnate that around the mass and to come to center my life on the Eucharist? My week, my life revolves around the Eucharist.

And then also that puts proper order into it. You know, Sunday, I'm not just like Saturday night, oh, when are we gonna go to mass? No, like Monday morning, when am I gonna go to mass? My week revolves around it. Okay, and then understanding with our mind, like, what are we doing here? I'm not just like here thinking about the football game. What am I doing as I'm kneeling? I'm standing, I'm receiving, I'm listening, you know? What am I doing intellectually?

to, you know, to, well, yeah, with all my soul, to have a pure heart, to avoid sin, to do good, when I, to go to confession on a regular basis, especially when I need it, but also just to keep the house tidy. But the fun one is with all your strength. And I, the cowboy way is a lighthearted way. It's to have fun and get the job done. We do that in a spiritual life too. So I...

It's fun that you keyed on that because it really, it's kind of the meat and potato of the book to really center my life on the mass and to fight for it. So I have this story that I use there that one rainy spring, my uncle's ranch hand, he chained up his truck, all four wheels, and mudded through the night like 40 miles, like just muddying it to go home and see a cowgirl.

All right. Okay. Cool. That's cool, bro. But like, what if we used that same drive and vigor for the mass to get to mass? And I did ranching. There was many times I chained up just to go to mass, fought through the snow just to go to mass. And I love it. Like it fires me up to fight in that way that we're made for that. But to fight for something that's even superior than human love?

The Manly Catholic (47:49.475)
Mm.

The Manly Catholic (47:58.528)
Mm.

Fr. Bryce (48:08.254)
You know, divine love to fight for that. And that's just down the street at your local Catholic church. And I'm like, and we're all like, well, I ain't got time. I ain't got time to go to mass. Really, really, dude. No joke. So I need to fight for it to not just sacrifice or whatever. Fight for it. I love it.

The Manly Catholic (48:18.555)
Right

The Manly Catholic (48:22.453)
Yeah, gosh, yeah.

The Manly Catholic (48:29.8)
No, it's, and I know we talked about this earlier, but it's the one worthy fight that we, as men, should be engaging in every single day is fighting for the mass. And I mean, you can expand that too, fighting for the Eucharist, fighting for confession, things like that, but fighting for the mass and everything that it entails. And Father Dom and me talk about often too.

Fr. Bryce (48:34.702)
Mm-hmm.

The Manly Catholic (48:57.436)
The beauty of the mass is that it is properly ordered. And I think that kind of expands to the Catholic cowboy way. And you can kind of talk about this too, being on a farm, is that there are certain things that need to be done and it has to be done a certain way. Because if it's not properly ordered, then running a farm in a ranch is hard work. It's not like, hey, we're gonna just go out and everyone pick something and figure it out. There has to be proper order organization in order to get the job done, but also have fun.

Fr. Bryce (49:20.778)
Sure.

Fr. Bryce (49:26.41)
Oh yeah, I love it. And the deal is, so the thing that's unique about the Mass, and you're right, you can say it about all sorts of different aspects of the faith, but the Mass, the Eucharist, is the source and summit of our Christian faith, and not just the Catholic faith, our Christian life. That's what the Catechism says, the source and summit. So this is the deal. I try to use an

The Manly Catholic (49:26.514)
in the process as well. You gotta have fun.

Fr. Bryce (49:54.89)
We live in a chaotic world. I mean, it can easily, we can easily be on the fringes and just be all sucked into, ah, everything's spinning out of control. That can be true if I don't center my life on Jesus Christ, you know, the sun, the center of my orbit. And there again, it can get hypothetical in a hurry and not work. But if I put flesh on it in the Eucharist, Jesus in the Eucharist, my life is ordered around Jesus in the Eucharist, the mass.

Sunday mass for sure, but even on a micro level, daily mass, awesome, Eucharistic Adoration. But if that becomes the focal point of my existence, then every other world in my life, every other planet that's got attention, finds its proper balance. But if I start orbiting around anything, work, spouse, I don't go on down the list, good things even, I can start spinning out of control and the chaos things start running into each other. But when I...

center up on Jesus, my life revolves around Jesus and the Eucharist, then everything else finds its proper place. And that's when we can have peace. That's when we can be confident that the God is my providential father and he's taking care of things. Even when it feels all, you know, crazy, I can still have the interior peace because my life is centered on Jesus and not just hypothetical Jesus, Jesus and the Eucharist.

The Manly Catholic (51:23.736)
Amen. Amen, brother. Well, I think my audience would be very upset with me if I did not ask, where did you get that hat? Ha ha ha.

Fr. Bryce (51:31.678)
Yeah, man, super fun. Yeah, read the book and you'll find out it's I mean, there's another there's another segment in there about wearing your hat right but Well, you know, I wear the hat for a reason. Right. I guess I need it. I need a hair piece, but I

The Manly Catholic (51:37.417)
Ha ha ha.

Yep.

The Manly Catholic (51:46.252)
Fair enough, you know.

The Manly Catholic (51:51.336)
So yeah, it could be a hair piece or it could be a hat and you chose the more manly option, which is to get the hat. No, I appreciate that. Ha ha ha. Just own it, absolutely. Well, Father Bryce, this has been awesome. Again, I love the book. I highly recommend it. Again, it's the Catholic Cowboy Way. You can get it at Sophia Institute Press. But before I let you go, is there anything you wanna share with our?

Fr. Bryce (51:58.435)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, own it, man. If you're bald, just own it, bro.

The Manly Catholic (52:17.912)
audience where they can find you, where they can find more information about you, where to learn how to ranch like you do, and yeah, we'll go from there.

Fr. Bryce (52:26.11)
But I always say that cowboys aren't born, they're discovered. There's a cowboy that lies in all of us in the sense of that determination to give it all we got to be loyal, to ride for the brand, but also to be lighthearted as sons and daughters. And especially as Father's Day coming on, like I said, my MO is I'm a son before I'm a father.

in the sense that that's the hierarchy, that's the foundation, my identity with the Father. From then I can serve well and peacefully and effectively in my vocation to be a Father, a spiritual Father, a priest. So I would just encourage all of us to dig deep in that relationship with God. And there again, this is a key to the Catholic cowboy way. It's not just an intellectual understanding.

that I am a beloved son or daughter. It's humanly experiencing it. And we do that just by doing what we love. And it's not just all about recreation and stuff like that, but what fires you up? What fuels you? I love being a cowboy, it's part of my nature. But it's not just that. It's through that venue that I encounter God as my father. So I would just encourage us all to go to the depths.

and to know it in our minds, but experience it in our hearts. If God is our Father, He loves us as His beloved sons and daughters, then it's from there we can carry out our mission in life, our vocation as fathers and mothers.

The Manly Catholic (54:05.948)
Amen. And for those of you listening, I will put a link in the show notes to Father Bryce's book. And Father, before we let you know, would you mind giving us a final blessing?

Fr. Bryce (54:15.106)
Yeah, it'd be honor, man.

Lord God, we just thank you for all your gifts in our life, and especially the gift of our baptismal identity as your beloved sons and daughters, and just ask that you reveal yourself to us in a deeper way that we may always live out of that reality, and that we may carry out our mission in life with joy and peace. And so, may Almighty God bless us all in this endeavor, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen, go in peace.

The Manly Catholic (54:50.944)
Thank you father. Gosh, we're gonna have to have you on just to talk about ranching next time.

Fr. Bryce (54:55.318)
Yeah, I'd love it, man. I would throw out, I do write a blog, and it's called the Wyoming Catholic Cowboys. So wyomancatholiccowboys.com, and you might have to search for it. Sometimes it gets a little wonky, but I put up my homilies there, and then I write stories about ranching, so.

The Manly Catholic (54:59.653)
Oh great, okay.

The Manly Catholic (55:14.108)
Nice, I will post this as well. Like raw and real, perfect. I found it. We ride, never worry about the fall. Guess that's just the cowboy in us all. Tim McGraw. Hey, what more can you want? What more can you want? Well, Father Bryce, yeah, thank you so much for your time. Greatly appreciate it. For all those of you listening, go out there and be a saint. Perfect. All right, I'm gonna stop.

Fr. Bryce (55:17.184)
Yeah.

You found it?

Fr. Bryce (55:27.19)
I love it, dude. Yeah, good stuff.