It is a basic tenant of Catholic belief that “grace builds upon nature,” meaning that we don’t need to change who we are as people to give glory to God. After all, God created us in His image and likeness. Therefore, we need only to perfect or build upon the foundation that God already created.
At his core, Father Bryce Lungren, pictured below, is a cowboy by nature, having grown up on a ranch in Wyoming as the descendant of homesteaders. Throughout his life he has remained close to this spectacularly gorgeous western land.
He felt that when he was called to be a priest, God was not asking him to abandon the “cowboy way” that grounded his identity, but rather to bring those inherited values of his parents and grandparents and his closeness to the land with him as he serves God’s people.
Ordained in 2018, Father Lungren is based at St. Matthew’s Parish in Gillette, Wyoming. As associate pastor, his primary responsibility is to serve the parish’s surrounding missions in the small towns of the northeast corner of the state. On Sundays, he travels 220 miles in his pickup truck dubbed his “white horse,” to say Mass at three missions.
All of the churches have been built with Catholic Extension Society support, and all of the miles Father Lungren travels are fueled with support from Catholic Extension Society donors.
While in seminary, Father Lungren discovered that the way to be a happy priest would be to live an authentic life —true to the Gospel and true to who he is as a person: a cowboy. His grandfather, on whose ranch Father Lungren grew up roping and branding cattle, would say these words: “Always wear your hat.” Father Lungren interpreted this to mean,
Never stop being the man God created you to be.”
And so, along with the Roman collar, Father Lungren wears his cowboy hat, a big metal belt buckle and, on occasion, cowboy boots with spurs. His cowboy persona is not a “shtick” or public relations stunt.
He described his grandparents’ and his parents’ influences of faith, family and hard work as “an endless school of virtue that motivated me to be the best man I can be.”
This compelled him to take his cowboy values and convert them into a Catholic spirituality. Last year he published a book titled The Catholic Cowboy Way: Finding Peace and Purpose on the Bronc Called Life.
The book links the virtues and ideals of the iconic American cowboy with that of the Catholic spiritual journey.
He describes the cowboy as “a man who is humble, not in a hurry, and has a broad perspective of life, always looking toward a brighter day. He usually rides for another man’s brand, travels light and is willing to sacrifice himself to accomplish whatever task is at hand. Yet he does it with a light heart.”
Father Lungren contends that “Jesus has much of the same disposition [as the cowboy]. He knows He’s on a mission.” That mission is on behalf of the “brand” of God the Father.
Rancher and religious leader
So what does it mean in daily practice to be a cowboy priest? Father Lungren does everything a city priest would do. He teaches, he administers the sacraments, he buries the dead, he counsels and he consoles.
But the cowboy lifestyle remains part of his life and ministry. At his first assignment, he served at the Wind River Reservation, where he encountered a wild horse. Being the natural cowboy that he is, he caught the horse and tamed it in service of the ranch. He named the horse Chief.
Eventually, he found and tamed a second horse that he called Mollie. He’s pictured below with both horses.
These horses are somewhat of a metaphor for Father Lungren’s life. He never intended to be a priest, but God pulled him into His service, and he discovered a new and beautiful purpose along the way.
After high school, he was happily ranching, competing in rodeos and engaged to the rancher’s daughter, whom he described as “the girl of his dreams.” That was also when he first began to hear the call to priesthood, fueled by his love of the Mass.
Much like his wild horses, God eventually drew Father Lungren in closer. Father Lungren said,
When we discover our vocational mission in life, we discover happiness.”
Even though he never wanted to be a priest, he says he is happier than he ever could have imagined now that he is doing what God created him to do in this world.
He openly said, “I am not a desk-job priest. It’s not in my nature. Sure, that is part of my priestly responsibilities, but I don’t have to take off my hat to do so. I can still be Bryce even when Father Lungren comes to call.” And a rancher he remains.
On the side, Father Lungren operates a small ranching co-op that produces quality meat for his local community. Every year he receives a dozen “heiferettes” that have been rejected by other ranchers because they are infertile or cannot sustain the herd. He receives these 1,000-pound rejected cows and takes them to a parishioner’s pasture, where they graze for four months and “fatten up” to 1,400 pounds.
In his spare time, Father Lungren will personally slaughter, hand butcher, package and freeze the meat of these cows in a refrigerated trailer that he procured. He then distributes the meat through his local co-op, which now has 150 members.
“There is so much satisfaction in cutting a steak or grinding hamburger in order to feed someone I know. I gladly work late into the night, not for money, but for love,” he said.
He added that this satisfaction is reminiscent of his grandmother at the family ranch who would say, “It’s no fun to cook for one.” He learned that joy comes in feeding others. “What wisdom our elders have to teach the younger generations!” he said.
We need more cowboys
One of the most iconic pieces of original art ever produced by Catholic Extension Society in its 118-year history is the image of a cowboy praying his rosary in an open prairie, much like the topography of eastern Wyoming.
For decades, people have written to Catholic Extension Society requesting copies of this image, pictured below, which first debuted in Extension magazine in 1961.
It seems that the Catholic cowboy way speaks to the hearts of American Catholics. In other words, Father Lungren is onto something. “The Church needs cowboys even more than the world does,” he said. “She needs more courageous and confident men and women who seek the truth, who don’t give up and who are proud to be Catholic. Above all though, she needs more authenticity and less hypocrisy.”
In Father Lungren’s cowboy parlance, being authentic is to be “raw and real.” He said the cowboy spirit has roots in “hardworking” Jesus Christ. “He was all about getting the job done, and he knew how to have fun.”
Perhaps there is a little inner cowboy in all of us waiting to be let out. Father Lungren likens the ups and downs of the spiritual life to a bucking bronco. “It’ll dump you if you’re not careful,” he said. But if you put your mind to it and keep going, “it’s a dance that never gets old.”
Catholic Extension Society works in solidarity with people to build up vibrant and transformative Catholic faith communities among the poor in the poorest regions of America. Father Lungren’s ministry is supported by Catholic Extension Society. Please donate today to support priests like him!
