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The Catholic Cowboy Way: Finding Peace and Purpose on the Bronc Called Life
In the West, “the cowboy way” is a common expression conveying the distinctive way of life of the American frontier. The Catholic Cowboy Way applies the principles of this rugged lifestyle to deepening your relationship with Christ. It is a means of relating to Jesus that we can all follow—not just those on horseback. But the only way to get there is by being raw and real, sturdy, energetic, determined and committed.
To encounter Jesus as a cowboy, we must go beneath the surface of life and into the very depths of our hearts. We must be everyday honest with ourselves in order to be honest with God. We must acknowledge the good, the bad, and the ugly within our lives in order to encounter the God-Man, who is the source of all that is good; who took on all that is bad in order to redeem it; and who came to help us to persevere through all that is ugly.
I remember, in seminary, the buzzword was vulnerability. “Just be vulnerable, man.” I understand they wanted us to be open and to be in touch with our thoughts, feelings, and desires, but there is something masculine lacking in this phrase.
If I’m trotting across the prairie next to my buddy, Zeke, and I tell him to “open up and be vulnerable,” I might get a string of Beechnut in my lap.
But if I tell Zeke to be raw and real, then we might just get somewhere. And it’ll be a lot more colorful, a lot more profound, than his getting in touch with his feminine side.
Cowboys already live by this code, and so do many of us. Most of us tell it as it is. And most, like Jesus, can smell inauthenticity a mile away.
What I show in this book is how to take the brutal honesty of the range and use it in our relationship with God. The Church needs more cowboys. I’ll show you how to become one.
To encounter Jesus as a cowboy, we must go beneath the surface of life and into the very depths of our hearts. We must be everyday honest with ourselves in order to be honest with God. We must acknowledge the good, the bad, and the ugly within our lives in order to encounter the God-Man, who is the source of all that is good; who took on all that is bad in order to redeem it; and who came to help us to persevere through all that is ugly.
I remember, in seminary, the buzzword was vulnerability. “Just be vulnerable, man.” I understand they wanted us to be open and to be in touch with our thoughts, feelings, and desires, but there is something masculine lacking in this phrase.
If I’m trotting across the prairie next to my buddy, Zeke, and I tell him to “open up and be vulnerable,” I might get a string of Beechnut in my lap.
But if I tell Zeke to be raw and real, then we might just get somewhere. And it’ll be a lot more colorful, a lot more profound, than his getting in touch with his feminine side.
Cowboys already live by this code, and so do many of us. Most of us tell it as it is. And most, like Jesus, can smell inauthenticity a mile away.
What I show in this book is how to take the brutal honesty of the range and use it in our relationship with God. The Church needs more cowboys. I’ll show you how to become one.
- GenresCatholic
144 pages, Paperback
Published February 21, 2023
13 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 21, 2023
The Catholic Cowboy Way is simple... understand you are a son of the Father. Fr. Bryce explores and lays out a roadmap for all of us striving to strengthen our relationship with our Father. By being "real and raw" we can grow in agape love for the Father and our neighbor.
Sit back, grab a beer, and learn the Catholic Cowboy Way.
Sit back, grab a beer, and learn the Catholic Cowboy Way.
February 13, 2024
An easy read, accessible to anyone, & full of simple truths of the faith. Thanks, Father Bryce. 🤠
May 22, 2024
Fr Bryce writes about his spirituality in a common sense, no holds barred way. Even if you aren't from the west, or care about the west, you'll enjoy Fr Bryce.
June 2, 2023
About my rating: This spiritual primer is not great literature. You won't confuse it with Teresa of Avila's Interior Castle or Pope Benedict XVI's magisterial re-examination of the life of Jesus. Nevertheless, this is worthy work, in much the way that singer/songwriter Shawn Colvin can hold your attention without being Eric Clapton.
Fr. Bryce Lungren punches far above his weight while describing how to find peace and purpose "on the bronc called life." He gets to use that metaphor because he is, in fact, a cowboy priest. Moreover, there's a lot of good advice on prayer, work, discernment, motivation, and relationship packed into 140 earnest pages about discipleship.
You don't necessarily read the Catechism of the Catholic Church and come away wanting to "ride for the brand," but Fr. Lungren's accessible style makes me want to cowboy up. He does a great job of showing why Jesus should be the center of any Christian's universe.
"Christian confidence is based on the truth of sonship," Fr. Lungren writes. "I am a beloved son of God my father. This is my identity. This is the bedrock of every Christian." Moreover, he notes, "The word confidence derives from the Latin words con fidere, which literally means with faith or trust." The Catholic Cowboy, whatever he or she does for a living, walks through life with confidence, because (as one hymn puts it) we walk by faith, and not by sight.
Fr. Bryce Lungren punches far above his weight while describing how to find peace and purpose "on the bronc called life." He gets to use that metaphor because he is, in fact, a cowboy priest. Moreover, there's a lot of good advice on prayer, work, discernment, motivation, and relationship packed into 140 earnest pages about discipleship.
You don't necessarily read the Catechism of the Catholic Church and come away wanting to "ride for the brand," but Fr. Lungren's accessible style makes me want to cowboy up. He does a great job of showing why Jesus should be the center of any Christian's universe.
"Christian confidence is based on the truth of sonship," Fr. Lungren writes. "I am a beloved son of God my father. This is my identity. This is the bedrock of every Christian." Moreover, he notes, "The word confidence derives from the Latin words con fidere, which literally means with faith or trust." The Catholic Cowboy, whatever he or she does for a living, walks through life with confidence, because (as one hymn puts it) we walk by faith, and not by sight.
April 11, 2025
It reads as if it were a collection of homilies given during a men's retreat - homilies that we all need to hear. This is a book that should be read repeatedly, just as a reminder for when we lose track of who we are and where we are going.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews