Wyoming Catholic Cowboys

Tuesday, August 2, 2022

Brick Wall

It's hard to talk about faith to people who are not open in faith.

Monday, August 1, 2022

Second most tender piece of meat next to the tenderloin, flat iron steaks are gaining popularity. The steak has always been known, but because of the thick piece of gristle that runs through the middle, flat irons remained a farmer's cut. Recently, though, guys have been filleting the gristle out and making two nice steaks out of one.

Weighing in just over a pound a piece, flat irons are a crowd pleaser.

They come from the front shoulder blade of a cow. There is a ridge that runs down the outside of the blade and the flat iron is nestled just behind it.

The gristle is pretty visible. I actually like the taste of it, but it does make it tougher.

The best way to cut it out is to lay your knife right against the gristle and let it guide you.

Wallah.

There are many good cuts on a cow if you're willing to hunt for them. With summer knee deep, we'll take all the steaks we can get.

Prayer

Follow our Lord's example in good times and in bad. Pray.

https://youtu.be/hum4pQPju7I

Sunday, July 31, 2022

Mission Montana

It was time that Gerry saw other parts of the US. So we headed north to Montana. With a wedding to preside at in Absarokee at the end of the week, we decided to make a run through western Montana, visit some friends, and see some sights.

Just the three of us: Me, Gerry, and White Horse

After dinner in Bozeman with a couple buddies, our first stop was Helena to see Uncle Pud.

We just wanted to relax but he put us to work changing water, moving fence, and oiling the racks on his '35 for the parade.

We did get to take his new old Mercury for a spin though.

Go west young man, but only after a ranch breakfast in Avon.

We stopped at Legendary Lodge in the Seeley Lake area to visit some friends. Beautiful.

Polson to see Fr. Kevin was Wednesday night's destination. Super fun, chill evening. Thanks for the steak, cigar, and whiskey partner. Keep up the Good work.

Glacier Park didn't let us in easily, but we kicked a little and made it. Super beautiful and fun time fishing. Fish won.

On to the next one... Great Falls to visit some more friends.

Eventually we landed in Absarokee. With a little time on our hands, Gerry tried his hand on the Rosebud River near Fishtail.

This time he won. Six fish he says, though no one was there to confirm or deny.

Mission accomplished.

Great fun. Congratulations to Tobias and Kaycee Cortner. We enjoyed the wedding and parties surrounding it. Thanks for the excuse to run through Montana. 1750 miles later and we're back where we started. Montana is beautiful. But hard to beat the dry, dusty prairies of Wyoming.

Shoot for Heaven

Aim high and the things of this world will make sense.

https://youtu.be/sMEa-QB0FWY

Sunday, July 24, 2022

Holy Prayer

Want to make a difference in the world? Grow in holiness - being full who God created you to be.

https://youtu.be/Td7rsiFSuGM

Friday, July 22, 2022

St. Joseph's Chapel

It's not good for man to be alone, says the celibate priest. Celibacy is for intimacy. The only way a consecrated single life makes sense is within a prayerful relationship with Jesus Christ. To help foster such devotion a place of prayer, or chapel, in the rectory is a good idea. It also gives the priest a place to celebrate daily Mass when one is not scheduled in the main Church or on his day off. We've had a makeshift chapel in the rectory for years. But wanting a more solemn space dedicated only to prayer, we built St. Joseph's Chapel. This is not a consecrated chapel nor does it contain the Blessed Sacrament. Both would be nice, but that takes further discussion. A designated place of prayer in the rectory, totally encouraged.

Construction on the chapel began well over a year ago during the year of St. Joseph. It seemed fitting to name it after him. After all, it is located right next to his pool hall.

There is a large store room in the basement of the rectory. So we just moved some things, threw a few more out, and got to work.

The room would be about 10' by 14'. Simple framing was needed to box in the already corner space.

Once we cut a hole in the wall for the door there was no turning back.

From the get go, a robust, earthly chapel that would raise your heart to Heaven was the vision. The oak beams definitely helped with that goal.

Dave and his wood shop were no small players in this endeavor.

Solid oak was used when able. But oak plywood sufficed on many occasions.

For painting of a high caliber, Wanda is the woman of choice. She does some amazing work and truly let her light shine in our little chapel.

Brenis also lent a hand on those two man jobs.

The Cross was a family affair, as Dave's brother risked his life holding the lumber while Dave routered the edges.

Once the wood was all built we had a staining party.

The golden brown stain was leftover from the construction of the house. We were also able to make use of much of the old trim that was still around.

Installing the stained fixtures on painted walls really made it come alive.

This cabinet is handy for storing sacred vessels, vestments, and necessary components for celebrating Mass.

The statutes really dressed the chapel up. This one of our Lady of Lourdes is one of my favorites.

It's hard to beat St. Joseph the Worker though.

The Altar is not fixed to the wall, so it can be slid out for the celebration of Mass if need be.

The buckskin walls and rock floor give a natural feel to the room. The Marian blue sanctuary wall draws one into the reality of our Lord's incarnation.

Prayer time.

Special thanks to the Knights of Columbus who helped fund our project. As well as to all those who lent a hand, especially with the dry wall, flooring, and painting. They all know the necessity for priests to have an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ if they are going to serve in the person of Jesus Christ. All People of God are called to intimacy with the Trinity. For the priest, however, Jesus in the Eucharist is his spouse. It just makes sense for him to spend time with Him. I think St. Joseph would agree. All glory to God.

Thursday, July 21, 2022

Riding Herd

With a little time on our hands, Gerry and I decided to go check on the cows. You'd think being in the mountains it'd be cooler. But the Belle Fourche is the lowest point in the state. Therefore, 90 degrees in this Hills is pretty common.

The best thing for the inside of a man is the outside of a horse.

John Raney got a few round bales this year. If you can't graze all that grass you might as well bale it.

Gerry brought his fishing pole along to conquer another Wyoming river.

Mission accomplished.

The cows won at John's place. We never found them. We found them at Joe's though. Looking fat and happy as usual.

The laborer deserves his wage.

It's always good to get out of Dodge. Resets a guys perspective. All the critters look good. I'm sure the eight cows we could't find at John's are fine. We just got out cowboyed is all. Nothing a little ice-cream can't fix though. God bless America. We're on to the next one.