For those that remember the last time John Henry Spann was on Pints with Aquinas (I think sometime last fall), he announced a new men’s fraternity and retreat apostolate called the Fraternity of St. Hubert, using hunting trips as the vehicle for Catholic men’s retreats.
This past week was the first official retreat, hosted around a turkey hunt in south-central Nebraska, and I was fortunate enough to attend.
I’m a new hunter (self-diagnosed with late-onset adult hunting syndrome), and this was my first turkey hunt. I came for the hunting, but what stood out most was the fraternity. We had a diverse group of men: experienced hunters, complete beginners who bought their first firearm for the trip, fathers, husbands, and young men preparing for those vocations.
In keeping with the Fraternity’s mission, a priest joined us for the retreat. Not only was he a solid, orthodox, and a genuinely manly priest, but he was also a hunter—one of us. He offered Mass, heard confessions, shared meals, hunted alongside us, and met men where they were. At one point, several guys even went to confession in a turkey blind overlooking a Nebraska creek bottom.
The hunting was great, the fellowship was even better, and I left spiritually refreshed and with new friendships that I expect will last well beyond this trip.
If you’re interested in doing hard things with other Catholic men, building authentic fraternity, deepening your faith, and returning home better equipped for your vocation as a husband, father, or future husband and father, I highly recommend checking out the Fraternity of St. Hubert.
https://www.fraternityofsthubert.com
