Wilderness Outreach

Wilderness Outreach engages men in demanding physical work combined with prayer and worship in the wilderness of the American west. The work consists of trail building, reconstruction and rock retaining wall work. Worship consists of daily Mass, prayer and retreat study and discussion.

The Band of Brothers of the Aldo Leopold Wilderness in New Mexico 2009

2010 Expeditions Schedule

WANTED: MEN IN SEARCH OF gOD'S MEANING FOR THEIR LIVES. NO PAY, HARDWORK, WORSHIP AND PRAYER. SKILLS NEEDED: A DESIRE TO SURVIVE , WORK AND WOrSHIP IN gOD'S WILDERNESS. ADDED BENEFITS: ASCETICSM,  ADVENTURE AND BROTHERHOOD.

Wilderness Outreach is a Roman Catholic Lay Apostolate. The mission of Wilderness Outreach is to Challenge priests, seminarians and laymen to embrace and develop their God given masculine spirituality. Wilderness Outreach achieves this by taking men on transformational wilderness expeditions into the American west. During these expeditions the men are immersed in Worship, Work, Asceticism, Leadership, and Brotherhood.

WORSHIP

The first act of Worship occurs upon arriving in the wilderness base camp. The priest and the men determine the location of the sanctuary and build the Altar of Sacrifice where daily Mass will be celebrated. The Liturgy of the Hours is prayed morning, evening and night. The Angelus and   prayer for physical purity are recited, and the discipline of silence is observed 30 minutes each day.

WORK

The days on a Wilderness Outreach expedition are filled with vigorous physical labor. In partnership with the United States Forest Service, the men of Wilderness Outreach build new hiking trails, and restore existing hiking trails. This work includes tree removal, hiking trail excavation, and rock work. All of the work is performed with hand tools such as pulaskis, pick mattocks, cross cut saws, and axes. This tangible work is a reflection of the inner spiritual work of clearing the path toward God and developing a Holier life. With worship this work becomes Ora et Labora.

ASCETICISM 

On a Wilderness Outreach expedition men are immersed in an environment of asceticism. All of the necessities of life such as food and water must be worked for. Men are removed from the daily distractions, temptations, and comforts of every day living. No TVs, computers, or cell phones. No hot showers or snacks from the refrigerator. No movies or fast food restaurants. A man is required to discover his inner reservoir of strength, becoming clearer in his thoughts emotions, and prayers. This is the beginning of the process where a man rids himself of his inordinate attachments and learns to develop his inner spirituality.

LEADERSHIP

Wilderness Outreach challenges men to embrace and integrate the principals of spiritual and temporal leadership into their lives. The first principal of leadership is that a man accepts complete responsibility for the conditions and direction of his life. The second is that he commits to “know himself as he is known”. The third is that he must learn to “die to self” for the benefit of others and finally that he must become the spiritual leader of his parish, family, and home.

This journey into leadership is augmented by studies into history and science and of leaders such as John Paul the Great, Pope Benedict, Stephen Covey, and Peter Senge. The Myers Briggs and DISC personality profile systems are tools used for self discovery.  Discussions occur nightly around the campfire.

BROTHERHOOD

Surviving and enduring a Wilderness Outreach expedition requires a commitment to the brotherhood beyond our “selves”. Wilderness Outreach forges the bonds of brotherhood through the masculine communal experience of worship, work, asceticism, and leadership. Men are competitive. Men are problem solvers. Men are direct. Wilderness Outreach is a brotherhood of real men, facing real challenges, sharing each others burdens and struggles, while holding one another accountable in the majesty and beauty of God’s wilderness.