News from Christ in the Desert
Current Road Conditions to the Monastery
posted 3/11/10
Despite some moisture falling in recent days, the road to the Monastery, Forest Service Road 151, is almost completely dry again; we hope it remains so for the coming days. Regular cars should be fine; neither all-wheel nor four wheel drive vehicles are needed. The turn to the Monastery is now marked with a sign on the main highway. We will keep you updated when conditions change, especially in the winter months.
Fundraising and Fellowship Events Will Be Held in Albuquerque
March 13 and 14, 2010
We have been invited present a Morning of Monastic Reflection at the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Catholic Community on Saturday March 13 from 9:00 am until 12:00 pm. The parish is located at 5415 Fortuna Rd. NW in Albuquerque. We will be meeting in the Chapel. All are welcome.
Join our Fr. Christian and Sharon Colby, MA, as they share our vibrant Benedictine tradition. Discover ways to deepen and support your life as a lay person in this informational and spiritual growth experience. Our time will include chanting portions of the Daily Office, presentations about monastic life and practices, discussion of one's spiritual journey, and information about the flourishing international community at the Monastery.
Additionally, Fr. Christian will be homilist at all the weekend Masses, and a second collection will be taken for the benefit of the Monastery. We will have items from the Monastery gift shop for sale after each Mass.
We ask for your generous donation for the program which will benefit life at the Monastery and our projects for environmentally sustainable water, solar power, and heat. We are "off the grid" by design, and by necessity, in our remote New Mexico canyon.
Fundraising and Fellowship in Albuquerque
March 20 and 21, 2010
Fr. Christian is returning to the Prince of Peace Catholic Community as homilist at all the weekend Masses, and receiving a second collection at each Mass for the benefit of the Monastery. Fr. Mike Shea and the parishioners welcomed Fr. Christian last year as well; it is a blessing to be able to come again. Additionally, we will have items from the Monastery gift shop for sale after each Mass.
Prince of Peace is located in Albuquerque at 12500 Carmel Ave, off Tramway.
Fundraising and Fellowship Events Were Held in Manhattan, NY
February 27-28, 2010
Our Br. Christian Leisy and Sharon Colby had a wonderful weekend at the Church of St Vincent Ferrer located at 869 Lexington Ave at East 66th St. We offered an Afternoon of Monastic Reflection to share our vibrant Benedictine tradition, to strengthen our friendships and to raise funds for the environmental systems of the Monastery. Additionally, Fr. Christian was the homilist at all the weekend Masses and a second collection was taken for the benefit of the Monastery.
We are grateful for the hospitality of the pastor, Fr. Carleton Jones, O.P., Fr. Aquinas, and all the friars of the Dominican community at the parish, and the generosity of the parishioners. What a blessing to have friends near and far!
For more information about this, or sponsoring similar friend raising and fundraising events in your area, contact Sharon Colby, Donor Relations and Events Manager at (505) 771-2922, or wspring2 `at' aol.com.
Our New CD Is In Preparation
We are hoping to issue a new CD of Gregorian Chant fairly soon and then
later in the year perhaps even another CD of Gregorian Chant. Gregorian Chant keeps us always working to sing together, to form one voice, to pay attention to our prayer. We'll post more information as soon as it becomes available for sale in our Gift Shops - online, at the Monastery, and at the Monks' Corner in Santa Fe.
Our New Ale Is Being Developed
We are developing a new Ale to be sold by our Abbey Beverage Company to join our very popular Monk's Ale, which is in the style of dark Belgian ales.
Although we are already the proud owners of three very good recipes for
Ale, all of the Ales for which we have recipes have been dark ales. The
new Ale will be made with wheat and thus is, formally, a "wit" ale. We'll post more information as soon as it becomes available for distribution.
Lenten Mission Held St Mary Magdalene in Humble, TX (Houston area)
February 21 - 24, 2010
Our Fr. Christian conducted a Lenten Program, "Lenten Lessons from the Desert." He also preached at all of the weekend Masses. We thank Fr Mike Carmody and Deacon Dave Illingsworth for their hospitality and the parishioners for their generous donations at the programs to support the life of prayer and hospitality at our monastery, Christ in the Desert.
Monastic Chanting at the Rothko Chapel Was Held in Houston, TX
Saturday, February 20 from 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
We had a wonderful turnout of new and long time friends who participated in the centuries old Christian monastic tradition of chanting the Divine Office, as we do here at the Monastery.
Our Fr. Christian and Br. Anton chanted the prayers of Terce and Sext at the renowned Rothko Chapel. They began each Office with a brief description and lesson on how to read the notations for the Gregorian chant which were sung in English. At 10:00 and 11:00 the monks chanted other pieces from the Gregorian repertoire, in English and in Latin.
Our thanks to Emilee Whitehurst, Director of the Chapel, and her staff for supporting us in offering this memorable morning.
Living the Rule of Benedict in Our Daily Lives: A Retreat
July 17 - 22, 2010
This retreat, which was held last summer and is being offered again, is for lay folks who feel the monastic pull, to call forth and nourish the bit of monk in them. Participants explored how to live this claim upon their lives in the midst of family, work, and community. We will enter in the silence and settle into the monastic rhythm with the monks of Christ in the Desert in this 1,500 year old tradition. Our retreat group will gather in our retreat community and in solitude to explore the Rule, and the disciplines of prayer, listening, spiritual reading and work.
The facilitators will be Nancy Copeland-Payton, MD, M.Div., a retreat leader, spiritual director, author, and a Benedictine Oblate of the Monastery of St. Gertrude, and, Marie Morgan, D.Min, a spiritual director in Santa Fe who serves on the Lay Advisory Board of Christ in the Desert.
For the flyer with full information about this retreat, contact Marie via email: marie@merchantmorgan.com.
Many in Our Monastic Communities Will Take Their Vows in 2010
posted 1/20/10
We have a full schedule this year of men taking their vows. Please keep them and our communities in your prayers!
Br. Moises of La Soledad will make his solemn vows on April 10th, the Saturday after Easter Sunday. Br Ezekiel of Holy Cross in Chicago will make his simple vows on March 13th and Br. Augustine, also of Holy Cross of Chicago, will make his solemn vows that same day. The novices in Our Lady of Tepeyac in Mexico will make their vows on March 27th. Br. Paul from Thien Tam will be ordained a deacon, God willing, on May 8th, by Bishop Kevin Farrell of the Diocese of Dallas, Texas.
There are still three other novices at Santa Maria y Todos los Santos who
should make simple vows in 2010, as well as one novice at Christ in the Desert.
Burning Bush Gift Program
The symbol of our Monastery, the Burning Bush, is taken from the book of Exodus 3.2 where Moses encounters the living God. Share your love by giving a gift that reminds your family, friends and associates that every place is holy and it is possible to meet God where you stand. As the story reminds us, gifts of meaning cannot be consumed; they can be experienced only in love.
Share your love throughout the year by purchasing your gifts through our Burning Bush Gift Program to benefit the Monastery of Christ in the Desert. Select gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, or any occasion of importance in the following areas: Environmental Sustainability, Guest Hospitality, Worship and Community Life, Education of a Monk, and Family Connections. You can also design your own gift to match your intentions. For more information, click on the link "Looking for the Perfect Gift" on our home page.
Monastery of Thien Tam Blesses Their Bell and Tower
January 3, 2010
The monks at Thien Tam in Texas, our newest house for our Vietnamese vocations, had the solemn blessings of a beautiful bell and bell-tower. The bell is a sign in the monastic community, and becomes the voice of God for us - inviting us to pray, to do lectio divina, and to gather for meals.
Our Monks on the Move
posted 1/3/10
All of a sudden we are feeling like a smaller community once more because brothers have returned to school or have gone to help in one of our other monasteries or are home on family visits. Some of us old timers, of course, remember when we only had two or three monks in the whole community. Now if we only have twenty monks at home, it seems very small!
Father Tomás from our Teocelo community in the State of Veracruz, has gone
to be the chaplain for the Benedictine nuns near Cuernavaca. Our Brother Cecilian will go to live in our Chicago community, the Monastery of the Holy Cross. La Soledad now has our Fr Luis and Brother Leander helping out with Masses and the formation program. Our Fr Thomas Benedict is the chaplain with our sisters of Our Lady of the Desert in Blanco, NM.