The Monastery of Christ in the Desert
Our Benedictine monastic community near Abiquiu, New Mexico, warmly welcomes you to our Abbey on the banks of the Chama River.
The Monastery Church and Art Gallery, will be open to daytime visitors, each Monday through Saturday, from 09:00 am to 5:30pm. The Giftshop will be open to daytime visitors from 09:00 am to 12:30 pm and 2:00pm to 3:30pm.
On Sundays, the Conventual Mass is at 9:15 am and the Giftshop will be open from 10:30 am to 3:00 pm.
Be our Guest
We welcome both day visitors and overnight guests for self-directed retreats. We celebrate mass daily, and invite you to pray with us.
Support Us
This monastic community is possible only by the generous support of friends like you. While the Monastery is an officially recognized Roman Catholic organization, it does not receive any direct financial support from the Church.
Explore the Monastery
We warmly invite you to explore a photo gallery that shows where we live and how we go about our monastic life.
Monastery News & Homilies
We invite you to subscribe to our newsletters to receive these directly via email.
February 13th: Dry Sky
Despite predictions and promises from forecasters, we've yet to see snow or rain in the Chama Canyon, but we keep hoping and praying for a reversal of fortune. We have been having gusty winds of late, which acts to dry up the land even more. It is by no means a...
Sixth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year C
Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Jeremiah 17:5-8; First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians 15:12, 16-20; Gospel According to Saint Luke 6:17, 20-26 What is usually called the “Sermon on the Mount” in Saint Matthew’s Gospel, is generally referred to as the...
Daily Martyrology for February 14, 2025
In the last half of the 9th century, Sts. Cyril and Methodius. Cyril studied secular sciences at Constantinople, and succeeded Photius as professor there. His brother Methodius was a state official. Around 860 they were sent as missionaries from Constantinople to the Slavs. They translated the Bible and the liturgy into Old Slavonic, for which they created an alphabet. They passed through Rome in 867 on their way to Constantinople, carrying the relics of St. Clement, which were placed in the... read morePrayer and Chant
Learn more about the Monastic Day or review our Daily Prayer Schedule.
Prayer Requests and Mass Intentions
We are glad to include your requests for prayer in our daily chanting of the psalms. Mass intentions (including the delivery of a Mass card) may be requested for small stipend.
Our Chanting
We have recordings of our chants available on CD and MP3.
Ave Maria
Daily Prayer and Mass Schedule
All are welcome to join us at daily worship. Click here for our daily prayer schedule which begins at 4:00am and ends at 7:30pm.
Current Road Conditions
Thursday, February 13th, 2025, 7:22 PM
We are now under a Winter Storm Warning for snow and rain to at 8 pm tonight and continue until 5 AM Saturday. Weather bureau:
"Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 8 to 16 inches below 8500 feet. (We are at 6,500 feet.) Winds gusting as high as 40 mph in the high terrain."
Low clearance vehicles should use caution navigating the rutted portions of the road.
All-wheel drive vehicles are strongly advised. Also, there are cattle roaming in the canyon. They often stand in the road, especially at night.
For those who travel on the road, please be aware that there may be traffic traveling in both directions on the road, so round curves with caution. Drive slowly (20 MPH) and be courteous, allowing faster traffic ahead of you. Simply pull to the side of the road and let them pass.
Safe and peaceful sojourns.