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.
January 19th: Sunday Treat
We are blessed with some excellent cooks and bakers among the brothers. One such example is found in today's photo, apple pies for this Sunday, January 19th. The pies will be enjoyed at the Sunday evening meal, when the monks gather for a less formal supper, which...
Second Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year C
Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Isaiah 62:1-5; First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians 12:4-11; Gospel According to Saint John 2:1-11 We have now completed the Advent and Christmas seasons of the Church’s yearly liturgical calendar and have returned to...
Daily Martyrology for January 18, 2025
Let us remember all saints and holy men and women on this day.
Prayer 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
Saturday, January 18th, 4:00 pm
Forest Service Road 151 leading to the Monastery is completely dry and passable.
Please note that the Guest Houses at the monastery are closed during the month of January, but we remain open to day visitors.
Low clearance vehicles should use caution navigating the rutted portions of the road.
All-wheel drive vehicles are 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.