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.
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.
Visit our Gift Shop
We sell statuettes, plaques, boxes, and CDs of our chants. 100% of the proceeds support our monks and upkeep of the abbey.
Abbot’s Notes, Homilies, and News
We invite you to subscribe to our newsletters to receive homilies and news directly via email.
WEBSITE UPDATED WITH NEW SAYINGS AND STORIES OF THE DESERT FATHERS
We are pleased to announce that the Monastery’s website (www.christdesert.org) has been updated in its “Prayer + Chant” section! A variety of sayings and stories from the early monastic “Desert Fathers” of the Church were added as spiritual teachings for the...
read moreThe Abbot’s Notebook for September 20, 2017
The Abbot's Notebook for September 20, 2017 My sisters and brothers in Christ, Blessings to you! We seem to have a mother bear and two cubs on our property right now. These are black bears and generally don’t harm anyone. We have been told that there are few acorns...
read more25th Sunday of Ordinary Time-Cycle A–2017
25th Sunday of Ordinary Time-Cycle A--2017 FIRST READING Isaiah 55:6-9 Seek the Lord while he may be found, call him while he is near. Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked his thoughts; let him turn to the Lord for mercy; to our God, who is generous in...
read moreImpressions of Italy: Two Tuscan Hermitages
An important summer break for Italians happens in the middle of August, at the time of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15th each year. A few days before and some days after August 15th, things tend to come to a standstill in Italy....
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Daily Martyrology for September 20, 2017
Between 1839 and 1867, Sts. Andrew Kim, Paul Chong, and companions, martyrs of Korea. A Korean named Yi Sung-hun was baptized in China in 1784 by a French missionary, and returned to found the first Catholic community in Korea in the house of Kim Bom-u. The next year the government dispersed the community and arrested, tortured and exiled Kim Bom-u, who died shortly afterwards. Between 1791 and 1831 the numbers of Catholics increased, but hundreds were martyred. French missionaries arrived... 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
Updated at 5:00 am on Tuesday, September 19, 2017
The road leading to the Monastery, Forest Service Road 151, is passable for all vehicles. The National Weather Service says there is a chance of T-Storms over these next few days. The thing about that is this: if you are on the road and it starts to rain heavily, stop until it quits in a few minutes (especially if you are in a two-wheel drive vehicle) and very shortly after that, it will be safe and easy to continue driving because the road is very dry and will quickly drain.