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.
A MOST SUCCESSFUL ADVANCED ESL CLASS
Dr. Sylvia Castro and Dr. Melida Gonzalez, from the Houston and Austin areas, recently spent three week here are the Monastery teaching ESL to the five student monks in the above picture. It was a time of intense study by these monks which consisted of classes...
read moreThe Abbot’s Notebook for July 19, 2017
The Abbot's Notebook for July 19, 2017 My sisters and brothers in Christ, Blessings to you! Finally some rain has come to our area. Not much yet, but the temperatures have cooled down a bit. Most of my life, I have been able to live in hot or cold temperatures...
read more16th Sunday of Ordinary Time-Cycle A—2017
16th Sunday of Ordinary Time-Cycle A—2017 FIRST READING Wisdom 12:13, 16-19 There is no god besides you who have the care of all, that you need show you have not unjustly condemned. For your might is the source of justice; your mastery over all things...
read moreImpressions of Italy: Napoli (Naples)
Over a long weekend in May, I had the opportunity to visit the city of Naples, (“Napoli” in Italian) and found it to be a very worthwhile and enriching experience. I went there from Rome by train and the ride is just an hour long. In Naples I stayed with a community...
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Daily Martyrology for July 20, 2017
The commemoration of the prophet Elijah.In 430, St. Aurelius, bishop of Carthage. Aurelius was the leader of the church of North Africa and presided over a number of synods dealing with the Donatist and Pelagian heresies. He introduced the chanting of psalms during Mass to encourage greater lay involvement. He was a friend of St. Augustine who held him in high esteem.
In 1857, in Vietnam, St. Joseph Díaz Samjuro. He was born in Spain and became a Dominican... read more
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
Updated at 5:00 am on Thursday, July 20, 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.