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.
Health & Safety
On March 13, 2020, Archbishop John Wester announced the closing of public liturgical services throughout the Archdiocese of Santa Fe due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, the Monastery is closing all retreat reservations, the giftshop, and the public celebration of liturgical Offices and Mass until further notice.
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.
Abbot’s Notes, Homilies, and News
We invite you to subscribe to our newsletters to receive homilies and news directly via email.
January 28th: Sheep Is Life
From the beginning of our monastery, sheep have off and on been part of the mix. Our founding Prior, Father Aelred Wall (1917-1984), had Suffolk sheep here, a popular breed in the 1960s, prized especially for their meat. The vintage photo below shows an early herd of...
O Antiphons: the Birth of Christmas
A revision of the oblate talk given on December 20th 2020 about the O Antiphons.
January 10th, The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
Scripture Readings: Prophet Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7; Acts of the Apostles 10:34-38; Mark 1:7-11 The Christmas season comes to an end with the Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord. We still have a glimpse of the season when we celebrate the Presentation of the Lord in the...
Abbot’s Notebook
“Our Monk in Rome” is now “Our Abbot in Abiquiu,” or something like that. There will no longer be new postings on the “Our Monk in Rome” page, but please proceed to the “Abbot’s Notebook” page for my news and views. At least to begin with, there might not be a weekly...
Daily Martyrology for January 28, 2021
At the Cistercian monastery of Fossanova, St. Thomas Aquinas, Dominican priest and doctor of the church. He was born near Aquino, between Naples and Rome. He was educated at Monte Cassino for eight years, then at the University of Naples, where he became acquainted with the works of Aristotle. He joined the Dominican Order there in 1224, against the wishes of his family. He studied at Paris and Cologne under St. Albert the Great. Thomas lectured on the Bible and the Sentences of Peter... 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 Noon PM Monday, Jan. 18, 2020.
The Monastery is currently closed to guests due to COVID-19 pandemic precautions.