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
June 6th, 2022 – The Monastery Church, Giftshop and Art Gallery, will be open once again to daytime visitors, each Monday through Saturday, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.
On Sundays, the Conventual Mass is at 9:15 am and the Giftshop will be open from 10:30 am to 12:30 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.
August 6th: God’s Glory
Another glorious view of the Chama canyon is posted today, as the Church celebrates the Transfiguration of the Lord on the Mountaintop, traditionally identified with Mount Tabor in the Holy Land. In ages past a Benedictine monastery existed on Mount Tabor, but today...
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Mass Readings: Isaiah 55:1-3; Romans 8:35,37-39; Matthew 14:13-21 The three readings for Mass this Sunday contain some of the most consoling words in all of the Bible. The first reading for the Prophet Isaiah, who was active about 550 years before the birth of Christ,...
Daily Martyrology for August 6, 2023
The Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.In Spain, in 304, Sts. Justus and Pastor, martyrs. They were schoolboys during the persecution of Diocletian. They declared their Christianity and were martyred.
In 523, St. Hormisdas, who spent much of his time as pope working successfully to restore unity to the church in the wake of the Acacian schism over Monophysitism. read more
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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 6:50 pm, August 4th, 2023
Forest Service Road 151 leading to the Monastery is at present dry and passable for most vehicles. The Forest Service is presently doing a wonderful job of grading the road, so watch for their heavy equipment. Please be aware that there is traffic traveling in both directions, so round curves with caution. Be courteous and allow faster traffic ahead of you. Simply pull to the side of the road and let them pass. We've had no appreciable rain for some weeks now, but we are praying for some to arrive. Having said all that, all-wheel and four-wheel drive vehicles are recommended for traversing the road.