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 12th: The Less Traveled Road
Christian monasticism has been around for centuries, over one thousand five hundred years, in fact. It has waxed and waned with the passing of time, with high points and low, good times and bad. Fewer today are choosing the monastic path than fifty, seventy or eighty...
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Scripture Readings: Prophet Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10; Letter to the Hebrews 12:1-4; Gospel According to Saint Luke 12:49-53 As an infant of forty days, Jesus was presented in the Jerusalem Temple, where the elderly prophet Simeon said to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, that...
Daily Martyrology for August 11, 2022
In 1253, St. Clare of Assisi. When she was 18, Clare heard St. Francis preach. She renounced marriage and asked him for further instruction. She abandoned her former life, and Francis arranged for her to stay in a Benedictine convent. Her sister joined her. Francis eventually settled them near the church of San Damiano on the edge of Assisi. At first, Clare and her convent lived in extreme austerity, but with time she moderated that. She spent her life in service to her sisters in... read more[efb_likebox fanpage_url=”MonasteryOfChristInTheDesert” box_width=”400″ box_height=”” locale=”en_US” responsive=”1″ show_faces=”1″ show_stream=”0″ hide_cover=”0″ small_header=”0″ hide_cta=”0″ ]
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 4:00 PM Thursday July 28th, 2022.
ROAD CONDITIONS
Forest Service Road 151 leading to the Monastery is muddy from ongoing rains 4x4 vehicles strongly recommended.