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
August 18, 2021 – Please follow ‘Full Details’ link to read about our gradual re-opening.
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.
Masks are required in Church and Giftshop of those not vaccinated.
On Sundays, the Conventual Mass is at 9:15 am and the Giftshop will be open from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm.
Our Guesthouse for overnight retreatants remains closed.
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.
December 3rd: Christmas Cactus
True to form, our Christmas cactus are beginning to bloom. The delicate magenta- colored flowers always appear in December and usually once again in the course of the year. While the cactus is a distinctive Christmas visitor, we monks don't start decorating and...
Second Sunday of Advent, Year C
Scripture Readings: Baruch 5:1-9; Philippians 1:3-11; Gospel According to Saint Luke 3:1-6 On the Second Sunday of Advent the Church has us contemplate the person and mission of Saint John the Baptist, the great prophet of the coming of Christ. Considered more than a...
Daily Martyrology for December 5, 2021
In 532, at his monastery near Jerusalem, St. Sabas. He was born in Cappadocia and was attracted to monastic life at an early age. He joined the monastery of St. Euthymius (January 20) in Jerusalem, where he proved to be hardworking and prayerful. Four years after Euthymius’ death, Sabas was prevailed upon to form a semi-eremitical laura. He was appointed archimandrite over the hermits of Palestine, and sent on a number of missions to Constantinople and elsewhere. His monastery, the... 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 5:30 PM Sunday November 21, 2021.
ROAD CONDITIONS
The Forest Service Road 151 into the Monastery is done with grading. Loose coarse gravel is now the surface of the road.
GENERAL UPDATE
The Monastery is commencing gradual re-opening, beginning with reception of day visitors. The Guesthouse remains closed to overnight guests.
As of Monday, May 31st, the Monastery Church, Giftshop, and Art Gallery, are open to daytime visitors, Monday through Saturday, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Masks are required for visitors to the Giftshop and in church.
On Sundays, the Conventual Mass is offered at 9:15 am. Attendees are welcome. The Giftshop will be open from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm.