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.
The Monastery Church and Art Gallery, will be open to daytime visitors, each Monday through Saturday, from 09:00 am to 5:30pm. The Giftshop will be open to daytime visitors from 09:00 am to 12:30 pm and 2:00pm to 3:30pm.
On Sundays, the Conventual Mass is at 9:15 am and the Giftshop will be open from 10:30 am to 3:00 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.
March 18th: March Moisture
Having had a dryer than normal Winter 2024-25, we were happy to have gotten recently some consecutive nighttime snowfalls of an inch or two. Each time the snow was completely melted by midday, but it provided at least some moisture to our land. Sometimes we even say...
Third Sunday of Lent, Year C
Scripture Readings: Book of Exodus 3:1-8; 13-15; Saint Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12; Gospel According to Saint Luke 13:1-9 Each year the first two Sunday’s of Lent are linked with specific events in the life of Christ: the temptations he...
Daily Martyrology for March 18, 2025
In Jerusalem, in 386, St. Cyril, bishop and doctor. As a priest, he delivered Catechetical Instructions, 24 of which have survived. Intended for catechumens and the newly baptized, they are an invaluable witness to the teaching and liturgy of the church in the middle of the fourth century. He was bishop of Jerusalem for 35 years, 16 of which were spent in exile.In 651, St. Braulio, bishop. A student and friend of St. Isidore (April 4), he succeeded his own brother John as... 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
Tuesday, March 18th, 2025, 10:00 am
Forest Service Road 151 leading to the Monastery
is dry and newly graded, so is in exceptionally good condition.
All-wheel drive vehicles are usually advised. Also, there are cattle roaming in the canyon. They often stand in the road, especially at night.
For those who travel on the road, please be aware that there may be traffic traveling in both directions on the road, so round curves with caution. Drive slowly (20 MPH) and be courteous, allowing faster traffic ahead of you. Simply pull to the side of the road and let them pass.
Safe and peaceful sojourns.