May 14th: Henny Penny and the Gang
Our flock of sheep has almost doubled with the birth of ten new lambs this Spring, bringing us up to twenty-three lambs. Our poultry flock also has grown with the hatching of seven chicks a couple of weeks ago. Some of the newly hatched are pictured here with their...May 13th: Chama Canyon
The ever-changing light on the cliffs that surround us are a constant reminder that the God of all, Creator of heaven and earth, is near us as a Rock of refuge and a sure stronghold. These past many months have been a time of upheavel, distress and untold hardship for...May 12th: Lectio Divina
An important part of a monk’s day is what is called “lectio divina,” Latin for “sacred reading,” usually understood as prayerfully reading Sacred Scripture (the Bible), slowly meditating on a text and listening to God’s voice. At...Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 1:1-11; Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians 1:17-23; Gospel According to Saint Mark 16:15-20 We celebrate our Lord’s Ascension, taking place forty days after his resurrection. We recount with joy the day Christ completed his...May 11th: Paschal Candle
Since the Easter Sunday morning Vigil and Mass on April 4th, the Paschal (or Easter) Candle has been in a prominent place in our church and lit for all the major Offices (community prayers) and daily Mass. Over these past weeks of being lit, the Easter candle has been...May 9th: Daily Harvest
Health experts seem to argue endlessly about the benefits and detriments of eating eggs. All things in moderation, our Holy Father Saint Benedict taught his monks. Our forty-five hens produce about thirty eggs each day. The colors range from power blue to brown, white...May 8th: Little Lamb
This Spring two of our ewes, Gloria and Amelia, gave birth to healthy twins. Gloria indicated she could only handle one lamb, so brothers took over the roll of raising the lamb, pictured below, whom we named Shadow. After a few weeks with personal assistants, Shadow...May 7th: Irises
Though more modest than our majestic flowering fruit trees, beautiful irises are also appearing on our property at this time. In Christian culture, especially during the Middle Ages, the iris was associated with Our Lady of Sorrows, as the long, pointed leaves of the...May 6th: More Life
It’s almost hard to keep track of all the flowering trees scattered around our property! Pictured below is a gloriously blooming crab apple in our Saint John Paul II Silent Meditation Garden located between our church and the guest reception building. Next to...May 5: Lilacs Bloom
May is the month traditionally dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. One of the flowers typically associated with May as well as with Mary, is the lilac. It’s color and fragrance are a pleasure to behold. Our most hearty lilac bush is at our Saint Benedict Ranch...May 4th: Do Monks Exercise?
It appears our hens get outside for aerobics or whatever, but do monks? The answer depends on the age, health and interest of the individuals. We have a weight room, with good equipment that is regularly used by some of the monks. We have a rowing machine and that too...Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year B
Acts of the Apostles 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; First Letter of John 4:7-10; Gospel of John 15:9-17 In our popular language, the word “love” is so often used and misused, that it has almost become devoid of meaning. Love is a word so frequently exploited in the media of...May 3rd: The Jesus Prayer
Several times a day, going to or coming from church, we monks pass by an image of the Risen Christ in our main corridor that links our living quarters and church. Surrounding the icon Christ, pictured below, are the words of what is called “the Jesus...May 2nd: Meet Our Prior (If You Haven’t Already)
Our Prior Bonaventure Nguyen has the distinction of being born on May 10th, 1980. The distinction? 1980 was the year that Benedictines around the world, and really the whole Church, celebrated with great joy the 1,500th birth of Saint Benedict of Nursia, who lived...May 1st: Spring Cleaning
If you look closely at today’s photo, you can see two of the “We Do Windows” crew from Santa Fe at work, who have been cleaning our church windows, inside and out. The crew completed the project on April 29th, and we are very grateful. Our monastery...April 30th: Trees and Bees
Our flowering fruit trees are at their peak and the bees are flying en masse to the flowers. We have two thriving bee hives and hope to be harvesting honey in the fall. Our honey is usually a tasty blend of the flowering fruit trees, clover, alfalfa and wild flowers....April 29th: To Life!
Not only is our sheepfold teeming with new life, with ten new lambs, but also our poultry flock. Ten new chicks have been born in past two days, with more on the way. The photo below shows one of the two nests of brooding hens and hatching chicks. Our flock has now...Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B
Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 9:26-31; First Letter of Saint John 18-24; Gospel of Saint John 15:1-8 Perhaps few or none who read this have grown grapes, though perhaps some have. Even if we have not grown grapes, we are familiar with the notion of a tree...April 28th: Sheared Sheep
Some of our sheared sheep are pictured here, along with their unsheared offspring. At the far right in the picture is Amelia with her recently-born twins. We decided not to shear Amelia this round, to reduce the anxiety of a “whole new look” for the twins...April 27th: Sheep Shearing Day
Our flock of thirteen ewes was sheared on Monday morning this week, April 26th. The picture below of some of our sheep was taken before the shearing, but all went well and the many bags of fleece will now be processed at a woolen mill and turned into sceins of yarn...The Desert Blooms: Spring Flowerings at Christ in the Desert
An Easter Season Video Offering from Abbot Christian.April 20th: From Our Weaving Workshop
We still have 2 rugs left to present for purchase from the Monastery Workshop. Each rug is made with prayer and care by one of our monks. The wool, both warp and weft, is 100% Navajo-Churro and hand-dyed. The rugs for sale are one-of-a-kind and nearly identical in...April 25th: Easter Continues
The Easter Season, also called Paschaltide, extends from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday, fifty days in all. With Easter this year on April 4th and Pentecost on May 23rd, we are already almost halfway through Paschaltide. Tempus fugit. With the desiduous trees in...Fourth Sunday of Easter, Cycle B
Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 4:8-12; First Letter of Saint John 3:1-2; Gospel of Saint John 10:11-18 Our Lord Jesus Christ, during his earthly ministry, knew very well how to speak to the people about his person and his mission, using simple and direct...
"Let everyone that comes be received as Christ."
— The Rule of St. Benedict
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