by Abbot | Apr 23, 2024 | News
We are enjoying an abundance of new life in the Chama Canyon wilderness. Today’s photo shows one of the signs of this, three flowering trees and one “still on the way” in our cloister garden. The warm daytime temperatures indicate that there is...
by Abbot | Apr 15, 2024 | News
We are always delighted with the arrival of Spring. The fact that it coincides with the liturgical season of Easter is an added plus. Today’s photo is from our cloister garden, the area where we monks have our rooms, technically called “cells”. The...
by Abbot | Apr 9, 2024 | News
We are still basking in the light of the mystery of the Lord’s Resurrection. Flowers are blooming in the cloister garden, trees are beginning to bud, the grass is turning green again and the weather is decidedly Spring-like. The monks are staying well, thanks be...
by Abbot | Apr 5, 2024 | News
We continue our celebration of Paschaltide (Easter!), coinciding with the arrival of Spring in the Chama Canyon wilderness. The triumphant Alleluia is chanted throughout the day, both at Mass and at the Divine Office (Opus Dei). Today’s photo is from our...
by Abbot | Apr 3, 2024 | News
Easter Day was on Sunday, March 31st, but the Church continues to celebrate this Great Day with an Octave, that is, eight days of rejoicing to prolong the joy of the Lord’s Resurrection. And after that, we still hold on to the Easter festivities right up to...
by Abbot | Mar 31, 2024 | News
Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen! Happy and holy Easter to all our families, friends, benefactors and oblates! Abbot Christian and the monks of Christ in the Desert
by Abbot | Mar 7, 2024 | News
Good Friday, March 29th: Afternoon Liturgy of Good Friday at 3:30 pm Holy Saturday, March 30th/31st: Solemn Vigil and Mass of the Lord’s Resurrection at 12 Midnight Easter Sunday, March 31st: Easter Day Mass at 11:00 am
by Abbot | Mar 4, 2024 | News
A sure sign that Spring cannot be far off in this part of the country is the arrival of regular daytime winds, sometimes gusting to twenty or more miles per hour. The beautiful canticle from the Old Testament Book of Daniel, chapter 3, is an invitation to recognize...
by Abbot | Feb 20, 2024 | News
An easily overlooked but worthwhile black and white film from 1940 is called BROTHER ORCHID, starring Edgar G. Robinson. It tells the fictional tale of mob boss Little John Sarto, played by Robinson, who gives up his turf to another mobster, played by Humphrey Bogart....
by Abbot | Feb 14, 2024 | News
The Holy Season of Lent has begun and we monks, along with all Christians, see it as a special time of prayer, fasting and good works. Saint Benedict says a monk’s life should always have about it a “Lenten character,” implying some degree of...
by Abbot | Feb 11, 2024 | News
Over the night of February 10th–the Lunar New Year 2024–we received a generous amount of snow in the Chama Canyon Wilderness. We are grateful for any amount of moisture in the desert Southwest. Last night’s snowfall measured in at about half a foot....
by Abbot | Jan 30, 2024 | News
Every day, rain or shine, we monks gather in the chapter room at 8:30 am. There we hear announcements from the Abbot or if another monk has an announcement, such as a request for help in a work project or a request for prayers for someone in need, a family member or...
by Abbot | Jan 27, 2024 | News
Men, including monks, are not always famous for “clutter-free” environments, but we try to do so here, with some areas in the Monastery better at this than others. For us, the corridors within the cloister, connecting our various buildings, are an...
by Abbot | Jan 25, 2024 | News
While we’re neither a hotel nor a spa, we do routinely enjoy healthy and savory meals, prepared by our monks. In today’s photo, Brother Chrysostom (who wears many hats here), and Father Zachary (who also wears many hats here), are preparing lunch, stuffed...
by Abbot | Jan 21, 2024 | News
Popularly called “Christmas Cactus” (technically termed Schlumbergera), because they usually bloom around Christmas time, we have several of these potted plants inside, flowering nicely just now. They are all in front of large (double-paned) windows along...
by Abbot | Jan 20, 2024 | News
During the winter months, our livestock (sheep, donkey and horses) depend on hay we purchase from local ranchers, some of which is on display in today’s photo, ready to be stored at the “Good Shepherd Inn,” as we call our sheep and donkey barn....
by Abbot | Jan 19, 2024 | News
While nighttime temperatures in the Chama Canyon can drop to freezing or lower during December and January, thankfully after sunrise they can rise to the mid or high 40s by noon. We are blessed with an abundance of sun throughout the year, and no less so in the winter...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Jan 10, 2024 | News
Abbot Christian has named Brother Elias Sanchez Chavez as the new Prior of the Monastery of Our Lady of Solitude (La Soledad), near San Miguel de Allende, in the State of Guanajuato, Mexico. Brother Elias succeeds Father Ezequiel Bas Luna, who has served as Prior of...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Jan 6, 2024 | News
A young mountain lion from across the Chama River has been eyeing our flock of sheep and even gave them a “run for their money” in broad daylight. However, intrepid guard-donkey Matty chased away the predator for now, but that’s no guarantee the...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Jan 3, 2024 | News
It is still Christmastide, up to the Feast of the Epiphany (the visit of the Magi) on January 6th, and concluding on Monday, January 8th with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. After that we return to “Ordinary Time” until Ash Wednesday on February 14th...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Dec 26, 2023 | News
The Savior reigns. Don’t forget: Christmas has just begun. Don’t cease from celebrating at least until the Epiphany on January 6th/7th. With assured of our prayers for a blessed Octave and beyond, the twelve days of Christmas. Abbot Christian and the...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Dec 19, 2023 | News
On Sunday, December 24th, at 9:15 am, Mass of the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Same Day, at Midnight, Christmas Midnight Mass. On Monday, December 25th, at 11:00 am, Christmas Day Mass. May all have a Blessed and Merry Christmas! You are in our thoughts and prayers. Abbot...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Dec 14, 2023 | News
We were happy to receive a dusting of snow over the night of December 13th. Moisture in any form is always welcome here, especially in these recent years of drought conditions. Often we’re asked if we get “snowed in” when it snows, but the answer is,...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Dec 8, 2023 | News
Our Brother Savio Vu made his definitive “yes,” by pronouncing solemn vows of obedience, stability and conversion of life, and receiving the monastic consecration as a Benedictine monk, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. In addition to his...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Dec 1, 2023 | News
We are now receiving more moisture in the form of snow in our canyon. We are grateful beyond words for this, and while it’s an inconvenience for those traversing Forest Road 151 leading to the Monastery, with the recommendation that only four-wheel or all-wheel...
