Abbot's Archives
If you enjoy hearing from us, we regularly send out news bulletins which you can receive by email.
May 21th: Meet Us In Chama!
This Friday afternoon, May 21st, a variety of our handmade products will be for sale at the Chama Valley Farmers Market, near the village of Chama, New Mexico. Our Brothers Andre and Isidore will be at the Market from 3:00 to 5:00 pm this Friday, with our soaps,...
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...
September 28th: Important Feast For Us
On this day fifty-five years ago, our Monastery church, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, was formally blessed as the place of worship for the monks of Christ in the Desert and its guests. We keep the day as a Sunday, with more solemn celebration of the Conventual...
Twenty-sixth in Ordinary Time, Year A
Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Ezekiel 18:25-28; Letter to the Philippians 2:1-11; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 21:28-32 Here at the Monastery Autumn is definitely “in the air.” Such is the case as well in many other parts of the Northern Hemisphere. The...
September 20th: Roses Still Blooming
Throughout the Summer months we have been enjoying roses blooming in our cloister garden. Occasionally the flowers are used to decorate in church and at other times left to be viewed "in situ," right where they blossom. We are staying well and keeping busy with the...
Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Scripture readings: Book of the Prophet Isaiah 55:6-9; Letter to the Philippians 1:20-24, 27; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 20:1-16 This Sunday’s Gospel passage is taken from a section in the Gospel according to Saint Matthew where Jesus spells out some of the...
September 19th: Welcome Rain
Of late we are getting rainfall, much needed and much appreciated. The threat of forest fires is greatly reduced now and the Chama Canyon is once again "turning green," as it usually does in July and August. These days we are getting various landscaping projects...
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Scripture Readings: Book of Sirach 27:30-28:7; Romans 14:7-8; Gospel According to Matthew 18:2121-35 This Sunday’s Scripture readings are focused on the topic of forgiveness. It is something we probably regularly think about and actually do, when we forgive family or...
September 15th: Bighorn Sheep
Not seen every day here, but more frequently than fifty years ago, Bighorn Sheep are another natural wonder in the high desert of New Mexico. Today's photo was taken by one of our monks while on a trip to town on September 13th. The majestic ram in the photo was...
September 11th: Fr Bernard Cranor, OSB, RIP
Today our dear confrere, Father Bernard Cranor, died peacefully at the Monastery . He was ninety-two years old and lived a very long and fruitful life, first for a short time as a Trappist monk in Utah, then as a Dominican friar for many years, then as a monk of...
September 8th: Summer Subsiding
We are already feeling a definite "cooling down" in the mornings, with temperatures in the mid to low 50s. By afternoon, the mercury climbs to the low 80s. To everything, there is a season. We continue our daily round of prayer and work and welcoming people for days...
Twenty-third Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A
Scripture Readings: Ezekiel 33:7-9; Romans 13:8-10; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 18:15-20 This Sunday’s first reading from the Prophet Ezekiel and the Gospel passage both consider the difficult topic of “fraternal correction,” as it is often called; that is,...
September 3rd: Our Blue Moon
The psalmist, writing thousands of years ago, had this to say, presumably while pondering the wonders of God's creation: "The heaven's proclaim the glory of God and the firmament shows forth the work of God's hands. Day unto day takes up the story and night unto night...
September 1st: Monks and Roses
The German Benedictine nun, Gertrude of Helfta, now known as Saint Gertrude the Great, who lived from 1256 to 1302, once made a very insightful observation about Benedictines. One day in contemplation, Gertrude considered Saint Benedict and his followers under the...
August 31st: Summer Sky
The days fly by, at least for us in the Chama Canyon wilderness. Summer skies hold their own beauty at this time of year, most especially at sunset. The days are now visibly growing shorter and daytime temperatures are "only" in the mid-80s. That's cooler than several...
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Scripture Readings: Prophet Jeremiah 20:7-9; Letter to the Romans 12:1-2; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 16:21-27 Today’s Gospel passage gives us more insight into who Jesus truly is and what he had to undergo for the salvation of all people. Important to keep in...
August 26th: Awaiting Rain
After a very fine downpour a week ago, we've seen very little rain since. Some days appear promising with regard to moisture, as in today's photo, but then nothing comes of it. In any case, we keep praying for more rain. We continue indoor and outdoor projects to...
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Scripture Readings: Prophet Isaiah 22:15,19-23; Letter to the Romans 11:33-36; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 16:13-20 In the Gospel passage for this Sunday, Jesus poses a crucial question to his disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” The question implies that...
August 20th: Fruits of Rain
We are finally getting some rain and are very grateful for the gift. Roses are blooming in the cloister garden and Easter lilies are lining up nicely for a third flowering. The first was at Eastertime, the second was in late Spring, and now the third in mid-Summer....
August 18th: Community Recreation
Each Tuesday and Thursday evenings the monks gather for about 20 minutes for a period of "recreation," as it is called in monastic culture. The time consists of simply relaxing and speaking, enjoying one another's company in what is usually lively conversation. We...
August 15th: I Lift Up My Eyes To The Mountains
Today's photo is another view from atop the mesa behind and above our monastery buildings. Clouds are forming, but we still await the arrival of rain, very much needed in the great Southwest. It is hard to believe we are already in mid-August and celebrating the...
Twentieth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A
Scripture Readings: Isaiah 56:1, 6-7; Romans 11:13-15, 29-32; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 15:21-28 It should be safe to say and not a heresy to conclude that Jesus was at least mildly bothered by the persistent Canaanite woman in the Gospel passage for this...