Abbot's Archives

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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,...

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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...

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Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Year B

Scripture Readings: Isaiah 50:4-7; Letter to the Philippians 2:6-11; Gospel According to Saint Mark 14:1 - 15:47 Each year on the Sunday before Easter, Christians around the world celebrate and commemorate what is traditionally called Palm or Passion Sunday, when we...

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Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year B

Scripture Readings: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 5:7-9; John 12:20-33 This is the final Sunday before Holy Week, which begins next Sunday with Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion. Today we focus our attention on the nearness and coming of the hour of Jesus’ glorification....

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Holy Week Schedule of Services 2024

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion, March 24th: Procession and Conventual Mass at 9:15 am Holy Thursday, March 28th: Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper at 5:00 pm Good Friday, March 29th: Afternoon Liturgy of Good Friday at  3:30 pm Holy Saturday, March 30th/31st:...

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Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year B

Scripture Readings: Second Book of Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23; Ephesians 2:4-10; John 3:14-21 This Sunday’s Gospel passage is part of the dialogue of Jesus with Nicodemus, a Jewish Pharisee and religious leader, who had come to Jesus expressing a sincere, though...

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March 4th: All You Winds, Bless the Lord

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...

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Third Sunday of Lent, Year B

Scripture Readings: Exodus 20:1-17; First Corinthians 1:22-25; Matthew 2:13-25 This Sunday's Gospel recounts Jesus “cleansing the Jerusalem Temple,” as it is often called. This event took place at the approach of the annual Passover celebration, which recounts God's...

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Second Sunday of Lent, Year B

Scripture Readings: Genesis 22:1-18; Romans 8:31-34; Mark 9:2-10 I like to call the first Sunday of Lent, “Christ in the Desert Sunday,” for its emphasis on the mystery of our Lord’s temptations in the solitude of the Judean desert. The second Sunday of Lent I call...

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February 20th: Brother Orchid

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....

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First Sunday of Lent, Year B

Scripture Readings: Genesis 9: 8-15; First Letter of Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15] Last Wednesday we began the season of Lent, a favorable or opportune time, inspired by Scriptural references that speak of returning to God as something completely desirable and...

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February 14th: Lent Has Begun

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 asceticism and sacrifice...

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Ash Wednesday and Holy Lent

Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Joel 2:12-18; Second Corinthians 5:20-6:2; Gospel According to Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18. The readings for Mass today set the tone for the entire season of Lent which we now begin. Keep in mind the word “Lent” comes from the same...

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February 11th: Surprise Snow

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. This morning we...

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Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Scripture Readings: Book of Leviticus 13:1-2; 45-46; First Corinthians 10:31-11:1; Gospel According to Saint Luke 1:40-45 This Sunday’s Gospel describes the miraculous cure of a man afflicted with the dread disease of leprosy. An outcast of society is brought back to...

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Fifth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B

Scripture Readings: Job 7:1-4; 6-7; First Corinthians 9: 16-19, 22-23; Gospel According to Saint Mark 1:29-39 The Gospel passage for this Sunday presents us again with the first stages of the public ministry of Jesus. Having cast out evil spirits and preached in the...

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January 31st: Chapter Room

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...

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January 27th: Beauty in Simplicity

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 opportunity to...

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January 25th: Good Chefs

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 peppers. We...

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Fourth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B

Scripture Readings: Book of Deuteronomy 18:15-20; First Corinthians 7:32-35; Gospel According to Mark 1:21-28 The three Scripture readings assigned for this Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time speak about being attentive and listening to the prophet whom God will send (the...

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January 22nd: Winter Cactus

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 our cloister...

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January 20th: Having A Hay Day

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. Sometimes the...

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