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,...
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...
March 28th: Newly Professed
Last Saturday, March 25th, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, our Brother Chrysostom pronounced his solemn vows of obedience, stability and conversion of life, as a monk of Christ in the Desert. This he did during Mass in our church in the presence of...
March 25th: The Annunciation of the Lord
One of the most beautiful feasts in the Church's Liturgical calendar is the Solemnity of the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary by the Archangel Gabriel, that she is to be the Mother of the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ. The Annunciation marks the beginning of our...
Fifth Sunday of Lent, Cycle A
Readings: Ezekiel 37:12-14; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:14-45 It is nearly Palm Sunday and Holy Week, but not quite yet! We are entering the fifth Sunday and week of Lent and the Gospel passage assigned for this Sunday brings us face to face with death, the death of a...
Fourth Sunday of Lent, Cycle A
Readings: First Book of Samuel 16:1-13; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41 The color of the vestments worn today is rose, a reminder for us to rejoice, for we are half way through the Lenten journey and our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The traditional...
March 19th: Solemnity of Saint Joseph
This year the annual liturgical commemoration of Saint Joseph, the husband of Mary and foster-father of Jesus, will be kept on March 20th, rather than on March 19th, the usual date of his feast. The reason for transferring the solemnity of Saint Joseph to March 20th...
March 16th: Spring’s Arrival
This week Abbot Christian is at Sacred Heart (Thien Tam) Monastery in Kerens, Texas, founded in 2009 in the Diocese of Dallas and part of the Subiaco Cassinese Congregation. Monks from Christ in the Desert were the original founders of Thien Tam Monastery, some of...
Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle A
Readings: Exodus 17:3-7; Romans 5:1- 8; John 4:5-42 A precious commodity anywhere, and certainly in New Mexico, is water, something many of us perhaps take for granted. For the gift of water, we are always grateful. Saint Francis of Assisi went so far as to call it,...
March 6th: Some Signs of Spring
While Spring is not yet in full force, some subtle but sure signs of a change of seasons are appearing now in the Chama canyon wilderness where we live. Warmer day and night-time temperatures are now occurring, and even some crocuses are catching our attention. We...
Second Sunday of Lent, Year A
Scripture Readings: Book of Genesis 12:1-4; Second Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy 1:8-10; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 17:1-9 I like to call the second Sunday of Lent “Transfiguration Sunday,” for its focus on that great mystery in the life of Christ...
March 3rd: God’s Healing Spirit
Scripture is replete with references to the spirit of wisdom, as a source of healing, comfort and encouragement from God, for those who pursue wisdom. A beautiful passage from deutro-canoncial Book of the Wisdom of Solomon, included in the Catholic Bible, seems to say...
First Sunday of Lent, Year A
Scripture Readings: Book of Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7; Romans 12-19; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 4:1-11 Each year the Church gives us this season of Lent to renew our intention of living more completely for Christ. Lent is a word in English that is related to...
February 23rd: Holy Lent
Ash Wednesday this year was not a "fair weather" day. For us, it included snowfall and winds. We understand that much of the nation on Ash Wednesday felt the effects of another "winter blast," keeping Spring at bay. Nonetheless, for us the day included the Divine...
Ash Wednesday
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...
February 20th: Faithful Followers of the Lamb
Prior Bonaventure and Brother Andre have a combined total of some fifty years of "prayer and work" in the Chama Canyon wilderness as Benedictine monks. Neither is celebrating a particular anniversary this year, but the nice photo recently taken in the sacristy before...
Seventh Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A
Scripture Readings: Book of Leviticus 19:1-2,17-18; First Corinthians 3:16-23; Matthew 5:38-48 Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Liturgical Season of Lent, is just three days away. The three Scripture readings given to the Church on this Sunday before Lent offer...
February 17th: True Winter
Sometimes in February we enjoy what is called a "False Spring." That is, daytime temperatures might rise to 50 degrees or more, and then winter returning in the month of March. This year, no "False Spring" so far, and in fact we are experiencing "True Winter," meaning...
February 11th: Renewal of Temporary Vows
On the evening of February 9th, our Father Seraphim renewed for one year his temporary monastic vows of obedience, stability and conversion of life. He did this in the presence of the abbot and community of Christ in the Desert Father Seraphim is our main organist at...
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Scripture Readings: Book of Sirach 15:15-20; Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians 2:6-10; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 5:17-37 Christians believe, rooted in the words of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, that Christ came into the world to fulfill the Law and the...
February 8th: Abbots Meeting
From February 3rd to 6th, Abbot Christian attended the annual meeting of North American Benedictine abbots, held this year at Saint Bernard Abbey, Cullman, Alabama. There were twenty-five abbots present, coming from the United States, Mexico and Canada. The topic of...
February 3rd: The Mind’s Journey to God
Saint Bonaventure, the great medieval Franciscan theologian and Doctor of the Church, wrote a treatise on the journey to God, saying that we learn the ways of God by examining the world, and we proceed to awareness of the truth of God in and through our minds. The...
"Let everyone that comes be received as Christ."
— The Rule of St. Benedict
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