The Monastery of Christ in the Desert
Our Benedictine monastic community near Abiquiu, New Mexico, warmly welcomes you to our Abbey on the banks of the Chama River.
The Monastery Church and Art Gallery, will be open to daytime visitors, each Monday through Saturday, from 09:00 am to 5:30pm. The Giftshop will be open to daytime visitors from 09:00 am to 12:30 pm and 2:00pm to 3:30pm.
On Sundays, the Conventual Mass is at 9:15 am and the Giftshop will be open from 10:30 am to 3:00 pm.
Be our Guest
We welcome both day visitors and overnight guests for self-directed retreats. We celebrate mass daily, and invite you to pray with us.
Support Us
This monastic community is possible only by the generous support of friends like you. While the Monastery is an officially recognized Roman Catholic organization, it does not receive any direct financial support from the Church.
Explore the Monastery
We warmly invite you to explore a photo gallery that shows where we live and how we go about our monastic life.
Monastery News & Homilies
We invite you to subscribe to our newsletters to receive these directly via email.
May 7th: Ladybug
Ladybugs in a garden are always a good sign. Why? Because they are natural predators of aphids, tiny insects that feed on plant sap, which ultimately does harm to plants. The ladybug has been called a "natural insecticide." Today's photo is of a ladybug among the...
Pentecost Sunday
Readings: Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11; First Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13; Gospel According to Saint John 20:19-23 The Solemnity of Pentecost is a celebration of the universality of the love God has for us. At Pentecost, fifty days after Easter, the Church commemorates...
Daily Martyrology for May 14, 2024
In the first century, the martyrdom of St. Matthias, apostle. He was chosen to succeed Judas.In Ireland, in 637, St. Carthach, bishop and abbot. He founded several monasteries, spent some time at Comgall’s monastery at Bangor, and finally founded a monastery at Lismore. He died as a hermit at nearby Inch.
In Oslo in 1043, St. Hallvard, martyr. He was sailing his boat in Oslo fjord when a pregnant woman called to him to save her from her enemies. Hallvard... read more
Prayer and Chant
Learn more about the Monastic Day or review our Daily Prayer Schedule.
Prayer Requests and Mass Intentions
We are glad to include your requests for prayer in our daily chanting of the psalms. Mass intentions (including the delivery of a Mass card) may be requested for small stipend.
Our Chanting
We have recordings of our chants available on CD and MP3.
Ave Maria
Daily Prayer and Mass Schedule
All are welcome to join us at daily worship. Click here for our daily prayer schedule which begins at 4:00am and ends at 7:30pm.
Current Road Conditions
Updated on Monday, May 13th, 2024, 12:15 pm
Forest Service Road 151 leading to the Monastery is in exceptionally good condition. It was graded recently.
A reminder that with the warmer weather, there is more traffic on the road due to recreational users.
Although most vehicles will have no problem with the road with current conditions, four-wheel and all-wheel drive vehicles are best for traversing Forest Road 151.
For those who travel on the road, please be aware that there may be traffic traveling in both directions on the road, so round curves with caution. Be courteous and allow faster traffic ahead of you. Simply pull to the side of the road and let them pass.
Safe and peaceful travels.