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.
April 28th: Fifth Sunday of Easter
Currently we are getting some gentle rain, which of course is always welcome, as it reduces the risk of forest fires and nourishes the earth. In addition, the perennial Spring flowers, such as daffodils, tulips and hyacinths, benefit from the rain and are blooming...
Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year B
Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; First Letter of John 4:7-10; Gospel of John 15:9-17 In our popular language, the word “love” is so often used and misused, that it has almost become devoid of meaning. Love is a word so frequently...
Daily Martyrology for April 30, 2024
In Rome, in 1572, Pope St. Pius V. He joined the Dominicans at 14, and lectured for them at the University of Pavia. He held various offices in the Inquisition and was made a cardinal in 1557. As bishop of Mondovi, he was a strict reformer who practiced an ascetical way of life. At the papal election of 1566, he was the successful candidate of the reforming party led by St. Charles Borromeo. He began immediately implementing the reforms of the Council of Trent, starting with Rome itself. He... read morePrayer 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 Tuesday, April 30th, 2024, 5:00 am
Forest Service Road 151 leading to the Monastery is dry. The road is in exceptionally good condition because it is freshly graded.
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.