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 09:30 am to 12:30 pm and 2:00pm to 3:30pm Tuesday-Saturday.
On Sundays, the Conventual Mass is at 9:15 am and the Giftshop will be open from 10:30 am to 3:00 pm.
The Gifsthop is closed on Mondays and during certain monastic observances.
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.
October 19th: Autumn Color Scheme
New England is famous for its multi-colored Fall foliage. In this part of the country, though, the experience is more mono-chromed, mostly yellow, but just as noteworthy as New England. In fact, we hear that some hotels in our area currently charge extra for lodging,...
Thirtieth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A
Scripture Readings: Book of Exodus 22:20-26; First Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians 1:5b-10; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 22:34-40 In this Sunday’s Gospel passage, Jesus is asked by a scribe: “which is the greatest commandment of the Law?” The intent in...
Daily Martyrology for October 29, 2026
In the twelfth century, St. Abraham of Rostov. Born in the Ukraine, he converted to Christianity when his prayer to be healed of a chronic disease was answered. He became a monk, and then proclaimed the gospel around Rostov. He built two churches for his converts. He is venerated as “the apostle of Rostov".In 1860, Blessed Gaetano Errico. He was born near Naples and became a priest there. He was a teacher for twenty years. Then he received a vision telling him to... 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
Thursday, October 29th, 7:00 am Forest Service Road 151 leading to the Monastery is now dry, with some bumpy patches along the way. Always drive cautiously, as there is often traffic in both directions. Be on the watch for hikers and bicycle riders, also often on the road. .
