PILGRIMAGE

The following is another example of the kinds of pilgrimage
offered through Christos Center:

2010 CHRISTOS PILGRIMAGE: DESERT SPIRITUALITY

Christ in the Desert Monastery
Abiqueue, New Mexico

"I am at the Monastery of Christ in the Desert, Abiquiu, New Mexico.
I was bombarded by impressions getting here yesterday...
Sangre de Cristo Mountains, blue and snowy.
But after Santa Fe, marvelous long line of snowless, arid mountains,
clean long shapes stretching for miles under pure light.
Mesas, full rivers, cottonwoods, sagebrush, high red cliffs, pinon pines.
Most impressed of all by the miles of emptiness...
Around the monastery, nothing.
Perfect silence.
Bright stars at night dimly light the guest room."

Thomas Merton, Woods, Shore, Desert: A Notebook, May 1968

2010 Christos Pilgrimage: Desert Spirituality
~Brad Holt

Fifteen hopeful pilgrims met on October 16, 2010 in Santa Fe, NM, to begin our week together experiencing prayer in the desert. We had prepared by prayer and reading the words of the desert fathers and mothers of Egypt and by listening to a Coptic nun from Egypt challenge us to renunciation. After a day of getting acquainted with Santa Fe and the elevation (over 7000 feet), we climbed into two small busses and headed north into the desert. Along the way, we learned of the history and biology of the high desert from our drivers. We were just stunned by the beauty of the canyon of the Chama River. The cottonwoods near the river take on brilliant golden color, which stands out against the green background of evergreens, and the gentle colors of the mesas.

After 13 scenic miles of Forest Service Road 151, we arrived at the adobe Christ in the Desert Monastery. There we ate in silence with the dozen or more Benedictine monks, prayed the Psalms with them up to seven times a day, and volunteered our work in the mornings between 9 and 12:40. We were on our own most of the day, choosing how much to participate in the monastery events and our own afternoon course in art, led by Lavonne Fischer. We met each evening in the guest house for examen, discussion of readings, and Eucharist.

After our days at the monastery we all had a tour of Georgia O'Keefe's house in Abiqueue. She appreciated the beauty of the desert and painted the area not far from the monastery. After a closing overnight in Santa Fe, we parted with many good memories of our time together in the desert.

For Desert Spirituality Reflections--See The Active Contemplative

Photographs from this pilgrimage follow:

Pilgrimage Group

At table

Art Class

Art Class 2

Coffee Contemplative

Icons around the tabernacle

New friends

Debbi and friend

Manual Labor

Tree Circle

Rock Bush Cloud

Pilgrimage
Local and Abroad

"Walking Retreats" to enhance spiritual insight and understanding.
Most "pilgrims" seek to encounter God at a deeper level through the
people, places and circumstances encountered during their pilgrimage.

Local pilgrimages have been held to St. Anthony Park MN,
Northfield MN, the Inner Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul,
and to Metro Gardens and other Sacred Spaces.

Christos has also sponsored pilgrimages abroad to
Spain and Italy, Ireland and Iona.
And in the U.S. in New Mexico.

Pilgrimage Mission Statement

We travel together in order to grow in faith toward

God and in love toward all people, by pondering the

lives of holy and wise ones who went before us in

the places where they grew and where they shared

with us the way of the cross and the glory of

God through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit.

Pilgrimages - Local

Come to the Garden 2009

Pilgrims at Eloise Butler Wild Garden on
A Local Pilgrimage to Gardens
an other Sacred Spaces 2009

At Eloise Butler Wild Garden

Pilgrims walking a labyrinth on
A Local Pilgrimage to Gardens and
other Sacred Spaces 2009

Pilgrims in the Boathouse at Noerenberg Gardens on
A Local Pilgrimage to Gardens and
other Sacred Spaces 2009

The Inner Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul 2007

Paul Radunz, Tamie Koehler, Trinidad, Tom Allen on a Local Pilgrimage to the Inner Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul 2007

Springtime in the Park 2006

Dick Beckmen and "pilgrims" on Springtime in the Park Local Pilgrimage 2006.

Pilgrimages - Abroad

Celtic Spirituality in Ireland and Iona 2009

St. Columba's Bay-Iona
Celtic Spirituality in Ireland and Iona 2009

Celtic Cross and High Tower-Ireland
Celtic Spirituality in Ireland and Iona 2009

Solitude St. Columba's Bay-Iona
Celtic Spirituality in Ireland and Iona 2009

Pilgrimage to Spain and Italy 2007

San Damiano-Church that St. Francis built
Pilgrimage to Spain and Italy-November 2007

Artist at work-Avila
Pilgrimage to Spain and Italy-November 2007

Solitude on Mt. LaVerna-St. Francis Holy Mt.
Pilgrimage to Spain and Italy-November 2007

After Vespers Hospitality (local style) - Assisi
Pilgrimage to Spain and Italy-November 2007