Ministry Statement
Retreat Ministry Statement
We welcome you to Our Lady of Guadalupe Abbey in Pecos NM. Living by the Rule of St. Benedict, we welcome as Christ himself all who pass through the Abbey gates, as it states in chapter 53 of the Rule of St. Benedict:
Let all guests arriving at the monastery be received as Christ Himself, for He will one day say, "I was a stranger and you took Me in." And let all due honor be paid to all, especially, however, to those who are of the household of the faith and to strangers.
When therefore, a guest is announced, let him be met by the superior or by the brethren with all the marks of charity. Let them first pray together and then give the kiss of peace; but this kiss of peace must not be given without prayer having first been said, because of the delusions of the devil. In the salutation itself let all humility be shown. Both on their arrival and on their departure, Christ, Who is indeed received, shall be worshipped in all the guests by an inclination of the head or a full prostration of the body.
St Benedict makes it clear in the Rule that not only do we welcome guests, we also pray for them, and this is what we do. We realize that all guests who come here are coming from a world that is hurting and suffering in so many ways. Guests travel many miles to reach this oasis of peace in the desert - for our part we do our best to welcome them and make sure they have an enjoyable experience while they are with us. We hold them in prayer during their stay, even though we don't know them, or what their needs are, God knows, and so we pray to Him and let Him do the rest!
We thank you for choosing to visit us. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to make your stay more spirit filled.
In Christ,
Abbot Aidan, OSB oliv
We welcome you to Our Lady of Guadalupe Abbey in Pecos NM. Living by the Rule of St. Benedict, we welcome as Christ himself all who pass through the Abbey gates, as it states in chapter 53 of the Rule of St. Benedict:
Let all guests arriving at the monastery be received as Christ Himself, for He will one day say, "I was a stranger and you took Me in." And let all due honor be paid to all, especially, however, to those who are of the household of the faith and to strangers.
When therefore, a guest is announced, let him be met by the superior or by the brethren with all the marks of charity. Let them first pray together and then give the kiss of peace; but this kiss of peace must not be given without prayer having first been said, because of the delusions of the devil. In the salutation itself let all humility be shown. Both on their arrival and on their departure, Christ, Who is indeed received, shall be worshipped in all the guests by an inclination of the head or a full prostration of the body.
St Benedict makes it clear in the Rule that not only do we welcome guests, we also pray for them, and this is what we do. We realize that all guests who come here are coming from a world that is hurting and suffering in so many ways. Guests travel many miles to reach this oasis of peace in the desert - for our part we do our best to welcome them and make sure they have an enjoyable experience while they are with us. We hold them in prayer during their stay, even though we don't know them, or what their needs are, God knows, and so we pray to Him and let Him do the rest!
We thank you for choosing to visit us. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to make your stay more spirit filled.
In Christ,
Abbot Aidan, OSB oliv