Greetings in Christ!

Welcome to The Benedictine Catholic Monastery of Thien Tam’s Website.

We have been residing in Kerens, Texas since 2009.  On September 19, 2009, we celebrated an Inaugural Mass presided by Bishop Kevin Farrell,  Bishop of the Dallas Diocese, to officially open Domus of Thien Tam, a Benedictine House.  Our small Vietnamese community is comprised of six monks living together and following the Rule of St. Benedict, Ora et Labora, prayer and work.

Our monastery is called Thien Tam, Vietnamese for “Heavenly Heart.” It is situated on a former ostrich ranch of 300 acres, strategically located between Dallas and Houston, Texas.  Our new monastic community is an offshoot of New Mexico’s Christ in the Desert Monastery (www.christdesert.org).

We hope to be a special presence in this community not only to Catholics but to people of all walks of life, regardless of religion, age, national origin or background.  We are also open as a place of prayer and hospitality for priests and religious, and for all people who come to the monastery for personal reflection.

Our life focuses on monastic practices.  Our schedule consists of prayers six times daily, manual labor, and lectio divina.  The monastic divine offices, right now, are all in Vietnamese but in the future will also be in English.  On weekdays, our first prayer is Lauds at 6:00 am followed by Mass. 

Sunday Mass is celebrated in English at 11:00 am.  All are welcome to attend Mass and afterward invited to stay for refreshments of cookies, tea and coffee.

We look forward to your visit.

May God grant you peace and blessing!

Fr. Dominic Hanh Nguyen, OSB

Prior