About Us

The Blessed Virgin Mary & St Joseph Community,

 Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites (O.C.D.S.),

 is a community of Roman Catholics who, while living in the world, strive to center their lives on God, serving Him in the spirit of Carmel.  As Carmelites, through prayer and contemplation, we seek to hear God in the quiet of our hearts.  While living out the ordinary events of our lives, we seek an interior union with God.  We take the Blessed Virgin, she who "pondered these things in her heart",  as our model for the interior life.

Our Community meets at 10 am on the second Saturday of each month at 

Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish
180 Loudon Road

Concord, NH 03301

Our community lives in obedience to the Constitutions of the Order and the Rule of St Albert, in full membership with the Carmelite Family of Friars and Nuns.

We are under the direction of and in obedience to the O.C.D.S. Washington Province.

Our Community was canonically approved on
 December 24th, 1984.

Blessed Virgin Mary & St Joseph Community, Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites (OCDS), Concord, NH

ConcordOCDS.org

Pray for Priests

Through our "Under Our Lady's Mantle Prayer Apostolate," our Community members not only pray for those in need who make requests for prayer, we also pray for priests. Each month, we pray for one particular Discalced Carmelite priest and one particular Diocesan priest from the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire.

We do this in imitation of St Therese of Lisieux (pictured above performing her sacristant duties) and in the tradition established by Our Holy Mother St. Teresa of Avila who exhorted her nuns to pray always for holy priests that they may draw all to God.  

In our prayers we pray for the intentions of these priests as well as for the intentions listed in the beautiful prayer below.  We encourage all to pray for priests.  We need our priests. We love our priests.  Pray for priests!

St Therese’s Prayer for Priests

O Jesus, eternal Priest,
keep your priests within the shelter 

of Your Sacred Heart,

where none may touch them.

Keep unstained their anointed hands,
which daily touch Your Sacred Body.

Keep unsullied their lips,
daily purpled with your Precious Blood.

Keep pure and unearthly their hearts,
sealed with the sublime mark of the priesthood.

Let Your holy love surround them

and shield them from the world's contagion.

Bless their labors with abundant fruit

and may the souls to whom they minister 

be their joy and consolation here 

and in heaven their beautiful and everlasting crown.      

Amen.　

Blessed Virgin Mary & St Joseph  Community, OCDS - Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, Concord, NH