I don’t know if anyone out their in Church work has the same frustration (I’m guessing there might be a few of you), but the amazing lack of the presence of prayer in our every day apostolate and work lives just kills me.

No, it really is killing me, and it’s also what is killing the Church, and obscuring the presence of Jesus Christ in the World. Not only is there not enough prayer in our work places for the Church, but there’s not enough prayer *about* our work, and perhaps most frustrating at all, there’s not enough formation about prayer–Who its about, what prayer is, how to do it, and most shockingly, how prayer is our divine destiny to all become contemplatives in union with God–here on earth now, for real, and forever in heaven.

What got me going? Most recently I read Fr. Thomas Dubay’s Fire Within, an awesome exposition on prayer and the vocation of us all to holiness, and a brilliant summary of the work of two doctors of the Church who know *a little bit* about prayer.

You know what else? An article on Catholicexchange by Deacon James Keating called “Passionate Prayer,” the first in a multi-part series on the call to prayer. Deacon Keating, it turns out, is the director of Theological Formation at the Institute for Priestly Formation at Creighton University. This is the second time I’ve heard of good things about this institute. Perhaps more diocese should be looking into this type of ongoing formation?

(I’m going to stop writing now because it’s mysteriously writing in all italics.)

Oremus…