My wife and I have a priest in the family. We’ve “adopted” him. In fact, he’ll be joining us, usually around dinner time, each night for the next year. He just won’t know it.

And we are far from alone.

Hundreds have already responded to a prayer-for-priests initiative announced last week by the religious community that manages King’s House of Retreats in Henry. Designed as a way for Catholics to take part in the Year for Priests declared by Pope Benedict XVI, the project of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary calls for pledges of daily prayer for a specific priest of the Diocese of Peoria or the Archdiocese of Miami, where the Sisters also serve. Participants can either name the priest they’d like to spiritually adopt or can have one assigned to them. We opted for the latter.

By Wednesday, every priest in both dioceses had already been “adopted” at least once, according to Sister Juana Maria Sanchez, SCTJM. “We’re starting to double up,” she said.

Let’s really crowd the prayer waves. Taking time to pray for priests will surely lead to more prayer in general and a deeper spiritual life. As we thank the Sisters for coordinating this project, we urge others to take part or request more information by contacting Sister Juana by phone at (309) 364-3084 or by e-mail at srjuana@piercedhearts.org. — Thomas J. Dermody, editor-in-chief, The Catholic Post