Ora et labora

The phrase pray and work (or "pray and labor", in Latin ora et labora) refers to the Christian monastic practice of working and praying, generally associated with its use in the Rule of Saint Benedict.

Benedict viewed prayer and work as partners, and believed in combining contemplation with action. The phrase expresses the need to balance prayer and work in monastic settings and has been used in many religious communities from the Middle Ages onwards.

Some orders (such as the Cistercians) applied the concept directly to farm work and became an element in the movement towards land reclamation from rot and agricultural development in Western Europe. Other orders such as the Humiliati applied the concept to the production of woolen cloth using wheels in the period prior to the industrial revolution.

In 1818, Dalhousie University was established, adopting the motto of Ora et Labora in 1870. This is also the motto of Clan Ramsay, of which the Earl of Dalhousie is the leader.

In 1857, near the village of present-day Bay Port, Michigan, German Christians led by Emil Baur founded the religious community called the Christian German Agricultural and Benevolent Society of Ora et Labora or Ora Labora. Designed along the lines of religious, socialist, and communal living, 288 colonists created the town near the shores of Wild Fowl Bay. The community operated where members could combine work with prayer, and live according to the Methodist Church Discipline, but Baur also planned to build institutions of learning for the diffusion of literary, scientific, and religious information, and homes for the care of widows and orphans. However due to the draft law of the American Civil the younger men were into the service, and the colony was without funds to hire substitutes for them. By 1867 only 14 families remained when the colony disbanded.

In 1874, Wesley College, Colombo, a high school in Sri Lanka, was founded by Methodist missionaries. It has been using "Ora Et Labora" as the motto since its inception.

It is also the motto of Billimoria High School, in Panchagani, District North Satara, Maharashtra, India. Founded in 1908 as the Parsi High School by the late Mr Naoroji Billimoria. His sons, Mr Burjorji N Billimoria and Mr Rustomji N Billimoria were the joint principals till the late 1990s, when the school was sold. But the name and the Motto still remain. (Added to this page by Yazdie N Panthaki, Class of 1973)

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