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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.
Uses
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.
The city seal for Toledo, Ohio created and used since 1873 shows the sun rising at Fort Industry where Swan Creek joins the Maumee River. The seal was replaced with a simple block form of the fort on Jan. 11, 1909 and reverted to the 1873 seal in 1994. What never changed on the seal was the inscription “LABORARE – EST – ORARE” meaning “To work is to pray” which is still used to this day.
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)
In 1929, the religious Zionist organisation Bnei Akiva was founded with the motto of torah v'avodah, meaning "Torah and work".
In 1936, the Methodist Boys Secondary School, Sentul, a school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was founded by the late Rev. Preston L Peach. Its motto has always been "Ora Et Labora".
St Michael Secondary School Penampang Sabah motto Appear to use Ora Et Labora as school motto and St Aloysius Limabanak Penampang Sabah Primary School also use the same motto but translated it to Malays "Berdoa Dan Berusaha" meaning Pray and Work. St Benedicts catholic school in bury st Edmunds has the motto ora et labora
When walking into the LEGO headquarters in Billund, Denmark, there is a plate on the right hand site with the picture of the founder, and the inscription: "ora et labora".