Prayer is a sacred task entrusted to all the faith communities which profess that God exists and is worthy of worship.

The various praying communities exercise their responsibility in different ways.

Islam says that prayer is so important that everyone must join in five times daily.

Some elements of Christianity say that prayer is so important that some people (priests) are set aside from normal life to ensure that the prayer cycle of seven times daily is maintained.

Every Hour Every Day is a challenge to the praying communities as a whole. We profess to pray for the world at large and Every Hour Every Day says, “Go on then, do it!”

The challenge is to ensure that in every hour of every day there is prayer said for the community at large. People sign up to take responsibility for one hour during the day. Their task is to ensure that a prayer is said during that hour for the community as a whole. It could be short or long, said in concert with others or alone, it could be a set form or not.

There are no limits except to maintain the promise. Today is the first ordinary day of Lent following Ash Wednesday yesterday. It is a time of prayer and reflection. As part of their Lenten activity, staff and students at The Holy Family and Our Lady of Victories schools and members at Our Lady of Victories and St Joseph’s Churches are accepting the challenge of Every Hour Every Day during Lent.

At The Holy Family all four faith communities represented in school – Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu – will be rising to the challenge. Will you join them and commit to praying regularly for the town as a whole?