Ora et Labora: Where AI Belongs in a Rule of Life

By Bobby Macintosh · Updated November 2026

In late October 2026, cloistered nuns spent two days in Rome talking about artificial intelligence. Capuchin Poor Clares, Poor Clares, Benedictines and Discalced Carmelites, through a new foundation called Ad Bonum Facere, sat with the Church’s recent teaching on AI and asked a practical question: where might these tools help a monastery, and where should they stay outside the choir?

Most of us are not behind a grille. We still need the same line. Use the machine for the work that keeps a household or a parish running. Guard the hours that belong to God alone.

Lawyers and provisions, not the prayer itself

Fr Philip Larrey, a Catholic priest and professor of philosophy at Boston College, spoke to Vatican News during that formation course. His distinction is memorable because it is so ordinary:

“In terms of their spiritual and prayer lives, I don’t think artificial intelligence can help very much. There has to be that direct relationship with God.”

And on the practical side:

“Some of the sisters deal with real estate agents, some with lawyers, and others with procuring provisions for the convent. I think all these interactions can be enhanced through the use of artificial intelligence.”

(Vatican News interview with Fr Philip Larrey, October 2026)

He also repeats the verification warning that every careful user needs: “it’s always good to double-check,” and of references from tools such as ChatGPT or Magisterium AI, “verify that they are valid, that they are real, and that they are reliable.”

That is not a ban on Bible apps or reading plans. It is a boundary around prayer itself: the direct relationship is not something a model can carry for you.

Benedict’s rhythm: work and prayer, each in its place

Benedictine life is often summed up with the motto ora et labora, “pray and work.” That exact phrase does not appear in Leonard J. Doyle’s English translation of the Rule (the public-domain text hosted by Project Gutenberg as eBook #50040, public domain in the USA). What the Rule does say is clearer than a slogan.

On daily work and reading (chapter 48):

“Idleness is the enemy of the soul. Therefore the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labor, and again at fixed hours in sacred reading.”

On the Divine Office (chapter 43):

“Let nothing, therefore, be put before the Work of God.”

Among the “instruments of good works” (chapter 4):

“To prefer nothing to the love of Christ.”

(Doyle translation, as above.)

Work has its hours. Sacred reading has its hours. The Opus Dei, the worship of God, is not to be shoved aside for whatever is in your hands when the bell rings. Prefer nothing to the love of Christ. That is already a rule of life for technology, written long before anyone named a chatbot.

What belongs on the labora side

Think of the jobs that keep love of neighbour practical: emails to the plumber, a draft letter to the council, comparing quotes, summarising a long report you will still read, sorting a church rota, looking up an unfamiliar Greek form before you open the lexicon yourself. AI can lighten Martha’s load. It cannot sit at the Lord’s feet for you.

Jesus’ word to Martha still holds:

“‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord replied, ‘you are worried and upset about many things. But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.'” (Luke 10:41–42, BSB)

Protestant readers will want the other half of the balance too. Work is not second-class:

“Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men.” (Colossians 3:23, BSB)

Using a tool well for honest labour is not a spiritual failure. It is part of labora. Just keep the verification habit Larrey names, especially when the tool offers Bible background or citations (see our test of “cited” AI Bible tools).

What belongs on the ora side

Prayer. Slow Scripture reading. Confession. The quiet where you are known. Friendship that can interrupt you. The pastor who has your number.

Jesus’ own pattern pushes against a phone-first dawn:

“Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray.” (Mark 1:35, BSB)

And the Sermon on the Mount still names a closed door:

“But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen.” (Matthew 6:6, BSB)

The edge can be fuzzy. Looking up a word during lectio is not the same as asking a chatbot to “be with you” while you pray. Be honest about which you are doing. Prefer nothing to the love of Christ, including the convenience of a fluent reply.

Friction, formation and a gentle warning

Collin Hansen of The Gospel Coalition, speaking about AI companions, put the design choice in plain words: “It did not have to be designed to relate to you as if it’s a person. That’s a choice the designers made.” On why hard human practice still matters: “The friction of needing to learn how to do that is part of the growth process. The human interaction is what is needed.” (Religion Unplugged / Terry Mattingly, 29 October 2026)

The Church of England’s Digital Labs published “A practical guide for churches using AI” on 29 October 2026. It names concerns about energy use and “how they affect mental formation and wellbeing,” and says the guide “shouldn’t be taken as an encouragement to use AI tools.” It is “a guide, not a policy” (Church of England).

Asian church voices the same week drew a similar pulpit line: do not replace prayerful preparation with generated content, and do not entrust spiritual accompaniment to an algorithm (see our map of where churches draw the line on AI in the pulpit). The point for a rule of life is smaller and nearer: formation needs friction; prayer needs presence.

For the lonely or housebound, an app may be the main spiritual contact some days. This is not a scolding piece. Hansen’s “friction” argument still points toward parish visiting, phone calls and shared worship where those are possible. Encourage human contact; do not shame someone who is hanging on by a thin thread.

A five-line rule of life you can copy

Adapt this; do not treat it as law.

1. Pray first, prompt second. Open the day with Scripture or silence before you open a chat.
2. Labora tools are welcome. Use AI for admin, logistics, drafting and research groundwork, then verify anything that matters.
3. Ora tools stay outside the door. Do not outsource prayer, confession, or the cure of souls to a model.
4. Name a person. For fear, grief, vocation and conscience, talk to a pastor, priest or trusted friend, not only a screen.
5. Review the line monthly. Ask: did the tool free me for love of God and neighbour, or did it thin my attention?

A worked morning (hypothetical)

Imagine a midweek morning. You have twenty minutes before the first meeting.

Ora first (ten minutes). Phone on airplane mode or in another room. Read a short Gospel passage aloud. Sit with it. Pray in your own words, even badly. No prompt.

Labora after (ten minutes). Now you may open a tool. Ask it to turn yesterday’s messy notes into three bullet points for a parish email, or to list the documents you still need for a faculty application. Then you check every claim that matters, rewrite the tone in your own voice, and send it as yourself.

That order is the whole piece in miniature. The tool serves the work. It does not open the day. If the first meeting is a pastoral conversation, leave the draft behind; presence cannot be outsourced.

The fuzzy edge stays fuzzy on purpose. Looking up a Hebrew root mid-lectio can serve attention. Asking a chatbot to “guide my prayer for the next twenty minutes” usually does not. When you are unsure, prefer the closed door of Matthew 6:6 and the solitary place of Mark 1:35. You can always return to the tool for the provisions later.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does ora et labora mean?
“Pray and work.” It is the traditional Benedictine motto summing up a life of prayer and labour. The exact Latin phrase is not in Doyle’s translation of the Rule; the Rule’s own words on work, sacred reading and the Work of God are quoted above.

Is it wrong to use a Bible app for morning prayer?
Not in itself. The question is whether the app serves attention to God or scatters it. Larrey’s concern is the prayer relationship itself, not every helpful text on a screen.

Can AI write my prayers for me?
It can draft words. Prayer is you turning to God. Use a draft only if it helps you pray; lay it down if it becomes a substitute.

What about sermon or study prep?
That is mostly labora groundwork, with a sharp honesty line: do not present generated work as if it were your own prayerful preparation (see the pulpit piece linked above).

Did the nuns “ban” AI?
No. We have one interview about a formation course. Say “a course,” not “the nuns ruled.”

Be still

The psalm does not ask you to be efficient:

“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted over the earth.” (Psalm 46:10, BSB)

Use the tool for the provisions. Keep the still place. Prefer nothing to the love of Christ.

Sources and Further Reading

• Dr Philip Larrey: monastic life and the proper use of AI (Vatican News / Deborah Castellano Lubov, October 2026)
• St. Benedict’s Rule for Monasteries, tr. Leonard J. Doyle (Project Gutenberg eBook #50040; public domain in the USA)
• A practical guide for churches using AI (Church of England Digital Labs, 29 October 2026)
• AI companions offer comfort, risk deepening loneliness (Religion Unplugged / Terry Mattingly, quoting Collin Hansen, 29 October 2026)
• Mark 1:35, Matthew 6:6, Luke 10:41–42, Colossians 3:23, Psalm 46:10 (Berean Standard Bible, via Bible Hub)

Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which is in the public domain.

Keep reading on AI Prompt Theory: Where Churches Draw the Line on AI in the Pulpit · Footnotes Aren’t Faithfulness: Testing “Cited” AI Bible Tools · What the AI Christian Benchmark Teaches Christians About Asking AI · Using ChatGPT for Sermon Preparation