Sacred Heart

On holiday in Paris over the summer with my family I visited the Sacre Coeur (The Sacred Heart) Basilica in Montmartre. The building was started in 1875 and on 1st Aug 1885 dedicated as a place where there has been continuous prayer to God day & night.

I'm a Christian and I try to pray and know God calls and asks me to pray. But if I'm honest, regular and consistent prayer is often a struggle. If I pray everyday for a week it's a good week and if I make every day for a month that's great. I struggle to imagine praying every day for a whole year without missing a day. So when I think of over 100 years of continuous prayer, 24/7, it is frankly mind blowing.

The Sacre Coeur is probably a unique place in the world. Most worshipping communities desire to be places and people of prayer and we try a variety of methods, times, groups and places. Reflecting on what has been accomplished by the community at the Sacre Coeur it seems the approach we as individuals and communities need to embrace to become a people of prayer is to simply decide to pray and then pray.