diff --git a/sgx-catapult.rb b/sgx-catapult.rb
index a9ab0ed0c8c1f0030dac963c4e29d93d953894ce..c561373e93d2111231060e1c0775879632c28fb6 100755
--- a/sgx-catapult.rb
+++ b/sgx-catapult.rb
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ require 'log4r'
 
 $stdout.sync = true
 
-puts "Soprani.ca/SMS Gateway for XMPP - Catapult        v0.024\n\n"
+puts "Soprani.ca/SMS Gateway for XMPP - Catapult        v0.025\n\n"
 
 if ARGV.size != 9 then
 	puts "Usage: sgx-catapult.rb <component_jid> <component_password> " +
@@ -928,6 +928,13 @@ end
 EM.run do
 	SGXcatapult.run
 
+	# required when using Prosody otherwise disconnects on 6-hour inactivity
+	EM.add_periodic_timer(3600) do
+		msg = Blather::Stanza::Iq::Ping.new(:get, 'localhost')
+		msg.from = ARGV[0]
+		SGXcatapult.write(msg)
+	end
+
 	server = Goliath::Server.new('0.0.0.0', ARGV[7].to_i)
 	server.api = WebhookHandler.new
 	server.app = Goliath::Rack::Builder.build(server.api.class, server.api)