Explain the Catholic Compline (evening Liturgy of the Hours), please?

January 12, 2019 8:34 PM

Can anyone give me a summary of the Roman Catholic approach to the Liturgy of the Hours (a.k.a. the Breviary), specifically evening prayer (Compline)? I want to add it to my evening routine, so recommendations of a compact book of them would be REALLY useful.

I would like to say some prayers each evening. I found that "Compline" is the name of the traditional nightly prayers, but I am having trouble figuring out the mechanics. (Like, is it the same prayers each night, or is there a cycle?)

I was raised Catholic in the 80s, with plenty of Catholic education from grade school up through Jesuit college, and actively attend church now, but I do not recall ever hearing how the cycle of daily prayer works.

I would love a small book, but I've seen those big-ass leather-bound monsters that contain the entire Divine Office and that's more overhead than can handle at bedtime.

posted by wenestvedt to Religion & Philosophy (9 answers total)

Compline is my favorite. The doors of the bookcase in which my copy of the offices is stored are stuck just now, but oil put more effort into opening it tomorrow and then copy the office out for you.
posted by janey47 at 8:55 PM on January 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I used to pray the hours in the past. There are the daily unchanging parts and there are small parts that change in a cycle eg a different psalm each day, or a different petition. The giant books are usually used by the clergy but you can find smaller books for lay people that are just the morning prayers and so on. On my phone right now but you can google "liturgy of the hours lay edition evening prayer" and see what you find. My liturgy of the hours lay volume was about the size of the New Testament.
posted by M. at 11:01 PM on January 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

I've used Catholic Book Publishing's slim Shorter Christian Prayer, which contains the four-week cycle of Morning (Lauds) and Evening prayers, the one-week Night Prayer (Vespers) cycle, and selections from specific texts for feasts (Proper of Saints) and the liturgical calendar (the Proper of Seasons). It's an extract of the thick Christian Prayer, which is the one-volume breviary that only has a selection of the full minor hours and readings found in the four volume edition. Don't be alarmed by the page count; it's printed on Bible paper so even at 670 pages it's only around a centimeter thick.

For me, the one drawback to using the condensed edition for morning and evening prayer was its lack of music. It has hymn texts but no tunes, and it doesn't provide tones and antiphons for chanting the psalms. I used to have a few sheets of note-paper tucked into my copy with settings copied out for use when I didn't want to bring the thicker volume on the road.

I'd also recommend the Carmelites' People's Companion to the Breviary, a one-volume reworking of the four-week psalter into inclusive language, but it unfortunately appears to be out of print.
posted by zhwj at 11:11 PM on January 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Here is a book with only Compline. I almost recommended it in the recent nightly prayers/readings thread and did not because I did not want to get too specifically denominational.

I did Morning, Evening, and Night prayer regularly for many years, took it up Advent and Christmas 2017, and would like to get back. Thanks for your question!
posted by jgirl at 6:59 AM on January 13, 2019 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Do you know about the Laudate app? Check it out, it is free and has got your back.
posted by windykites at 9:27 AM on January 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

Consider subscribing to the Magnificat. It has simplified morning and evening prayers (also daily Mass readings etc.). based on the Liturgy of the Hours in an attractive, easy to use monthly publication.
posted by Wavelet at 9:38 AM on January 13, 2019

Best answer: The link here is to my old monastery (LONG LONG AGO) at compline.

https://soundcloud.com/cistercian-nuns/compline-evening-prayer-at-the-monastery

The following does not break out the Easter variations, just add a bunch of alleluias ha ha

Night Prayer

INTRODUCTION

God, come to my assistance
- Lord, make haste to help me

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
- As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever.
- Amen.

HYMN

PSALMODY:

Sundays I
Ant 1 – Have mercy, Lord, and hear my prayer
Psalm 4
Ant 2 – In the silent hours of night, bless the Lord
Psalm 134
Reading – Deuteronomy 6: 4-7
(go to Responsory)
~~~~~

Sundays II
Ant: Night holds no terrors for me sleeping under God’s wings
Psalm 91
Reading - Revelation 22:4-5
(go to Responsory)
~~~~~

Monday
Ant: O Lord, our God, unwearied is your love for us.
Psalm 86
Reading – 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10
(go to Responsory)
~~~~~

Tuesday
Ant: Do not hide your face from me; in you I put my trust
Psalm 143:1-11
Reading – 1 Peter 5:8-9a
(go to Responsory)
~~~~~

Wednesday
Ant 1: Lord God be my refuge and my strength
Psalm 31:1-6
Ant 2: Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord
Psalm 130
Reading – Ephesians 4:26-27
(go to Responsory)
~~~~~

Thursday
Ant: In you, my God, my body will rest in hope.
Psalm 16
Reading – 1 Thessalonians 5:23
(go to Responsory)
~~~~~

Friday
Ant. Day and night I cry to you, my God.
Psalm 88
Reading Jeremiah 14:9a
(go to Responsory)
~~~~~

RESPONSORY

Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
- Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
You have redeemed us, Lord God of truth.
- I commend my spirit.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
- Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

ANT: Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake, watch over us as we sleep, that awake we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.

GOSPEL CANTICLE: Luke 2:29-32


~~~~~~~~
PRAYER:
Sunday I
(on Sundays and during the octave of Easter)
Lord,
Be with us throughout this night.
When day comes may we rise from sleep
To rejoice in the resurrection of your Christ,
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

(on solemnities that do not occur on Sunday)
Lord,
We beg you to visit this house
And banish from it
All the deadly power of the enemy.
May your holy angels dwell here
To keep us in peace
And may your blessing be upon us always.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.


Sunday II
(on Sundays and during the octave of Easter)
Lord,
We have celebrated today
The mystery of the rising of Christ to new life.
May we now rest in your peace,
Safe from all that could harm us,
And rise again refreshed and joyful,
To praise you throughout another day.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

(on solemnities that do not occur on Sunday)
Lord,
We beg you to visit this house
And banish from it
All the deadly power of the enemy.
May your holy angels dwell here
To keep us in peace
And may your blessing be upon us always.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Monday
Lord,
Give our bodies restful sleep
And let the work we have done today
Bear fruit in eternal life
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Tuesday
Lord,
Fill this night with your radiance
May we sleep in peace and rise with joy
To welcome the light of a new day in your name.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Wednesday
Lord Jesus Christ,
You have given your followers
An example of gentleness and humility
A task that is easy, a burden that is light.
Accept the prayers and work of this day,
And give us the rest that will strengthen us
To render more faithful service to you
Who live and reign for ever and ever.

Thursday
Lord God,
Send peaceful sleep
To refresh our tired bodies
May your help always renew us
And keep us strong in your service.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Friday
All-powerful God
Keep us united with your Son
In his death and burial
So that we may rise to new life with him
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever

~~~~~~~~~

CONCLUSION:
May the all-powerful Lord grant us a restful night and a peaceful death.
- Amen

ANTIPHON OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
(Salve Regina or other approved hymn)
posted by janey47 at 10:49 AM on January 13, 2019 [7 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks, Janey!! I’ll try this tonight, and see about putting it onto a card or tiny booklet this week.

I appreciate your oiling and typing!
posted by wenestvedt at 2:52 PM on January 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: A few final updates.

1. The whole system is far easier than I expected, even after reading M's comment! It's just a seven-day cycle. There are several parts to each day's prayers, all very brief, as janey47's comment, above, shows. There are some static elements, then a rotating Psalmody, then static bits, then a rotating Prayer, then done. There are options to swap in & out various meditations or prayers, but that's up to the reader. (I had trouble laying it out on paper because I figured there was more to it, and kept look for the rest of it: somehow I imagined it as like a 60-minute rite, like a full Mass.)

2. I wound up buying the slim volume "Night Prayer" by Catholic Publishing, which jgirl recommends, above. At Amazon it was a mere $8.95, and I had it in hand in a couple of days. (Support your local liturgical bookstore, etc.) The book is not large, and the illustrations are those crimson-and-black ones that anyone who's seen inside a contemporary Catholic book will recognize. :7)

3. I actually sampled the practice by using the free parts of the Laudate app, as suggested by windykites. It's just a view onto their web site, I think, and I didn't need to pay the subscription fee to use it for a few days until I realized how simple it is. If I decide to add any more of the daily prayers to me routine, it will be hard to choose between the nice feel of a book, and the convenience of the app!

4. I have now been reading the Compline prayers each night before I turn off the light. It only take a few minutes, and it gets my phone out of my hand so a screen isn't the last thing I see before I go to sleep. I am glad I have made this change to my nightly routine.

Thanks, everyone, for the extra peace this is bringing me. You're all awesome.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:27 AM on February 6, 2019 [3 favorites]