Each day was marked in the western Church by seven offices or services; Compline is the last of them and it’s sung or said before retiring for the night. Saint Patrick’s Cathedral has never been a monastery, but we know that at least some of the monastic offices were sung daily by the college of clergy who made up the Collegiate Church established here in 1191.
The daily offices are based around the recitation of the Bible’s 150 Psalms of David. Compline received its liturgical form from Saint Benedict, who included it in his Rule for the monastic order he founded, the Benedictines. His version was adopted widely, and some parts of it were incorporated into the Evensong of The Book of Common Prayer in 1549, still sung daily in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.
You are invited to say the text in bold in English.
Order of Service
Please stand as the Minister sings
Let us pray.
Please remain standing whilst the Choir and Clergy enter the stalls
The Lord Almighty grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
Amen.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist, steadfast in the faith.
But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us.
Thanks be to God.
The Minister and Choir sing the
PRECES AND RESPONSES
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Praise ye the Lord.
The Lord’s name be praised.
Plainsong
Please sit as the Choir sings the
Please stand for
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Please sit for the
Lesson
1 Peter 2: 9-12
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people,* in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
10 Once you were not a people,
but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.
11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. 12Conduct yourselves honourably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honourable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge.*
Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
For thou has redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth.
Please remain seated as the Choir sings the
Hymn
Te lucis ante terminum Rerum creator poscimus; Ut solita clementia, Sis praesul ad custodiam. Procul recedant somnia Et noctium phantasmata; Hostemque nostrum comprime, Ne polluantur corpora. Praesta pater omnipotens, Per Jesum Christum dominum, Qui tecum in perpetuum Regnat cum sancto spirito. Amen.
(Before the ending of the day, Creator of the world, we pray, That with thy wonted favour thou Wouldst be our guard and keeper now. From all ill dreams defend our eyes, From nightly fears and fantasies; Tread under foot our ghostly foe,That no pollution we may know. O Father, that we ask be done, Through Jesus Christ, thine only Son; Who, with the Holy Ghost and thee Doth live and reign eternally. Amen.)
The Minister and Choir sing the
Respond
Keep me as the apple of an eye.
Hide me under the shadow of thy wings.
Please stand for the
Antiphon & Gospel Canticle
Preserve us, O Lord, while waking, and guard us while sleeping, that awake we may watch with Christ and asleep we may rest in peace.
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace: according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen: thy salvation, which thou hast prepared: before the face of all people; to be a light to lighten the Gentiles: and to be the glory of thy people Israel. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
The Antiphon may be repeated.
Remain standing to say
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth: and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary: suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty: from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost: the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints: the forgiveness of sins: the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Please kneel or sit, according to your custom.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Blessed art thou, Lord God of our fathers,
to be praised and glorified above all for ever.
Let us bless the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Let us praise and magnify him for ever.
Blessed art thou, O Lord, in the firmament of heaven
to be praised and glorified above all for ever.
The Almighty and most merciful Lord guard us and give us his blessing.
Amen.
Remain seated to say the
Confession
We confess to God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, that we have sinned in thought, word and deed, through our own grievous fault. Wherefore we pray God to have mercy upon us. Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us all our sins and deliver us from all evil, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness, and bring us to life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Priest, when present, pronounces the Absolution.
After this, the Minister and Choir sing:
Wilt thou not turn again and quicken us
that thy people may rejoice in thee.
O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us
and grant us thy salvation.
Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this night without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.
O Lord, hear our prayer
and let our cry come unto thee.
The Minister intones the
Collect of the Day
Almighty God, who hast given thine only Son to be unto us both a sacrifice for sin, and also an ensample of godly life; Give us grace that we may always most thankfully receive that his inestimable benefit, and also daily endeavour ourselves to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Collect for Compline I
Be present, O merciful God, and protect us through the silent hours of this night, so that we who are wearied by the changes and chances of this fleeting world, may repose upon thy eternal changelessness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Collect for Compline II
Visit, we beseech thee, O Lord, this place and drive from it all the snares of the enemy; let thy holy angels dwell herein to preserve us in peace; and may thy blessing be upon us evermore; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Plainsong
We will lay us down in peace and take our rest.
For it is thou, Lord, only, that makest us dwell in safety.
The Lord be with you.
And with thy spirit.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The Almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless and preserve us this night and for evermore.
Amen.
Please stand as the Choir and Clergy depart.