Rest

A Prayer for Compline

Before the ending of the day,
Creator of the world, we pray
That you, with steadfast love, would keep
Your watch around us while we sleep.

From evil dreams defend our sight,
From fears and terrors of the night;
Tread underfoot our deadly foe
That we no sinful thought may know.

O Father, that we ask be done
Through Jesus Christ, your only Son;
And Holy Spirit, by whose breath
Our souls are raised to life from death.


Reflection

Compline, the nighttime office of the church, provides a moment of reflection and contemplation at the end of the day. On this Tuesday of Holy Week, after the excitement of Palm Sunday, and before the tumultuous events that we’ll recount beginning on Maundy Thursday, it seems right to take a moment to catch our breath, pause, and prepare ourselves for what is to come.


May God, who sanctified rest by creating the Sabbath, watch over you and yours this evening.

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