The Prayers of Compline

"Compline" is a translation of the latin word completorium and means "completion". As early as the 4th century monks would say this portion of Daily Prayer (Daily Office) in their rooms immediately before going to sleep. The 1979 (current) Book of Common Prayer is the first official prayer book to include a form for Compline, and other prayer books around the world have followed suit, such as the form for "Night Prayer" in A New Zealand Prayer Book.

Tonight well be looking at a couple of prayers from Compline, namely the selection of Psalms chosen for the service (Psalms 4, 31, 91, 134), and the concluding prayers.

Our form for discussion will be to ask the questions:

• What does this prayer say about God?
• What does this prayer say about us?
• What does this prayer say about how we relate to God and God to us?

If you wanna get a head start, Compline can be found on page 127 of the Book of Common Prayer or online, by clicking here for a text version or here for an online version that will lead you through the service.

-Fr. Ryan