The role and function of the Office of Compline

Essential to the Catholic faith is the understanding that we must be mindful of , and worship God , and pray throughout the day. It is said that Padre Pio had his rosary with him and would pray the rosary without ceasing. He was a tremendous saint and many miracles including healings, reading of souls, and bilocation were attrattritubedhim.

The Church has provided the Breviary or liturgy of the hours, which is a series of prescribed prayers and psalms and hymns pertinent to the liturgical season. We are now tremendously blessed that there are many on line sites that include the Breviary for each day. The one I like to use is found in the Guild of St. Peter in Chains. Father Hall has a beautiful site where one can recite the breviary for each liturgical hour as it was before 1955. In 1955 there were changes to the Breviary and the liturgy. The Breviary commonly used today, is a shadow of what it once was. As a lay person, I find the riches of the older settings tremendously inspiring and uplifting.

In this series, I propose to discuss each liturgical hour and the benefits of each and why they are important.

COMPLINE

Compline is the final liturgical office of the day, it is sometimes referred to as night prayer. It is interesting that in the monastic office, Compline does not change. In the site that I propose, compline does change depending on the liturgical season. However, there are elements that remain the same.

The use of Gregorian Chant

In the more traditional office of Compline, the prayers and psalms are often, if not always chanted. The tone or chant can easily found. I have found the best way to learn how to intone and chant this office is to refer to a Youtube Video by Harpa Dei. (Search for compline by Harpa Dei). They do the chants and the responses to perfection. The office is in Latin but there is an English translation on the same screen.

Gregorian chant is specifically ordered and sung so that no emotions will be stirred but will be directed to God. The Gregorian chant is not sentimental, nor is it heroic. It does not soar to great heights, nor sink to very low notes. In fact there is typically no key so you can start with a note that is comfortable for you and call that 'do' the rest of the notes are in reference to the starting tone. As a trained singer, I found singing Gregorian chant to be challenging as my voice is trained to effect emotion in the listener with trills and ornamentation. None of this exists in Gregorian chant.

The psalms of compline

The office of compline uses the psalms which bring to mind the protection and love of God but then ends with a particular prayer where we ask God to visit our house and protect us from all dangers.

The form of compline begins with the phrase that is chanted;

Iube, domine, benedicere

Followed by:

Noctem quietam et finem perfectum, concedat nobis Dominus omnipotens.

So in the very first stanzas we are asking for a blessing from God and asking God to grant us a peaceful night and a perfect end.

This theme is throughout the office of compline.

This is followed by a reading from 1Peter 5: 8-9;

Brethren: Be sober and watch, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour, whom resist ye, strong in faith. But thou O Lord, have mercy on us.

Or in Latin:

Fratres: Sobrii estote, et vigilate: quia adversarius vester diabolus tamquam leo rugiens circuit, quaerens quem devoret; cui resiste fortes in fide. Tu autem, Domine, miserere nobis.

We are reminded therefore to be vigilant, to resist and to be strong in faith for our own protection during the night. It is at night, while sleeping that we are most vulnerable and in need of protection. The reason for such need for protection and vigilance is because as we sleep, the devil has access to our memories and will slightly alter our memories such that in some cases we have terrible nightmares. This is particularly the case for those of us who have experienced traumatic or violent events in our life. We will dream, but the order or even our role in the event is changed such that even though we are victims, we awake feeling guilty and terrible, The feelings can be so intense, that we imagine that God Himself has abandoned us and we are alone. The office of Compline continually reminds us reminds us of 1) Our need to confess, thus the confiteor or prayer of confession is included and 2) To remind us of God's tremendous love for us. Hence the inclusion of psalms 4, 90 and sections of psalm 133.

Psalm 4

Cum invocarem, exaudivit me Deus justitiae meae

When I cried for help, the God of my justice heard me.

Later in the same psalm;

In peace, then, shall I sleep and rest; for thou O Lord!Makest me rest secure

Psalm 90 reminds us that His truth will be a shield for us and we need not fear the terrors of night.

The hymn which follows also asks an implores God to be both our Guard and Keeper and asks God to protect us from evil dreams and nightly fears.

The closing prayer and invocation

The collect said or chanted at the end of the office implores God to visit our dwelling and to drive far away from it all snares of the enemy and asks God to send His Holy Angels to dwell herein. It is a particularly beautiful and comforting prayer, having been reinforced by the psalms and scriptures that preceeded it:

Visit, we beseech Thee, O Lord, this dwelling and drive far from it all snares of the enemy; let Thy Holy Angels dwell herein, who may keep us in peace, and let Thy blessing be always upon us.

The Benefits of Compline

The spiritual benefits are obvious, that we go to sleep praising and being reminded of God and His love for us. In addition, there are some tremendous benefits of reciting compline for those of us who are prone to sleepless nights, or nightmares that wake us up.

In my research I have learned that people who cannot sleep and suffer from nightmares are often entirely freed from this once they pray, or even play on YouTube the compline service chanted by Harpa Dei. The chanting is melodic and calm which given our world of distraction and complexities, is very soothing and calming. I liken it to a lullaby for small children. In addition, and most importantly it is a prayer to God to invoke His protection.

People who have not slept for months, start to find long periods of undisturbed sleep. This has tremendous benefits.

Perhaps even more remarkable, is the terrible and terrifying nightmares start to go away very quickly.

Many people reading this will protest and say "Yes but the office is often chanted in Latin and I don't speak Latin!" Latin is the official language of the Church and because it is a dead language, it does not change. Unlike the vernacular which is always 'changing'. Think of gender neutral language for example.

Conclusion

I have hoped to show that the office of Compline (and I used the monastic version) is of tremendous benefits both spiritually and emotionally. We are, after all body and soul and thus, it makes sense that when we pray and praise God, not only does our soul benefit, but so too our bodies.