Friday 21 May 2021
Friday of the 7th week of Eastertide
Compline (Night Prayer)
(today)
The Compline after First or Second Vespers of a Sunday may be substituted for the Compline of a weekday.
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INTRODUCTION
O God, come to our aid.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
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Examination of Conscience
This is an excellent moment for an examination of conscience. In a communal celebration of Compline, one of the penitential acts given in the Missal may be recited.
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Hymn
Jesu, the world’s redeeming Lord,
The Father’s co-eternal Word,
Of light invisible true Light,
Thine Israel’s Keeper day and night.
Our great Creator and our Guide,
Who times and seasons dost divide,
Refresh at night with quiet rest,
Our limbs by daily toil oppressed.
We pray thee, while we dwell below,
Preserve us from our ghostly foe;
Nor let his wiles victorious be
O’er them that are redeemed by thee.
That while in this frail house of clay
A little longer here we stay,
Our flesh in thee may sweetly sleep,
Our souls with thee their vigils keep.
All praise be thine, O risen Lord,
From death to endless life restored;
All praise to God the Father be,
And Holy Ghost eternally.
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Psalm 87 (88)
The prayer of one gravely ill
“This is your hour; this is the reign of darkness” (Lk 22:53).
Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.
Lord my God, I call for help by day;
I cry at night before you.
Let my prayer come into your presence.
O turn your ear to my cry.
For my soul is filled with evils;
my life is on the brink of the grave.
I am reckoned as one in the tomb:
I have reached the end of my strength,
like one alone among the dead;
like the slain lying in their graves;
like those you remember no more,
cut off, as they are, from your hand.
You have laid me in the depths of the tomb,
in places that are dark, in the depths.
Your anger weighs down upon me:
I am drowned beneath your waves.
You have taken away my friends
and made me hateful in their sight.
Imprisoned, I cannot escape;
my eyes are sunken with grief.
I call to you, Lord, all the day long;
to you I stretch out my hands.
Will you work your wonders for the dead?
Will the shades stand and praise you?
Will your love be told in the grave
or your faithfulness among the dead?
Will your wonders be known in the dark
or your justice in the land of oblivion?
As for me, Lord, I call to you for help:
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Lord, why do you reject me?
Why do you hide your face?
Wretched, close to death from my youth,
I have borne your trials; I am numb.
Your fury has swept down upon me;
your terrors have utterly destroyed me.
They surround me all the day like a flood,
they assail me all together.
Friend and neighbour you have taken away:
my one companion is darkness.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.
Psalm-prayer
Lord Jesus, redeemer of all and author of our salvation, for us you went down to the realm of death and became free of death. Hear the prayers of your family and lift us from our slavery to evil, that we may be redeemed by you and see your Father’s glory.
Or:
Lord Jesus Christ, you chose to suffer and be overwhelmed by death in order to open the gates of death in triumph. Stay with us to help us on our pilgrimage; free us from all evil by the power of your resurrection. In the company of your saints, and constantly remembering your love for us, may we sing of your wonders in our Father’s house.
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Short Reading
(Jeremiah 14:9)
Lord, you are in our midst, we are called by your name. Do not desert us, O Lord our God!
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Short Responsory
Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit, alleluia, alleluia.
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit, alleluia, alleluia.
You have redeemed us, Lord God of truth, alleluia, alleluia.
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit, alleluia, alleluia.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit, alleluia, alleluia.
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Canticle
Nunc Dimittis
Christ is the light of the nations and the glory of Israel
Save us, Lord, while we are awake; protect us while we sleep; that we may keep watch with Christ and rest with him in peace. Alleluia.
At last, all-powerful Master,
you give leave to your servant
to go in peace, according to your promise.
For my eyes have seen your salvation
which you have prepared for all nations,
the light to enlighten the Gentiles
and give glory to Israel, your people.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Save us, Lord, while we are awake; protect us while we sleep; that we may keep watch with Christ and rest with him in peace. Alleluia.
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Let us pray.
Give us grace, almighty God,
so to unite ourselves in faith with your only Son,
who underwent death and lay buried in the tomb,
that we may rise again in newness of life with him,
who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.
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The Lord grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
Amen.
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Regina Caeli
Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia!
for he whom you were worthy to bear, alleluia!
has risen as he said, alleluia!
Pray for us to God, alleluia!
Regína cæli, lætare, allelúia,
quia quem meruísti portáre, allelúia,
resurréxit sicut dixit, allelúia;
ora pro nobis Deum, allelúia.
Copyright © 1996-2021 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com. Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). Used with permission of A.P. Watt Ltd. All rights reserved.