Compline

At 7:30 p.m. we gather for Compline and the chanting the traditional Compline Psalms 4 and 90. With this hour of the Divine Office we bring our day to an end. During the winter months our day ends in the darkness of night just as it began in the darkness with Vigils at 4:30 a.m. We conclude the hour of Compline by singing the ancient Salve Regina, asking the Blessed Virgin Mary for her protection during the coming night. It is also the time for a review of our consciousness during the preceding day. How have we experienced God’s merciful presence? How have our relationships been? What do I need to ask forgiveness for, and whom do I need to forgive? Saint Benedict states in the Rule that the good within us is thanks to God, our sins are due to ourselves. Compline ends with the abbot sprinkling each of us with holy water to remind us as we head to bed that in baptism we died to the darkness of sin and rose to the light of grace.

Listen to Compline recorded live at the Abbey: