Maestro di S. Francesco (anonymous), Francis Preaching to the Birds, from Scenes from the Life of St. Francis, c. 1260, fresco, Lower Church, Basilica of St. Francis, Assisi, Italy
Penitential Rite
Luke will serve as “all.”
Officiant:
Friends, it is in vain that we rise up so early, and go so late to rest, and eat the bread of anxiety: for God gives sleep to his beloved.
Dear God,
thank you for all that is good,
for our creation and for our humanity,
for the stewardship you have given us of this planet Earth,
for the gifts of life and of one another,
for your love, which is unbounded and eternal.
Let us come to God as one from whom no secrets are hidden, to ask for forgiveness and peace.
A moment of silence is kept.
May the God of Love have mercy on us, pardon us, and set us free. Know that you are forgiven and be at peace. May God strengthen us in all goodness and keep us in life eternal.
All:
Amen
Opening Sentences
Philip will serve as “all.”
Those designated sing the Compline hymn:
Te Lucis ante Terminum
(Sarum Rite Plainchant, Festal Tone)
Philip will sing verses 1 and 3; Luke will sing verse 2.
Before the end of the light,
we beg you, creator of all,
that you, with familiar mercy,
might be the leader of our care.
Let troubled dreams withdraw to the distance.
Silence our enemy
and all deceptions of the night,
that our bodies may rest secure.
Be present, omnipotent father,
through the Lord, Jesus Christ,
who with you forever
reigns with the Holy Spirit.
Psalmody
The psalm is sung antiphonally. You are invited to join either the “leader” or the “responder” part (with your microphone muted).
Philip will serve as leader and Stacy will serve as responder.
Antiphon: Have mercy on me, Lord, and hear my prayer.
Psalm 104:1–26, 31–33 (Alter)
Leader:
Bless, O my being, the ◊ Lord! Lord, my God, You are very great. *
Responder:
Grandeur and glo-ry you don.
Leader:
Wrapped in light like a cloak, *
Responder:
stretching out the heavens like a tent-cloth.
Leader:
Setting beams for His lofts in the ◊ waters, making His chariot the clouds, *
Responder:
He goes on the wings of the wind.
Leader:
He makes his messengers like the winds, *
Responder:
His ministers, glow-ing fi-re
Leader:
He founded earth on its solid base, *
Responder:
not to be shaken for-ev-er-more.
Leader:
With the deep You covered it like a gar-ment: *
Responder:
over mountains the wa-ters stood.
Leader:
From Your blast they fled, *
Responder:
from the sound of Your thun-der they scat-tered.
Leader:
They went up the mountains, went down the val-leys, *
Responder:
to the place that You found-ed for them.
Leader:
A border You fixed so they could not cross, *
Responder:
so they could not come back to co-ver the earth.
Leader:
You let loose the springs in fresh-ets *
Responder:
among the moun-tains they go.
Leader:
They water all beasts of the field, *
Responder:
the wild asses slake their thirst.
Leader:
Above them the fowl of the heavens dwell, *
Responder:
from among the foliage they send forth their voice.
Leader:
He waters mountains from His lofts, *
Responder:
from the fruit of your workd the earth is sa-ted.
Leader:
He makes the hay sprout for ◊ cattle, grass for the labor of human-kind *
Responder:
to bring forth bread from the earth,
Leader:
and wine that gladdens the heart of ◊ man to make faces shine brighter than oi-l *
Responder:
and bread that sustains the heart of man.
Leader:
The trees of the Lord drink their fill, *
Responder:
the Lebanon ce-dars He plant-ed,
Leader:
where the birds make their nest, *
Responder:
the stork whose home is the cy-presses,
Leader:
the high mountains for the ga-zelles, *
Responder:
the crags a shel-ter for badg-ers.
Leader:
He made the moon for the fixed sea-sons; *
Responder:
the sun: He appoint-ed its set-ting.
Leader:
You bring down darkness and it turns to night *
Responder:
in which all beasts of the for-est stir.
Leader:
The lions roar for prey, *
Responder:
seeking from God their food.
Leader:
When the sun comes up, they head home, *
Responder:
and in their dens they lie down.
Leader:
Man goes out to his work *
Responder:
and to his labor un-til eve-ning.
Leader:
How many Your deeds, O ◊ Lord, all of them You do in wis-dom. *
Responder:
All the earth is filled with Your rich-es.
Leader:
This sea great and ◊ wide, where creatures beyond number stir, *
Responder:
the little beasts and the large.
Leader:
There the ships go, *
Responder:
this Leviathan You fash-ioned to play with.
Leader:
May the Lord’s glory be for-ev-er, *
Responder:
may the Lord re-joice in His works,
Leader:
Who but looks down to earth, and it trem-bles *
Responder:
but touches the moun-tains: they smoke.
Leader:
Let me sing to the Lord while I live, *
Responder:
let me hymn to my God while I breathe.
Leader:
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, *
Responder:
and to the Ho-ly Spir-it,
Leader:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, *
Responder:
world with-out end. A-men.
Antiphon: Have mercy on me, Lord, and hear my prayer.
Short Reading
Stacy will serve as leader and Luke will serve as “all.”
The leader chants the reading:
Wisdom 7:15–22 (NRSV)
May God grant me to speak with judgement,
and to have thoughts worthy of what I have received;
for he is the guide even of wisdom
and the corrector of the wise.
For both we and our words are in his hand,
as are all understanding and skill in crafts.
For it is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists,
to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements;
the beginning and end and middle of times,
the alternations of the solstices and the changes of the seasons,
the cycles of the year and the constellations of the stars,
the natures of animals and the tempers of wild animals,
the powers of winds and the thoughts of human beings,
the varieties of plants and the virtues of roots.
I learned both what is secret and what is manifest,
for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me.
Responsories
Philip will serve as leader and Luke will serve as “all.”
All sing an aleatoric responsory:
Epitaph
Text by Sarah Williams; music by F.J. Haydn (details)
- Philip sings the melody once, ending on “oo.”
- All join in the unison “oo” while Luke repeats the melody, ending on “oo.”
- Everyone sings the melody, starting at different times and moving at different speeds, ending by returning to “oo.”
- Once everyone is singing “oo,” gradually fade into silence.
Prayers
Stacy will serve as leader and Luke will serve as “all.”
The leader begins the Lord’s Prayer:
All continue silently until “and lead us not …”:
… who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us …
and then conclude:
A moment of silence is kept.
Luke will serve as leader and Philip will serve as “all.”
The leader begins the collects:
Philip will serve as leader and Stacy will serve as “all.”
Leader:
Leader:
O most mighty and merciful God,
in this time of grievous sickness,
we flee unto thee for succour.
Deliver us, we beseech thee, from our peril;
give strength and skill to all those who minister to the sick;
prosper the means made use of for their cure;
and grant that, perceiving how frail and uncertain our life is,
we may apply our hearts unto that heavenly wisdom
which leadeth to eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All:
Leader:
Keep watch, dear Lord,
with those who work, or watch, or weep this night,
and give your angels charge over those who sleep.
Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary,
bless the dying, soothe the suffering,
pity the afflicted, shield the joyous;
and all for your love’s sake.
All:
Leader:
Be present, Spirit of God,
within us, your dwelling place and home,
that this house may be one where
all darkness is penetrated by your light,
all troubles calmed by your peace,
all evil redeemed by your love,
all pain transformed in your suffering,
and all dying glorified in your risen life.
All:
Leader:
Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord,
and by thy great mercy defend us
from all perils and dangers of this night;
through Jesus Christ our savior,
who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit
for ever and ever.
All:
After the collects, we will keep a moment of silence to call to mind our concerns, reflections, intentions, and reasons for thankfulness. Those who wish to share them aloud will be invited to do so.
❦
Those designated sing:
The Song of the Creatures
St. Francis of Assisi (details)
Philip will sing part A; Luke will sing part B.
Canticle
The canticle is sung antiphonally. You are invited to join either the “leader” or the “responder” part (with your microphone muted).
Luke will serve as leader and Stacy will serve as responder.
Nunc Dimittis: Luke 2:29–32
Leader:
Lord, you now have set your ser-vant free *
Responder:
to go in peace as you have pro-mised,
Leader:
For with my eyes I have seen *
Responder:
your sal-va-tion,
Leader:
→ which you have pre-pared *
Responder:
before the sight of all peo-ple:
Leader:
A light to shine through all na -tions *
Responder:
and the glory of your peo-ple,Isra-el.
Leader:
Glo -ry be to the Fa-ther, and to the Son, *
Responder:
and to the Ho-ly Spi-rit,
Leader:
As it was in the be-gin-ning, is now, *
Responder:
and will be fore-ver. A-men.
Benediction
Luke will serve as “all.”
Those designated sing the Marian antiphon:
Salve, Regina
(Gregorian Chant, Simple Tone)
Philip will sing part A; Luke will sing part B.
Hail, Queen, mother of mercy;
Our light, our sweetness, and our hope, hail!
We cry out to you, we exiles, children of Eve.
We sigh for you, groaning and weeping, in this valley of tears.
Ah! Therefore, our advocate,
those merciful eyes of yours—turn them to us.
And Jesus, the blessed fruit of your womb—after this exile,
point him out to us.
O gentle, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
It is traditional to end Compline with a few moments for silent reflection.