The Service of Compline

Live streamed HERE on our Facebook Group. All are then posted on our Streamed Services page.

Since the fall of 2001, the choir of St. Paul’s has sung Compline on the fourth Sunday of every month at 8:00 pm. The transcendent quality of the Gregorian Chant, along with the beauty of St. Paul's Church, bathed in candlelight, has made the service an oasis of peace and serenity in the lives of those who attend, both Christians and non-Christians.

Compline is offered when the work of the day is finished. The ancient office of Compline derives its name from the Latin word, complere, meaning “to complete.” Originally the last of the daily offices celebrated by monastic communities, it eventually found a place in local liturgical settings.

The Compline Service consists of psalms, short passages from scripture, a hymn, a canticle (Nunc Dimittis), a litany, collects, and additional prayers, including a Marian hymn. Gregorian chant, polyphony of Byrd, Tallis, Victoria, is sung by St. Paul's Choir. There is no sermon. A period of silence before, during and following this service allows time to pray, reflect, and grow in communion with God, in a candlelit sacred space.

When the In-person service returns, candles are lit at 7:50pm and the church remains open for 15 minutes or more after the service ends (usually around 8:40pm).

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The Order of Service Click here for the program

Officiant:  The Lord Almighty grant us a peaceful night and a perfect end.
Choir:  Amen.

Officiant: Brethren, be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the devil
walketh about like a roaring lion,
seeking whom e may devour;
whom resist, steadfast in the faith.
But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us.         I Peter 5:8, 9

Choir:  Thanks be to God.
Officiant:  Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Choir:  The maker of heaven and earth.
Officiant:  O God, make speed to save us.
Choir:  O Lord, make haste to help us.

Officiant:  Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. 
Choir:  Amen.  (Alleluia.)

THE PSALMS
Antiphon:  Have mercy on me, Lord, and hear my prayer.

Psalm 4  Cum invocarem
1    Answer me when I call, O God, defender of my cause; *
         you set me free when I am hard-pressed;
         have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
2    "You mortals, how long will you dishonor my glory; *
         how long will you worship dumb idols
         and run after false gods?"
3    Know that the LORD does wonders for the faithful; *
         when I call upon the LORD, he will hear me.
4    Tremble, then, and do not sin; *
         speak to your heart in silence upon your bed.
5    Offer the appointed sacrifices *
         and put your trust in the LORD.
6    Many are saying,
         "Oh, that we might see better times!" *
         Lift up the light of your countenance upon us, O LORD.
7    You have put gladness in my heart, *
         more than when grain and wine and oil increase.
8    I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep; *
         for only you, LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 91  Qui habitat 
1    He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High *
         abides under the shadow of the Almighty.
2    He shall say to the LORD,
         "You are my refuge and my stronghold, *
         my God in whom I put my trust."
3    He shall deliver you from the snare of the hunter *
         and from the deadly pestilence.
4    He shall cover you with his pinions,
      and you shall find refuge under his wings; *
         his faithfulness shall be a shield and buckler.
5    You shall not be afraid of any terror by night, *
         nor of the arrow that flies by day;
6    Of the plague that stalks in the darkness, *
         nor of the sickness that lays waste at mid-day.
7    A thousand shall fall at your side
      and ten thousand at your right hand, *
         but it shall not come near you.
8    Your eyes have only to behold *
         to see the reward of the wicked.
9    Because you have made the LORD your refuge, *
         and the Most High your habitation,
10    There shall no evil happen to you, *
           neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.
11    For he shall give his angels charge over you, *
           to keep you in all your ways.
12    They shall bear you in their hands, *
           lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13    You shall tread upon the lion and the adder; *
           you shall trample the young lion and the serpent
                          under your feet. 
14    Because he is bound to me in love,
        therefore will I deliver him; *
            I will protect him, because he knows my Name.
15    He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; *
           I am with him in trouble;
           I will rescue him and bring him to honor.
16    With long life will I satisfy him, *
           and show him my salvation.

Psalm 134  Ecce nunc 
​1    Behold now, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, *
         you that stand by night in the house of the LORD.
​2    Lift up your hands in the holy place and bless the LORD; *
         the LORD who made heaven and earth bless you out of Zion.

​Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: * 
   as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

OFFICE HYMN   
Te Lucis Ante Terminum
​
Officiant: ​Lord, you are in the midst of us, and we are called by your
Name: Do not forsake us, O Lord our God.    Jeremiah 14:9,22
Choir: Thanks be to God.​

RESPONSORY
Officiant: Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit;
For you have redeemed me, O Lord, O God of truth;
Keep us, O Lord, as the apple of your eye;
Choir: Hide us under the shadow of your wings.    Ps. 17:8

NUNC DIMITTIS        Luke 2:29;  BCP p.66

PRECES
Officiant: Lord have mercy
Choir: Christ have mercy
All: Lord have mercy

THE LORD’S PRAYER   
Officiant: Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls
around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Resist, steadfast in the faith.    1 Peter 5:8-9a 
Choir: Thanks be to God.

In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum. (Allelujah)
Redemisti me Domine, Deus veritatis. (Allelujah)

Officient: Keep us, O Lord, as the apple of your eye;
Choir:  Hide us under the shadow of your wings.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Officiant:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name, 
thy kingdom come, 
thy will be done, 
on earth as it is in heaven. Our Father in heaven, 
hallowed be your Name, 
your kingdom come, 
your will be done, 
on earth as in heaven. 

COLLECTS
Be present, O merciful God    BCP p.133
Look down, O Lord    BCP p.133
Keep watch, dear Lord    BCP p.134

THE DISMISSAL   
Officiant:  Let us bless the Lord.
Choir:  Thanks be to God.
Officiant:  The almighty and merciful Lord,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless us and keep us.
Choir:  Amen.

MARIAN HYMN
Advent Sunday through Purification:  Alma Redemptoris Mater
February 3 through Palm Sunday:  Ave Regina Caelorum
Easter Day though Pentecost:  Regina Caeli
Trinity Sunday until Advent:  Salve Regina

Compline Schedule

Fourth Sundays, 8:00 pm

2021
January 24
February 28
March 28
April 25
May 23
June 27
July 25
August 22
September 26
October 24
November 28
​December 26


Our Compline service is derived from various sources, including Liber Usualis and the Book of Common Prayer (BCP p.127). It is sung by the choir in English and Latin. References to full texts are to the Book of Common Prayer (BCP), the Bible, and the Hymnal 1982.


Listen to a sample of Compline Service at St Paul's, Oakland's www.youtube.com/watch