Compline

Evening in a Benedictine abbey. The monks sing Compline, and after that, as the Rule of Saint Benedict asks, nobody speaks until morning: this is the Great Silence. The name comes from the Latin completorium, the office that completes the day. A Compline emoji would be something like that: the prayer you say just before switching off the light.

The office is short and remarkably gentle. It opens with a brief examination of conscience, often includes Psalm 91 (90), “You will not fear the terror of the night”, and then comes the canticle of Simeon, the old man who holds the infant Jesus in the Temple: “Lord, now you let your servant go in peace” (Luke 2:29). It ends with an antiphon to Our Lady, the Salve Regina in many communities, and everyone goes back to their cell without a word.

You do not need to be a monk to pray Compline. It works just as well in a living room, in a tent on a scout camp or in a hospital ward. For now we make do with 🌙 and 🙏. We can picture better: a small lamp being switched off, a hooded figure under a crescent moon, two open hands handing the day back to God. If one of these images speaks to you, or if you have a better one, the form is waiting just below.