O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
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.
| 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. |
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 4 |
|---|
| Thanksgiving |
| Take pity on me, Lord, and listen to my prayer. |
| When I called out, he heard me, the God of my righteousness. When I was in trouble, you gave me freedom: now, take pity on me and listen to my prayer. Sons of men, how long will your hearts be heavy? Why do you seek for vain things? Why do you run after illusions? Know that the Lord has done marvellous things for those he has chosen. When I call upon the Lord, he will hear me. Be vigorous, but do not sin: speak in the silence of your heart, in your bed, be at rest. Offer righteousness as a sacrifice, and put your trust in the Lord. Many are saying, Who will give us good things? Let your face shine on us, Lord, let the light of your face be a sign. You have given me a greater joy than the others receive from abundance of wheat and of wine. In peace shall I sleep, Lord, in peace shall I rest: firm in the hope you have given me. 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. |
| Take pity on me, Lord, and listen to my prayer. |
| Psalm 133 (134) |
|---|
| Evening prayer in the Temple |
| Bless the Lord through the night. |
| Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who stand through the night in the house of the Lord! Lift up your arms to the sanctuary and bless the Lord! May the Lord bless you from Sion – the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 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. |
| Bless the Lord through the night. |
| Reading | Deuteronomy 6:4-7 © |
|---|---|
| Listen, Israel: the Lord our God is the one Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength. Let these words I urge on you today be written on your heart. You shall repeat them to your children and say them over to them whether at rest in your house or walking abroad, at your lying down or at your rising. | |
| Short Responsory | ? |
|---|---|
| Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit. - Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit. You have redeemed us, Lord, God of faithfulness. - Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. - Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit. |
|
| Canticle | Nunc Dimittis |
|---|---|
| Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace. | |
| Now, Master, you let your servant go in peace. You have fulfilled your promise. My own eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all peoples. A light to bring the Gentiles from darkness; the glory of your people Israel. 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. |
|
| Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace. | |
| Prayer | |
|---|---|
| Let us pray. Come to us, Lord, this night, and give us the strength to rise at dawn rejoicing in the resurrection of your Anointed, who lives and reigns for ever and ever, Amen. |
|
| May the almighty Lord grant us a quiet night and a perfect end. |
| A M E N |
From: Joshua 24:14-29
Joshua and the renewal of the Covenant (continued)
[16] Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the
LORD, to serve other gods; [17] for it was the LORD our God who brought us and
our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, and who did
those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went, and
among all the peoples through whom we passed; [18] and the LORD drove out
before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land; therefore we also will
serve the LORD, for he is our God.”
[19] But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the LORD; for he is a holy
God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. [20]
If, you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he turn and do you harm,
and consume you, after having done you good.” [21] And the people said to
Joshua, “Nay; but we will serve the LORD.” Then Joshua said to the people, “You
are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.”
And they said, “We are witnesses.” [23] He said, “Then put away the foreign gods
which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.” [24]
And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice
we will obey.” [25] So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and
made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem. [26] And Joshua wrote these
words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there
under the oak in the sanctuary of the LORD. [27] And Joshua said to all the
people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely
with your God.” [28] So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheri-
tance.
Death and burial of Joshua
[29] After these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died,
being a hundred and ten years old.
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Commentary:
24:1-28 The book of Joshua is not so much a report about a military campaign as
a vivid lesson in theology about how faithfully God keeps his promises, and a call
to respond to that faithfulness. This is borne out by the fact that the book ends
with a ratification of the Covenant: the nation that has taken possession of the
promised land renews the undertakings given by their fathers at Sinai. This cere-
mony takes place at Shechem. After an historical introduction recalling what God
has done for the Israelites (vv. 2-13), Joshua asks the people about their deter-
mination to stay faithful to the Lord (vv. 14-24). Once they have all made a com-
mitment to serve the Lord and obey him in everything, the Covenant is ceremon-
ially ratified (vv. 25-27). Elements of this rite are to be found in Hittite rites of
vassalage of the second millennium BC. So, the Covenant is not only a religious
act; it also has the force of secular law.
The Covenant lies at the basis of Christian morality, because it implies the con-
viction that God directs the course of history and he chooses people who are to
make a specific commitment of fidelity: “There is no doubt that Christian moral
teaching, even in its Biblical roots, acknowledges the specific importance of a
fundamental choice which qualifies the moral life and engages freedom on a
radical level before God. It is a question of the decision of faith, of the obedience
of faith (cf. Rom 16:26) ‘by which man makes a total and free self-commitment to
God, offering “the full submission of intellect and will to God as he reveals” (Dei
Verbum, 5). […] In the Decalogue one finds, as an introduction to the various
commandments, the basic clause: ‘I am the Lord your God . . . ‘ (Ex 20:2),
which, by impressing upon the numerous and varied particular prescriptions their
primordial meaning, gives the morality of the Covenant its aspect of complete-
ness, unity and profundity. Israel’s fundamental decision, then, is about the
fundamental commandment (cf. Jos 24:14-25; Ex 19:3-8; Mic 6:8)” (John Paul II,
Veritatis splendor, 66).
24:29-31 In this short account of his death Joshua is called “the servant of the
Lord” (v. 29), a title not previously applied to him: only Moses has been described
in this way (cf. 1:1, 13, 15; 8:31, 33; etc.). Now, at the end of a life dedicated to
the Lord, he deserves this recognition, which is similar to the accolade used in the
Gospel parable: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful
over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master” (Mt 25:21).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.