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Views from the Choir Loft

At home it doesn’t have to be perfect

Veronica Brandt · July 6, 2013

ACH NIGHT we sing Compline, the night prayer of the Divine Office. We learnt it before we had children back when we went to Mass at the Maternal Heart Church. We kept it up until somewhere in the blur of having little children we let it slide.

When we were pressed for time we would cut out the psalms. That may be leaving out the most important part, but as layfolk, not obliged to pray them, it seems fair enough.

For a while we used the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There are recordings to prove it. It is relatively easy to sing from memory – rather like the Benedictine or Monastic Compline.

Now we are back in the groove of the regular 1962 Liber Usualis version. I thought it would help get the baby to sleep, but more often than not she will be wide eyed, taking it all in. The cat also seems attracted to the scene – especially if people kneel down where she can shmooze around them. The older boys can read the Latin. The younger ones have learnt much of it. Dad picks out boys to lead different parts each night.

SO WHAT IS THE FIRST STEP to bringing this into your home? Everyone is going to have a different perspective, but here is my suggestion. Try the hymn for Compline. The prayers to ward off bad dreams are helpful when getting children off to bed.

John Mason Neale’s translation runs thus:

To Thee, before the close of day
Creator of the world, we pray
that with Thy wonted favor, Thou
wouldst be our Guard and Keeper now.

From all ill dreams defend our eyes,
from nightly fears and fantasies:
tread under foot our ghostly foe,
that no pollution we may know.

O Father, that we ask be done
through Jesus Christ Thine only Son,
who, with the Holy Ghost and Thee,
shall live and reign eternally. Amen.

You could sing this to any long meter tune – same as O Salutaris or O saving Victim for Benediction.

Or sing the Gregorian chant from the Liber Usualis.

  Te lucis ante terminum for Sundays and minor feasts. [pdf]

(Thank you GregoBase.)

And to help you out with the sheet music, here are a few of my family singing it through.

  Te lucis sung at home [mp3]

Lastly, here is the serious rendition with the music scrolling past.

That is just a suggestion. Your mileage may vary. How did you start praying the Liturgy of the Hours? What are your thoughts?

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Compline Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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President’s Corner

    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

It is frightful even to think there are children, victims of abortion, who will never see the light of day.

— Pope Francis (13 January 2014)

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