Catholic Night Prayer: Compline, the Examen and Bedtime Prayers

1. What Is Catholic Night Prayer?

Catholic night prayer is any prayer that closes the day in God's presence, and it has three classic parts: looking back over the day with gratitude, asking forgiveness for the day's sins, and entrusting the night and your life to God. The Church's own form of it is Compline, called Night Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours. Families and individuals also pray the examen, an Act of Contrition, the guardian angel prayer and a Marian prayer.

The psalms are full of night prayer. "In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety" (Psalm 4:8). "Into your hand I commit my spirit" (Psalm 31:5), the words Jesus prayed from the Cross as His last (Luke 23:46), and the words the Church prays every night at Compline. Each night is a small rehearsal for death: you lay down control, close your eyes and trust that God will keep you.

Here is the hard part. Most of us end the day the way we began it, with a screen, and fall asleep mid-scroll with nothing settled. Unconfessed resentment goes to bed with us, and so does the sin we did not name. "Do not let the sun go down on your anger" (Ephesians 4:26). Night prayer is where you settle accounts with God and with the people you hurt today.

This page owns the end of the day. For the start of it, see our page on Catholic morning prayer and the Morning Offering. For the full map of Catholic prayer, read our guide on how to pray.

2. The Examen of St. Ignatius, Step by Step

The examen is a short daily review of the day in God's presence, taught by St. Ignatius of Loyola in his Spiritual Exercises (the method of the general examen is set out at Exercises 43). It takes five to fifteen minutes, it is best prayed just before sleep, and it is the single most practical night prayer a Catholic can learn. Ignatius gives five points:

1. Give thanks. Thank God for the gifts of the day, one by one and specifically: the coffee, the call from your sister, the meeting that went well, the fact you are breathing. Gratitude comes first because it reminds you who is the giver.
2. Ask for light. Ask the Holy Spirit for the grace to see your sins truly and to be free of them. You are asking to see your day the way God sees it, without excuses and without despair.
3. Review the day. Walk through it hour by hour, from waking until now, looking at your thoughts, your words and your actions. Where did you love? Where did you fail? Where did you ignore God's nudge? Notice your moods too: where you felt peace and where you felt drained.
4. Ask forgiveness. Tell God plainly what you did wrong. Make an Act of Contrition (section 3). Note anything grave for your next confession.
5. Resolve. Ask for grace for tomorrow and choose one concrete change. Then pray an Our Father.

Two warnings, one for each kind of reader. If you skip the examen because you do not want to look, that avoidance is the very thing it exists to break. And if you are scrupulous, and the review turns into an hour of anxious self-accusation, keep it short: five minutes, the first point twice as long as the rest, and leave doubtful matters with your confessor. Our guide to scrupulosity explains how.

The examen is easy to learn and easy to forget by the third night. Pro gives you audio-guided prayer sessions you can press play on in the dark, calming audio devotionals for winding down, and a circle of believers to keep you honest. Get Pro. $49 once, no subscription, 30-day money-back guarantee.

3. The Act of Contrition: Going to Sleep at Peace With God

The Act of Contrition is a short prayer of sorrow for sin, and every Catholic should pray it every night. The Church teaches that perfect contrition, sorrow that comes from love of God above all, forgives venial sins and obtains forgiveness even of mortal sins when it includes the firm resolve to go to sacramental confession as soon as possible (CCC 1452). If you have committed a grave sin, pray this tonight, and book your confession tomorrow.

Do not let a grave sin sit for weeks. Go this week. Our step-by-step guide to making a good confession walks you through it, including what to say if it has been years.

4. Compline: The Church's Night Prayer Explained

Compline is the last hour of the Liturgy of the Hours, prayed just before sleep. Its name comes from the Latin completorium, "completion", because it completes the day. The Liturgy of the Hours calls it Night Prayer. It is short, about ten to fifteen minutes, and unlike the other hours it repeats on a simple one-week cycle, so you quickly know it almost by heart.

Compline is ancient. In the sixth century the Rule of St. Benedict already prescribed Psalms 4, 91 and 134 for it every night, and monks still keep the "great silence" after it until morning. Night Prayer in today's Liturgy of the Hours follows this shape:

1. Introductory verse: "God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me," and the Glory Be.
2. Examination of conscience: a pause to review the day, which may be followed by a penitential prayer such as the "I confess" (Confiteor).
3. Hymn.
4. Psalmody: one or two psalms with antiphons, chosen for trust in God at night. Psalm 4, Psalm 91 and Psalm 134 are among them.
5. Short reading from Scripture. One of them is the ancient Compline warning: "Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith" (1 Peter 5:8-9).
6. Responsory: "Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit."
7. The Canticle of Simeon (Nunc Dimittis), with its antiphon (section 5).
8. Concluding prayer.
9. Blessing: "May the all-powerful Lord grant us a restful night and a peaceful death. Amen."
10. Marian antiphon: the day ends with Mary, usually the Hail, Holy Queen (Salve Regina), or another seasonal antiphon such as the Regina Caeli in Eastertide.

Look at that blessing again: "a restful night and a peaceful death." The Church puts your death in front of you every night, gently, and asks God to make it peaceful. That is the best preparation for death there is: a life of nights ended in His hands.

5. The Nunc Dimittis (Canticle of Simeon)

The Nunc Dimittis is the song of the old man Simeon, who held the infant Jesus in the Temple and told God he was ready to die, because he had seen the Saviour (Luke 2:29-32). Its name is its first two words in Latin: "Now you dismiss". The Church sings it every night at Compline, so that each of us, like Simeon, ends the day ready to let go in peace.

Read Simeon's story in Luke 2:25-35 tonight. He waited his whole life, prayed in the Temple daily, and was "looking for the consolation of Israel". He died in peace, having seen Christ. That is what Compline asks for you every night.

6. How to Pray Compline Tonight

The easiest way to pray Compline is to open a free Liturgy of the Hours website or app at bedtime, choose Night Prayer for today, and read it aloud slowly. It takes about ten minutes. Here is how to make it stick.

1. Pray it in bed or just before. Compline is meant to be the last thing you do. Brush your teeth first.
2. Make the examination of conscience real. Use the five steps of the examen above, then pray the Confiteor or an Act of Contrition.
3. Pray the psalms slowly, aloud. Psalm 91 is the great night psalm of protection: "You will not fear the terror of the night" (Psalm 91:5).
4. Stand or sit up for the Nunc Dimittis, and make the Sign of the Cross at its start.
5. Finish with the Marian antiphon, then stop talking. Keep a short silence before sleep, as the monks do.
6. Pray it with your spouse or family. Compline is beautiful prayed together, one person reading, everyone answering.

If ten minutes is too much tonight, pray only the responsory, the Nunc Dimittis and the blessing. Start small and keep going. Our guide on how to pray explains how Night Prayer fits into the whole Liturgy of the Hours.

7. Traditional Catholic Bedtime Prayers

Traditional Catholic bedtime prayers ask God, the angels, Mary and the saints to keep you through the night and to be with you at the hour of death. Pray one or two of these after your examen.

Our Catholic prayers for protection include more night prayers for the home. For protection against spiritual attack, many Catholics add the short prayer to St. Michael; our page on the St. Michael prayer gives its text and history. For Mother Teresa's emergency prayer to Mary, see the Memorare and the flying novena.

8. Prayers for Sleep

A prayer for sleep asks God for rest and hands Him the worries that keep the mind awake. The Bible promises that sleep itself is a gift: "he gives to his beloved sleep" (Psalm 127:2). These prayers are for lying in bed with the light off.

Practical help for sleep, with prayer: keep the phone outside the bedroom, pray Compline at the same time each night, write tomorrow's worries on paper before bed so your mind can let them go, and keep caffeine to the morning. If sleeplessness lasts for weeks, talk to your doctor; insomnia is treatable, and treating it is good stewardship of the body God gave you.

9. Prayers for Anxiety at Night

Anxiety often gets worse at night, when the house is quiet and nothing distracts the mind. Weak faith has nothing to do with it. Anxious minds work this way, and anxiety is a real condition that deserves real care. Prayer helps, and so do doctors, counsellors and, when needed, medication. Use them all.

When panic hits at night: sit up, put your feet on the floor, breathe in for four counts and out for six, and pray the Jesus Prayer on the breath. Name five things you can see or touch. Then pray Psalm 4 or Psalm 91 aloud, quietly. Our full guide to Catholic prayer for anxiety has a 7-day plan and what to do during a panic attack. If your nights are dark with grief, read our guide to grief; if they are dark with loneliness, read loneliness.

Nights are long when you face them alone. Pro gives you audio-guided prayer sessions for anxiety, calming audio devotionals you can play in the dark, a circle of believers who pray for you, and counselling with a qualified therapist (it does not replace medical or clinical care). Get Pro for $49, paid once, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

10. Bedtime Prayers With Children

Bedtime prayers with children work best when they are short, the same every night, and prayed with a parent beside the bed. A child who hears a parent thank God and say sorry every night learns more than any lesson could teach. Use a mini examen ("What was the best part of today? Is there anything you want to say sorry to God for?"), the guardian angel prayer and a Hail Mary, then bless your child with the Sign of the Cross on the forehead.

Our collection of bedtime prayers for kids and teens has simple night prayers by age, prayers for bad dreams and fear of the dark, and a parent's blessing over a child.

11. How Do Other Christians Pray at Night?

Night prayer is shared across the whole Christian world, and Compline is one of the most ecumenical prayers there is.

• Anglicans and Episcopalians pray Evening Prayer (Evensong) and Compline from the Book of Common Prayer; the Nunc Dimittis is sung at Evensong in cathedrals every day.
• Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Christians pray Compline (Apodeipnon, "after supper") and keep a rule of evening prayers at home before the icons, asking for a peaceful night and a Christian end to life.
• Lutherans also keep Compline and the Nunc Dimittis in their liturgical books.
• Many evangelical families pray simple bedtime prayers with their children and read Scripture together at night.

Catholics pray all of this and more: the examen, the Act of Contrition, Compline and the Marian antiphon. For a wider comparison of traditions, see Catholic and Protestant beliefs.

12. A 10-Minute Catholic Night Prayer Routine

A 10-minute Catholic night prayer routine combines the examen, contrition and Compline into one habit you can keep for life. Start tonight. Do not wait until you feel like it.

1. Phone out of the bedroom (0 minutes, and the hardest step).
2. Sign of the Cross and a moment of silence (30 seconds). Remember that God is present.
3. Examen (5 minutes): thanks, light, review, sorrow, resolve.
4. Act of Contrition (30 seconds).
5. Nunc Dimittis with its antiphon (1 minute), or full Compline if you have fifteen minutes.
6. Intercession (1 minute): name the people you are carrying, and pray for those who will die tonight.
7. Hail, Holy Queen or a Hail Mary (1 minute).
8. Guardian angel prayer and "Into Your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit" (30 seconds). Lights out.

Pair this with a morning routine and your day is held at both ends. Need words for a specific worry? Our free prayer generator writes a personal night prayer for your situation.