Family Night Prayer Generator
Choose the prayers your family will say tonight, add the names of the people you pray for, and print it. Every prayer is one the Church already prays, shown with its source, in the order of Compline, the Church’s night prayer. Nothing is written by a computer and nothing you type is saved.
Choose tonight’s prayers
Start from the full prayer or the short one, then add or leave out what you like. The order stays the Church’s.
Your night prayer
About 9 minutes, said slowly together.
1. Begin
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
O God, come to my assistance.
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.
The Sign of the Cross (Matthew 28:19), then the verse that opens every hour of the Church’s Divine Office (Psalm 70:1, 69:2 in the Douay-Rheims), and the Glory Be.
2. Look back on the day
Be still for a minute. Each of us looks back over the day: what we are thankful for, and where we fell short. Then say together:
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee,
and I detest all my sins because of Thy just punishments,
but most of all because they offend Thee, my God,
who art all good and deserving of all my love.
I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace,
to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.
The Act of Contrition, in its traditional form.
3. Psalm 91
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust."
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers; under his wings you will take refuge. His faithfulness is your shield and rampart.
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that wastes at noonday.
A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes, and see the recompense of the wicked.
Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place, no evil shall happen to you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling. For he will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and cobra; you will trample the young lion and the serpent underfoot.
"Because he has set his love on me, therefore I will deliver him. I will set him on high, because he has known my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him, and honor him. I will satisfy him with long life, and show him my salvation."
Psalm 91 (90 in the Douay-Rheims), World English Bible. The psalm of Sunday’s Night Prayer, and the Church’s psalm of refuge.
4. The Our Father
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
Matthew 6:9–13, in the words Catholics pray it.
5. The Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
The greetings of the angel and of Elizabeth (Luke 1:28, 1:42), with the Church’s petition. Traditional form.
6. The Canticle of Simeon
Save us, O Lord, while we are awake, and guard us while we sleep, that we may keep watch with Christ and rest in peace.
Now you are releasing your servant, Master, according to your word, in peace;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared before the face of all peoples;
a light for revelation to the nations,
and the glory of your people Israel.
Save us, O Lord, while we are awake, and guard us while we sleep, that we may keep watch with Christ and rest in peace.
Luke 2:29–32 (World English Bible, Catholic Edition), the canticle of every night’s Compline, between its antiphon from the Roman Breviary, Salva nos, Domine, in English.
7. Visit this house
Visit, we beseech thee, O Lord, this dwelling,
and drive far from it all the snares of the enemy;
let thy holy angels dwell herein to keep us in peace;
and may thy blessing be always upon us.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The closing prayer of Compline in the Roman Breviary (Visita, quaesumus, Domine), in traditional English, with the short ending.
8. Angel of God
Angel of God, my guardian dear,
to whom God’s love commits me here,
ever this night be at my side,
to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.
The medieval prayer to one’s guardian angel (Angele Dei), in its night form.
9. St. Michael the Archangel
Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
cast into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
The prayer of Pope Leo XIII (1886), in its traditional English form.
10. Hail, Holy Queen
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To thee do we cry,
poor banished children of Eve.
To thee do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
thine eyes of mercy toward us,
and after this our exile
show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving,
O sweet Virgin Mary.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
The Salve Regina, the antiphon to Our Lady that closes Compline for much of the year. Traditional form.
11. The blessing
A parent may trace a small cross on each child’s forehead.
May the almighty Lord grant us a quiet night and a perfect end. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The blessing that begins Compline in the Roman Breviary (Noctem quietam et finem perfectum), in English, and the Sign of the Cross.
How it works
The prayer always runs in the same order, the order of Compline: it begins with the Sign of the Cross, looks back on the day, prays a psalm, the Our Father and the Hail Mary, the Canticle of Simeon and the prayer for the home, asks for the angels’ watch and Our Lady’s prayers, and ends with a blessing. You choose which of those to keep; the generator never changes a word of them.
The full prayer is the one on night prayer for family, with more about praying it with children. The short one keeps the prayers a small child already knows.
Where the prayers come from
Each prayer prints with its source. Most have a page of their own on this site, with their history and other forms:
- The Our Father (Matthew 6:9–13) and the Act of Contrition, in their traditional words.
- Psalm 91, Psalm 4 and Psalm 134, the night psalms of the Church’s Liturgy of the Hours, in the World English Bible.
- Angel of God, the St. Michael prayer and Hail, Holy Queen.
- The Canticle of Simeon (Luke 2:29–32), the prayer “Visit, we beseech thee, O Lord, this dwelling” and the blessing “a quiet night and a perfect end”, all from Compline in the Roman Breviary.
Pray Compline with the app
Compline, the Church’s night prayer, guided and narrated in the app, with a daily reminder at the time you choose.
More free tools
- Liturgical calendarToday’s season and feast, and ten years of movable dates.
- Easter countdownDays until Easter, and the paschal moon it is reckoned from.
- How to pray the RosaryA bead diagram, every prayer in full, and today’s mysteries.
- The mysteries of the RosaryAll twenty, by day, with the Gospel verse under each.
- Chaplet of Divine MercyOn ordinary rosary beads, in about eight minutes.
- Stations of the CrossAll fourteen in order, with the prayers at each.
- The MemorareThe full prayer, and the Flying Novena: nine in a row, plus one.
- Litany of HumilityThe full prayer, traditionally attributed to Cardinal Merry del Val, with each response.
- The Advent wreathWhich candle, which Sunday, and why the third one is rose.
- What to give up for LentTwelve with a reason and a cost, and the other two thirds of Lent.
- How to become CatholicThe steps, how long it takes, and whether your past disqualifies you.
- How to go to confessionThe words in order, how long it takes, and what if it has been years.
- Examination of conscienceFor confession, by the Ten Commandments.
- Prayers for the deadEternal Rest and others, for a graveside or an anniversary.
All free, no sign-up, and nothing to keep updated — the dates are computed rather than typed. See all 15 tools.