Campus Ministry

"The opportunity for Compline at UD has been a real blessing in my practice of faith this past year. The weekly Thursday prayer sessions have been a consistent period of encounter with the grace and peace of Christ's presence." (Joshua Michonski '23)

Compline (Evening Prayer) is one of the daily Liturgy of the Hours or the Divine Office. Campus Ministry has been organizing and leading Compline (Evening Prayer) on Thursdays at 10:15pm during the academic year.

The last Evening Prayer of the '22-'23 academic year was celebrated with ice cream afterwards--"Compline and Cones."

Liturgy of the Hours is most often thought of as the practice of vowed religious communities in the Catholic Church. However, a growing number of lay people are finding it helpful for their spiritual lives to stop several specific times a day--or even once or twice--to pray the hours. The growing number of students attending Compline each week shows the value of this form of prayer for all people.

Joshua Michonski, a regular on Thursday evenings, explains "Regardless of how the busyness of life could fill my time during the day, the night prayer always invited me to take time for closeness with God. When the time for Compline came around, I knew my week was nearly over and I could find rest."

When communities come together to pray the Divine Office, they usually chant the psalms and other prayers and hymns. Michonski says, "Regardless of my musical knowledge, I felt very welcomed to join in the communal sacred prayer with other students. It was powerful being surrounded by so many voices praying to God in unison. Scott Paeplow created an environment where I could feel vulnerable and welcome to express my devotion, and see others publicly share their own prayer. I feel blessed for the joy I found in the faith communities and great fellowship at UD."