Combining Vespers with Compline?

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anonymous_in_fl

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Two questions:
  1. Is it allowable to combine Vespers with Compline?
  2. If so, how would this be done?
Due to my schedule, vespers and compline are very close together, so I was wondering if it possible to combine them?
 
Pray them in sequence, one after the other.
I know some who have made promises to pray the Hours every day, when schedules cannot be adjusted pray a number of them together, including morning prayer, evening prayer and night prayer all at once at the end of the day. (not recommended, but done in order to complete their promise made)
 
Big_Feet said:
Pray them in sequence, one after the other.
I know some who have made promises to pray the Hours every day, when schedules cannot be adjusted pray a number of them together, including morning prayer, evening prayer and night prayer all at once at the end of the day. (not recommended, but done in order to complete their promise made)
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That’s actually not “allowed” in the General Instructions. The verity of the hour must be respected. However for Vespers and Compline both can occur in the early evening so it is possible to pray them in sequence. In our local abbey, Thursday is recreation day and Vespers is moved from 5 pm to 7 pm and compline starts immediately after Vespers.

Some hours can be combined, for instance the Office of Readings and Lauds; traditionally Matins was Vigils immediately followed by Lauds so combining the OOR with Lauds fits that tradition. Some abbeys also combine Compline with Vigils, using the psalms from Compline as the psalms of the first nocturn, and the psalms of Vigils for the second.
 
Unless you are bound to pray the Office (i.e., you’re a priest or religious), then you can pray as little or as much as you want of the Office at whatever time you want. It’s a personal devotion.

You should try to respect the time difference, but you aren’t abusing anything by praying as much as you want whenever you want. I mean, is God sitting up there in Heaven saying, “Ack! Is that VESPERS you’re praying?1? It’s 10PM, what are you THINKING?!?!?”

Seriously.
 
The General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours is online, but [the chapter called “Combining the Hours With Mass or With Each Other”](http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/cdwgilh.htm#Ch II-VII) doesn’t offer any advice for such things as vespers and compline (it focuses on Mass or the Office of Readings). In the absence of any other guidance, I’d just pray vespers, then compline.

Are you using a different office, like the 1962 version? IIRC there may be a more formalized way of praying vespers and compline together, though it probably leaves both offices mostly “intact” instead of making a more “hybridized” combined office.
 
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