This is taken from the Northumbria Community - Ebba Compline for Thursdays.
Ebba was the sister of Oswald and Oswy, who were both kings of Northumbria. She was consecrated a nun by Aidan and founded the ‘double’ (i.e. there were both men and women there) monastery at Coldingham, situated on St Abbs’s Head (which was subsequently named after her). Ebba died in the year 683. Bede described her as a ‘pious woman and a handmaid of Christ.
+ (silently)
Find rest, O my soul, in God alone: my hope comes from Him.Find rest, O my soul, in God alone: my hope comes from Him.
Come I this night to the Father, Come I this night to the Son, Come I to the Holy Spirit powerful: Come I this night to God. Come I this night with Christ, Come I with the Spirit of kindness. Come I to Thee, Jesus. Jesus, shelter me.
I will lie down and sleep. I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. By day the Lord directs His love; at night His song is with me – a prayer to the God of my life.
Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. This dwelling, O God, by Thee be blest; and each one who here this night does rest. May God be in my sleep; may Christ be in my dreams. May the Spirit be in my repose, in my thoughts, in my heart. In my soul always may the Sacred Three dwell.
May the Father of heaven have care of my soul, His loving arm about my body, through each slumber and sleep of my life. The Son of God be shielding me from harm, the Son of God be shielding me from ill, the Son of God be shielding me with power. The Son of God be shielding me this night.
Sleep, O sleep in the calm of each calm. Sleep, O sleep in the guidance of all guidance. Sleep, O sleep in the love of all loves. Sleep, O beloved, in the Lord of life. Sleep, O beloved, in the God of life.
The peace of all peace be mine this night + in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Thank you for including Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' - perhaps my favourite painting of all time (and NOTHING to do with the Don McLean song, which I always hated!)
I went to New York some years ago, just to see this in the Museum of Modern Art. It tells a story of Vincent's personal despair and struggle, yet there's a flicker of light in the darkness that shines from every aspect of the painting. The piece itself is astonishing - almost 3D with the intensity of the brush strokes. Even in the darkness, the smallest flicker of light shines with such intensity. Awesome stuff!