Catholic Night Prayers: Traditional Bedtime Prayers and a Simple Evening Routine

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Catholics end the day the way they began it: in God’s presence. If you are already in bed, make the Sign of the Cross and pray:

Lord Jesus, thank you for this day.
Forgive me for the wrong I have done and the good I have failed to do.
I place myself, my family and all I love in your hands tonight.
Mary, my Mother, and my guardian angel, watch over me while I sleep.
Amen.

That short prayer was written for this guide. Below you will find the traditional Catholic evening prayer, a simple way to examine your conscience, a beautiful night prayer by St. Alphonsus Liguori, and the Church’s own bedtime prayer, Compline.

A simple Catholic night routine

  1. Sign of the Cross. Place yourself in God’s presence.
  2. Thank God for three good things from the day.
  3. Examine your conscience for two or three minutes (see below).
  4. Make an act of contrition. The Act of Contrition or the short act below.
  5. Pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary, and if you can, one decade of the Rosary or the Hail, Holy Queen.
  6. Entrust the night to God with the prayer of St. Alphonsus, and to your guardian angel.
  7. Pray for the dead with the Eternal Rest prayer.

The whole routine takes five to ten minutes. On a tired night, steps 1, 3 and 4 alone are enough.

The traditional Catholic evening prayer

This evening prayer comes from Father F. X. Lasance’s prayer book With God (1911). Begin with praise:

In the name of the Father, ✠ and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Blessed be the Holy Trinity, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Glory to the Father, Who created me; glory to the Son, Who redeemed me; glory to the Holy Ghost, Who sanctifieth me.

Act of Adoration

Almighty and eternal God, I adore Thee, and I thank Thee for all the benefits I have received this day through Thy infinite goodness and mercy. Give me light to know my faults and grant me grace to be truly sorry for my sins.

Now pause to examine your conscience. Then continue:

Act of Contrition

O my God, I am truly sorry for having sinned, because Thou art infinitely good and sin displeases Thee. I am firmly resolved, with the help of Thy grace, never more to offend Thee, and I will carefully avoid the occasions of sin.

Act of Love

I love Thee, my Lord and my God, with my whole heart and above all things, and for the love of Thee I love my neighbor as myself. Grant that I may love Thee more and more and give me the grace of perseverance, that I may live a holy life, die a happy death, and glorify Thee eternally in heaven.

Then pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Apostles’ Creed and the Glory Be, and end with this blessing for the night:

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and all the saints, pray for us to Our Lord, that we may be preserved this night from sin and evil. Amen.

O my good angel, whom God has appointed to be my guardian, watch over me during this night.

May Our Lord bless us and preserve us from all evil and bring us to life everlasting.

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

How to examine your conscience before bed

The daily examination of conscience is the heart of Catholic night prayer. Lasance’s book instructs the reader to examine “the faults of the day; on the offenses against God, against your neighbor, and against yourself.” A simple way to do it:

  1. Ask for light. “Holy Spirit, show me my day as you see it.”
  2. Give thanks. Where did I see God’s goodness today?
  3. Review the day hour by hour. When did I love well? When did I fail in patience, honesty, purity, generosity or prayer?
  4. Notice one pattern. Is there one fault that keeps coming back?
  5. Ask forgiveness with an act of contrition, and resolve to go to Confession if you have committed a serious sin.
  6. Choose one resolution for tomorrow.

For a full examination based on the commandments, see our examination of conscience and mortal and venial sin.

A night prayer by St. Alphonsus Liguori

St. Alphonsus Liguori, the eighteenth-century bishop and Doctor of the Church, wrote this prayer to offer God the hours of sleep:

Jesus Christ, my God, I adore Thee and I thank Thee for all the graces Thou hast bestowed on me this day. I offer to Thee my sleep and every moment of this night, and I beseech Thee to keep me free from sin. To secure this I place myself within Thy sacred side and under the protecting mantle of Our Lady, my Mother. May Thy holy angels help me and keep me in peace, and may Thy blessing be upon me.

Short ejaculations before sleep

Many Catholics fall asleep repeating these short prayers to the Holy Family:

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, assist me in my last agony.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with you.
Amen.

Compline: the Church’s night prayer

The official night prayer of the Church is Night Prayer, also called Compline, the last hour of the Liturgy of the Hours. Priests and religious pray it every night before sleep, and lay people are warmly invited to join them. It includes:

  • an examination of conscience and an act of penance
  • a hymn and one or two psalms, such as Psalm 4, Psalm 91 (90 in Douay-Rheims) or Psalm 134
  • a short reading and the response “Into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Psalm 30:6 in Douay-Rheims, 31:5 in modern Bibles; the last words of Jesus on the cross in Luke 23:46)
  • the Gospel Canticle of Simeon, the Nunc Dimittis
  • a closing prayer and blessing
  • an antiphon to Our Lady, such as the Salve Regina or, in Easter Time, the Regina Caeli

Evening Prayer and Night Prayer are different hours. Evening Prayer (Vespers) is prayed around sunset and ends with the Magnificat; Night Prayer is prayed just before going to bed and ends with the Nunc Dimittis and a Marian antiphon. See our step-by-step guides to Vespers and Compline.

The Nunc Dimittis (Canticle of Simeon)

Old Simeon prayed this when he held the infant Jesus in the Temple. Because he asks God to let him go “in peace,” the Church has prayed it at bedtime for well over a thousand years (Luke 2:29–32, Douay-Rheims):

Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace;
Because my eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples:
A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

The traditional antiphon sung before and after it is Salva nos, Domine, vigilantes. In a literal English rendering: “Save us, Lord, while we are awake; guard us while we sleep, that we may keep watch with Christ and rest in peace.”

Bedtime prayers with children

  • Make the Sign of the Cross together.
  • Ask each child, “What are you thankful for today?” and “Is there anything you are sorry for?”
  • Pray one Our Father and one Hail Mary together.
  • End with the Angel of God and a blessing: trace a small cross on each child’s forehead and say, “May God bless you and keep you.”

A short prayer for children, written for this guide:

Dear Jesus, thank you for today.
Bless Mommy and Daddy, my family and my friends.
Help me to sleep well and to be good tomorrow.
Angel of God, stay by my side. Amen.

Frequently asked questions

What prayers do Catholics say before bed?

Most Catholics use a combination of the Sign of the Cross, an examination of conscience, an Act of Contrition, the Our Father and Hail Mary, and the Angel of God. Many add a decade of the Rosary, the Hail Holy Queen or Night Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours.

What is the Catholic night prayer called?

The Church’s official night prayer is Compline, or Night Prayer, from the Liturgy of the Hours. “Night prayers” can also mean the personal prayers above.

Is there a Catholic prayer for sleep?

Yes. The prayer of St. Alphonsus offers God “my sleep and every moment of this night,” and the Nunc Dimittis asks God to let us go “in peace.” If anxiety keeps you awake, pray slowly: “Jesus, I trust in you.”

Should I examine my conscience every night?

The Church’s spiritual tradition strongly recommends it. It takes only a few minutes and makes Confession much easier.

More daily prayers

Texts and sources