Visit this house
Visit this house, we pray you, Lord,
and drive far from it all the snares of the enemy.
Let your holy angels dwell here to keep us in peace,
and let your blessing be always upon us.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Text: our own text or translation, written for Verso.
In Latin
Visita, quaesumus, Domine, habitationem istam,
et omnes insidias inimici ab ea longe repelle:
Angeli tui sancti habitent in ea, qui nos in pace custodiant;
et benedictio tua sit super nos semper.
Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
About this prayer
The closing collect of Compline, the night prayer of the Roman Breviary, said for centuries in monasteries before the great silence of the night. It asks God to keep a house and everyone in it safe from harm. It makes a fitting prayer for a family at bedtime. English and Spanish are our translations of the Latin.