Evening Prayer

Lord, I thank Thee that Thou hast safely brought me to the end of this day. Protect me from the perils and dangers of the night. Let me rest in peace. Let me lay myself down gratefully as if in death, knowing my spirit may this night be required of me; give me grace that whenever that time comes I may be prepared for it and that when my soul parts from this body, it may hear the grateful words, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord."

--The Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman
April 1817

[Acknowledgement: A Newman Prayer Book (Vincent F. Blehl, S.J., 1990), p. v.]