The North Clerestory Windows: The Liturgy of the Hours
8. Compline
This window accurately captures the two-fold spirit of Compline, the official night-prayer of the Church. For Compline considers nightfall not only as the close of day and the beginning of a night’s repose, but also as a time fraught with dangers and a pre-figure of the hour of death.
The silent forms gathering in the center of the window to produce patterns and constellations of stars suggest the quiet of night. At the top of the window are grouped the symbols which relate to a peaceful repose and a happy death: At this time the faithful seek refuge in prayers and in the church – therefore, a church building is shown sheltered, as it were, within the upward arms of the X-form that extends throughout the window. The Church participates in the Divine Life of the Trinity only through her oneness with her Divine Savior, Jesus Christ; here the fish, a figure of Christ, is superimposed on the church belfry, thereby linking the Trinity (the triangle) above and the Church below. Three other symbols apropos to Christian death are clustered around this central representation: to the left, a dove of peace and a container marked OI from which pour the holy oils; to the right, the crossed keys of contrition.
In contrast with the comforting imagery present in the upper half of the window, the figures in the lower portion treat the dangers of the night and their consequences. The underlying thought is Christ’s agony in the garden of Gethsemane: The three favored apostles are shown asleep within a form at the base of the window; Christ (the Chi-Rho) and the cup of his passion which he is about to drink are just above and to the right. Within the left-hand crossbar of the X-form, which stems directly from the group of the apostles, are the symbols of the betrayal: the moneybag, the denial rooster and the noose of Judas. In the right-hand crossbar, the flames indicate the punishment for sin, and the serpent and thistles represent sin itself.
Finally, in her last prayer of the day, the Church sings the “Nunc Dimittis,” the Canticle of Simeon: “Now, O Lord, you may dismiss your servant…for my eyes have seen your salvation…the glory of your people Israel.” |
