Eternal Rest or ''Requiem aeternam'' is a Western Christian prayer asking God: (1) to hasten the progression of the souls of the faithful departed in Purgatory to their place in

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

(in Roman Catholicism)
(2) to rest in the love of God the souls of the faithful departed in Paradise until the

resurrection of the dead General resurrection or universal resurrection is the belief in a resurrection of the dead, or resurrection from the dead ( Koine: , ''anastasis onnekron''; literally: "standing up again of the dead") by which most or all people who have died ...

and Last Judgement (in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Methodism, Lutheranism) The prayer is cited from

2 Esdras 2 Esdras (also called 4 Esdras, Latin Esdras, or Latin Ezra) is an apocalyptic book in some English versions of the Bible. Tradition ascribes it to Ezra, a scribe and priest of the , but scholarship places its composition between 70 and . It ...

(4 Esdras Vulgate): Therefore I say to you, O nations that hear and understand, “Wait for your shepherd; he will give you everlasting rest, because he who will come at the end of the age is close at hand. Be ready for the rewards of the kingdom, because perpetual light will shine on you forevermore. -2 Esdras 2:34-35 NRSV

Theology

This Roman Catholic doctrine is found in th
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1030-1032
° The United Methodist Church teaches the "truth of intercessory prayer for the dead" and that "prayer for the dead has been a widespread practice throughout Christian history ndis a profound act of love addressed to a God of love". ′

Text

Latin

The Latin text in the

Roman Rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while dist ...

of the Catholic Church is: :℣. Requiem æternam dona ei (eis), Domine :℟. Et lux perpetua luceat ei (eis): :℣. Requiescat (-ant) in pace. :℟. Amen.

English

The translation used by English-speaking Roman Catholics is: :℣. Eternal rest, grant unto him/her (them), O , :℟. And let perpetual light shine upon him/her (them). :℣. May he/she (they) rest in peace. :℟. Amen. The translation used by English-speaking Lutherans is: :℣. Rest eternal grant him/her, O ; :℟. and let light perpetual shine upon him/her. :℣. May he/she rest in peace. :℟. Amen. The translation used by English-speaking

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

s is: :℣. Rest eternal grant unto them, O : :℟. and let light perpetual shine upon them. :℣. May they rest in peace. :℟. Amen. A variation of the prayer said by American Methodist clergy during A Service of Death and Resurrection is: Eternal God,
we praise you for the great company of all those
who have finished their course in faith
and now rest from their labor.
We praise you for those dear to us
whom we name in our hearts before you.
Especially we praise you for Name,
whom you have graciously received into your presence.
To all of these, grant your peace.
Let perpetual light shine upon them;
and help us so to believe where we have not seen,
that your presence may lead us through our years,
and bring us at last with them
into the joy of your home
not made with hands but eternal in the heavens;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

References

{{Catholic Prayers Christian prayer Roman Catholic prayers

Theology

Text

Latin

English

See also

References