Eternal Rest

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 (in Catholicism) (2) to rest in the love of God the souls of the faithful departed in Paradise until the resurrection of the dead and Last Judgement (in Catholicism, Lutheranism, Anglicanism and Methodism)[1] The prayer is cited from 2 Esdras (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.

This Catholic doctrine is found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1030-1032:All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.

"[2] For those who have died, Martin Luther declared that 'I regard it as no sin to pray with free devotion in this or some similar fashion: Dear God, if this soul is in a condition accessible to mercy, be thou gracious to it.

(Luther’s Works, Volume 37)[2] 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 [and] is a profound act of love addressed to a God of love".

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.