Daily Prayers
Eternal Rest (Requiem Aeternam)
The Requiem Aeternam is the oldest and shortest prayer for the dead in the Western Church, drawn from the fourth book of Esdras and used in Christian burial from at least the sixth century.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace. Amen.
May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Requiem Aeternam, traditional prayer for the dead
About the prayer
It gives the Requiem Mass its name and is prayed at funerals, at gravesides, on All Souls' Day, in November, and whenever the faithful pass a cemetery or hear of a death. It asks two things only: rest, and light. Grieving people often find it easier to pray than longer prayers, because it can be said when nothing else can.
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