What is the Eternal Rest prayer?

"Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen." It comes from the Church's funeral liturgy, where the same words are sung as the Requiem antiphon. Said for one person, "them" becomes "him" or "her".

What is the prayer for the souls in purgatory?

Any prayer offered for the dead is one. The Church attaches no required formula, and the Eternal Rest is the most common. What matters is the offering rather than the wording, and the Mass is the greatest of these — which is why Catholics ask for a Mass to be said for someone rather than only praying privately.

What do you say at a graveside?

The Eternal Rest, and then whatever you came to say. There is no script and nobody is marking it. If you want a psalm, Psalm 130 — the De Profundis — is the one the Church has used for the dead for fifteen centuries.

When should I pray for someone who has died?

Immediately, then on the third, seventh and thirtieth days if you want the traditional pattern, then on anniversaries, and in November — the whole month is given to the holy souls, beginning with All Souls’ Day on November 2. None of that is obligatory. Praying when they come to mind is the practice as most people actually keep it.

Catholic Prayers for the Dead

The one said most often is short enough to learn in a minute: “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.” Below it are prayers for someone who has just died, for the people left behind, for the holy souls, and for a parent.

Eternal Rest

The short one, said at a graveside, on hearing of a death, or whenever someone comes to mind. It is the prayer most Catholics reach for first, and the only one worth memorising.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.

For someone who has just died

In the hours after a death, at the bedside or away from it.

Go forth from this world, Christian soul, in the name of God the Father almighty who created you, in the name of Jesus Christ who suffered for you, and in the name of the Holy Spirit who was poured out upon you. May you rest in peace this day, and may your dwelling be with God.

For those left behind

When the person you are worried about is not the one who died.

Lord, you wept at the grave of your friend. Be near to those who are grieving now: give them sleep, patience with themselves, and people who stay. Where their faith is thin, hold it for them until they can carry it again. Amen.

For the holy souls in purgatory

Traditionally daily, and especially in November.

Merciful Father, hear the prayers of your Church for the souls who have died in your friendship and are not yet ready to see you. Complete in them what you began. Bring them quickly into your light, and let them pray for us in return. Amen.

For a parent who has died

On an anniversary, a birthday, or the days when it lands without warning.

God our Father, you gave me my mother and my father. Reward them for the good they did me, forgive them the harm, and forgive me mine. Grant them rest, and bring us together again where nothing is lost. Amen.

Why Catholics pray for the dead

Not every Christian prays for the dead, and one of the pages ranking for this search argues at length that nobody should. The Catholic answer is old and short: the Church has prayed for its dead since the catacombs, where the inscriptions ask it plainly; the practice is attested in 2 Maccabees 12, where Judas Maccabeus has sacrifice offered for fallen soldiers; and it follows from believing that the dead in Christ are alive and that charity does not stop at a graveside. If a person can be prayed for on Monday, something has to explain why they cannot be prayed for on Wednesday because they died on Tuesday. The Church has never found that explanation, so it keeps praying.

About the St Gertrude prayer

A prayer associated with St Gertrude the Great is widely circulated with a promise attached to it — that each recitation releases a specific number of souls from purgatory. The prayer itself is unobjectionable; the promise is not Church teaching. It rests on a private claim, the Church has never confirmed it, and the arithmetic of it sits badly with everything else the Church says about how intercession works. Pray for the dead as often as you can and leave the counting to God, who is not running a tally you can game.

The psalm the Church uses

Psalm 130, the De Profundis — “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord” — has been prayed for the dead for fifteen centuries. It is the one to reach for when the short prayers feel too short.

Read Psalm 130 in full.

Print it for the graveside

This page prints as a plain sheet with the navigation and colours dropped — which is the form most people actually want it in. Parishes and funeral ministries are welcome to print it.

For grace at the table rather than the graveside, there is grace before meals. If it is the grief rather than the prayers you came for, there is Scripture for grief.

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Frequently Asked Questions

The short one, said more than any other, is the Eternal Rest: "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen." It is said at a graveside, on hearing of a death, when passing a cemetery, or whenever someone comes to mind.