helping your soul to rest in peace

One of the aspects of The Little Book of Hours that I like best is that the morning and evening prayers end with this:

May the souls of the faithful by the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

This repetition of “rest in peace” was one of the first things that caught my attention when I started using the prayer book several years ago. Growing up, the only time I heard “rest in peace” was in regard to gravestones, so I wondered why this prayer was a a regular feature. I concluded that while the original intent of the prayer may have been for the “dearly departed,” I was going to speak it as a prayer for myself and my family.

In charismatic churches (and perhaps in others as well), it is a commonplace that the word soul in Scripture refers to the mind, will, and emotions. You don’t have to think long to recognize that it is your mind, your will, and your emotions that most need rest. Physical, bodily exertion takes a toll, but we can usually recover from that pretty quickly. The body knows how to sleep and care for itself, to get its rest. Mind, will, and emotions are a different matter. Our mind is going at a pretty good clip all the time, and for many of us, our emotions are following right behind–or maybe even leading. Regardless, it can be a real challenge to quiet our thinking, to bring our will into submission, and to calm our emotions.

So for me, this prayer becomes “May the mind, will, and emotions of the faithful by the mercy of God rest in peace.” And that’s a powerful prayer. Hebrews 3 and 4 encourage us to enter the rest of God:

“So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest” (4:9–11)

This is a rest for the here and now, just as Jesus tells us,

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28–29)

And David’s literal wording of Psalm 23’s “beside the still waters” is “beside waters of rest,” a phrase that I like better.

Finally, in Isaiah, God himself tells us:

In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” (30:15)

I want that rest. I need that rest. And I suspect that you do too. Try praying “may the souls of the faithful by the mercy of God rest in peace.” Meditate on the peace of God, and I think you’ll discover that it refreshes your soul.

Notes:
1. These other posts on rest may help you as well.
2. Research revealed that “may the souls of the faithful departed by the mercy of God rest in peace” concludes Roman Catholic burial services and is a part of praying the Stations of the Cross as well. It’s interesting that the compilers of The Little Book of Hours left out departed.

Tagged as: Book of Hours, emotions, peace, prayer, rest, soul