“Tell people the truth if you love them. Everybody does not go to heaven. Everybody is not resting in peace. A lot of folks are in hell because they did not repent and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior when they were alive. The Bible says there is no Peace for the wicket. (Isaiah 48:22) Yes Hell is Real and people go there every day. ‘He is in a better place now.’ That statement does not apply to everybody who died.We can REST IN PEACE when we die, if we: REPENT and turn back to God.Accept Jesus Christ as our personal LORD and SAVIOR. BELIEVE on His DEATH on the cross and on HIS RESURRECTION.Be ye saved while we are still alive.Now is the time for salvation.” – Unknown

I was scrolling Facebook when this came across my timeline. It was posted with the above photo. I thought it was interesting. As I was reading it, it seems as if the author of the post is confused about the intent behind the “Rest in Peace”.  We all have seen this statement chiseled on tombstones and said out loud when someone departs from this world, but where does this statement come from? What does it mean? Does it mean that we are simply saying that the deceased person is resting in peace or going to heaven; or does it mean something entirely different. Let’s explore this further.

The saying “Rest in Peace” or R.I.P comes from the Latin “Requiescat in pace”. It comes from a prayer for the dead and used in the requiem masses in the Catholic faith. The full prayer is “Eternal rest, grant unto him/her (them), O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him/her (them). May he/she (they) rest in peace. Amen.” 

This does not mean that we are saying that those who die are automatically going to heaven, but rather we are saying that we hope that they are in heaven or are in purgatory on their way to heaven. Prayers offered for the dead in the religion goes back to the old testament. “Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin” (2 macc 12:45 RSVCE). The Catechism of the Catholic church tells us that “From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead: Let us help and commemorate them. If Job’s sons were purified by their father’s sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them” (1032).

Over the years, the meaning has often been lost and reduced to a simple R.I.P probably from means of tradition or the societal norm, especially among a lot of the protestant denominations in the Christian religion that do not believe in purgatory or prayers for the dead and that also want to avoid any Catholic beliefs.