Caput LXX. De requie aeterna et gloria sanctorum.
The Unspeakable Rest of the Saints
The eternal rest promised to the saints is beyond human comprehension, awaiting the fulfillment of their number so they may rise in glory.
Truly, what kind of rest is that — that peace, that joy from the bosom of Abraham, promised and awaited there for those who rest? Experience hasn't taught it, and no pen can explain it.✦1 The blessed ones wait until the number of their brothers is fulfilled, so that on the day of the resurrection, clothed in a twofold robe, they may enjoy perpetual happiness in body and soul alike.✦✦2
Read the original Latin
Sane qualis sit illa requies, quae pax illa, quae jucunditas de sinu Abrahae, quae illic quiescentibus promittitur, et exspectatur, quia experientia non docuit, stilus explicare non poterit. Exspectant felices, donec impleatur numerus fratrum suorum; ut in die resurrectionis duplici stola induti, corporis pariter et animae perpetua felicitate fruantur.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Luke.16.22-Luke.16.23 — And it happened that the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. Luke.16.23 — And in Hades, while he was in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus at his side.
- ↩Rom.11.25-Rom.11.26;Rev.6.11 — For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be wise in your own estimation: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. Rom.11.26 — And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: 'The Deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.' Rev.6.11 — And a white robe was given to each of them, and it was said to them that they should rest yet for a little while, until their fellow servants and their brothers, who were about to be killed as they also had been, would be fulfilled.
- ↩Rev.19.8;2Cor.5.1-2Cor.5.4 — And it was granted to her that she be clothed in fine linen, bright and pure—for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 2Cor.5.1 — For we know that if our earthly tent-house is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2Cor.5.2 — Indeed, in this body we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven. 2Cor.5.3 — since, when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 2Cor.5.4 — For indeed, while we are in this tent, we groan under the weight of it — because we do not wish to be unclothed, but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
Notes
- 1 ↩The threefold relative clause (requies / pax / jucunditas) is deliberately stacked: rest, peace, and joy are treated as overlapping names for the same reality. The final quia clause gives the reason it resists description: it is known only by experience, not by writing.
- 2 ↩Duplici stola (twofold robe) is traditionally understood as the glorified body and the beatific joy of the soul — the double garment of resurrection. The ut clause is purpose-oriented: the waiting serves the completion of the elect before the shared resurrection.
De institutione inclusarum (A Rule of Life for a Recluse) companion
A rule only lives if you keep it daily
Chosen Portion gives your new rule its anchor: one free devotional portion every day.
Aelred built his sister's day around fixed times of prayer and meditation; Chosen Portion supplies the fixed daily portion that makes a modern rule of life keepable.
- Anchor your rule with a fixed 10-minute daily portion
- Practice Aelred's threefold meditation with guided daily prompts
- Review and adjust your one-page rule after 30 days of tracked practice