Purgatory vs. "rest in the sleep of peace" in the Canon of the Mass

[The_Reginator]

For the Vigil of Pentecost our parish (which celebrates the Novus Ordo rite only) used the Canon of the Mass (Eucharistic Prayer #1).
It was nice to hear the ancient Canon which for centuries was the one and only Eucharistic Prayer in the Roman Rite.
But ...
An old problem was brought back to my mind. From my 1962 Latin/English Missal:

Remember also, O Lord, Thy servants and handmaids N. and N. who are gone before us with the sign of faith, and rest in the sleep of peace.

I was taught, or somehow came under the impression, that after death comes judgement, then heaven or hell. Most people who are destined for heaven pass through purgatory first -- "The Church Suffering". Purgatory is not "resting in the sleep of peace", but rather a time of suffering (hence the title "The Church Suffering"). We have no reason to pray for the souls who are damned to hell or those who are already in heaven.

I once looked up something called "soul sleep" which is a protestant idea that everyone's souls simply sleep until the resurrection. Many protestants do not seem to understand or accept the "resurrection of the body", but rather think that our souls, too, await Christ's second coming before they are resurrected, body and soul.

Why does the Church use the phrase "rest in the sleep of peace" rather than simply pray for the poor, holy souls in purgatory? How ancient is this??

Thanks for your input, Reg

 

[HomeschoolDad]

Here is the relevant passage, this from the Lasance missal:



At the very least, it goes back to the promulgation of the Tridentine missal in 1570 by Pope St Pius V, and very likely way before then, Pius did not just create a eucharistic canon out of whole cloth, the Tridentine missal was basically the pre-existing missal of the diocese of Rome. What we familiarly call the "traditional Latin Mass" goes back at least to the time of St Gregory the Great and is sometimes referred to as the "Gregorian Mass". You raise a good point, it seems strange to ask Our Lord to "be mindful" of those who have either gone straight to heaven or have finished their expiation in purgatory, viz. "sleep the sleep of peace" (dormiunt in somno pacis). In the next sentence, though, we beseech Him to grant them this very peace.

I have to think there would be great peace in knowing that you can no longer sin, and can no longer go anywhere but heaven. Beyond that, I really can't parse that particular turn of phrase in the missal.

I attend the Traditional Latin Mass every Sunday and follow along in the missal, so I have seen this many times, but never gave it any thought.