Indulgences

“Seek for yourself, O man; search for your true self. He who seeks shall find himself in God.”  

St. Augustine

What Are Plenary & Partial Indulgences?

Even though confessed and forgiven sins will not send a person to hell, consequences remain to be paid on earth or in Purgatory. An indulgence frees the recipient from those consequences. Reception of an indulgence always springs from sincere repentance, the desire to live a Holy life, reception of the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion as soon as possible and Prayer for the Holy Father. An indulgence cannot be bought, nor can one be obtained by going through the motions without sincerity.
 
A partial indulgence covers part of the punishment due for sins; a plenary indulgence removes all of it. Both kinds of indulgence come from the merits of Jesus, the Blessed Mother and the Saints. These “merits” are the opposite of “demerits.”  They are Spiritual Fruits accumulated through Holy living. To grant indulgences, the Church draws on a great treasury of merits: the infinite value of Christ’s Passion, death and Resurrection, and the Prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints – including all of those on earth who live Holy lives.

General Conditions

The following “General Remarks on Indulgences” from Gift of the Indulgence summarizes the usual conditions given in the Church’s Law (cf. Apostolic Penitentiary, Prot. N. 39/05/I):

1. This is how an indulgence is defined in the Code of Canon Law (can. 992) and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 1471): “An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the Faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the Saints”.
2. In general, the gaining of indulgences requires certain prescribed conditions (below, nn. 3, 4), and the performance of certain prescribed works ….. [in this case, those granted for the Feast of Mercy]
3. To gain indulgences, whether plenary or partial, it is necessary that the Faithful be in the state of Grace at least at the time the indulgenced work is completed.  [i.e. one must be a Catholic, not excommunicated or in schism.]
4. A plenary indulgence can be gained only once a day. In order to obtain it, the Faithful must, in addition to being in the state of Grace:
   •  Have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin
   •  Have Sacramentally confessed their sins
   •  Receive the Holy Eucharist (it is certainly better to receive it while participating in Holy Mass, but for the indulgence only Holy Communion is required)
   •  Pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff (the Pope)
5. It is appropriate, but not necessary, that the Sacramental Confession and especially Holy Communion and the Prayer for the Pope’s intentions take place on the same day that the indulgenced work is performed; but it is sufficient that these Sacred Rites and Prayers be carried out within several days (about 20) before or after the indulgenced act. Prayer for the Pope’s intentions is left to the choice of the Faithful, but an “Our Father” and a “Hail Mary” are suggested (and, most often, a “Glory Be” is said, as well). One Sacramental Confession suffices for several plenary indulgences, but a separate Holy Communion and a separate Prayer for the Holy Father’s intentions are required for each plenary indulgence.
6. For the sake of those legitimately impeded, confessors can commute both the work prescribed and the conditions required (except, obviously, detachment from even venial sin).
7. Indulgences can always be applied either to oneself or to the Souls of the deceased, but they cannot be applied to other persons living on earth.

INDULGENCED ACTS

There are many acts to which our Holy Mother Church has attached indulgences. Here are a few easy ones.

1. ADORATION. Spend at least 30 minutes in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. It needn’t be exposed, as It is in a Monstrance. Jesus can be residing in the Tabernacle as you spend time with Him. But exposition is OK, too.
2. SCRIPTURE.  Spend at least 30 minutes reading Sacred Scripture, as Spiritual reading, with the Veneration due to the Word of God.
3. STATIONS. Do the Stations of the Cross. This requires that you walk from Station to Station in Church.  No specific Prayers are required, but Devout Meditation on the Passion and Death of Our Lord is required.
4. ROSARY. Pray the Rosary (at least 5 decades), with Devout Meditation on the Mysteries, in addition to the vocal recitation. There are conditions to this: you must be in a Church or Chapel, or else Praying with your Family, a Religious Community or a Pious Association (like the Rosary Confraternity). The five decades must be Prayed without interruption; meditation on the Mysteries must be added to the vocal recitation; and in public recitation the Mysteries must be announced according to approved local custom.

Other Indulgenced Acts include:

• Performing Spiritual exercises of at least three days.
• Those who make their First Communion or who assist at another’s First Communion.
• Celebrating or assisting at a Priest’s first solemn Mass, or at his 25th, 50th or 60th anniversary Mass.
• Visiting a Church or Altar on the day of its dedication and Praying an Our Father and a Creed.
• Renewing your Baptismal Promises during the Easter Vigil or on the anniversary of our Baptism.
• Devoutly receiving a Papal Blessing in person or through live transmission by radio, television or Internet.
• Each Friday during Lent, we can obtain a plenary indulgence by Piously Reciting the Prayer “Look down Upon Me, Good and Gentle Jesus” after Communion, before an Image of Christ Crucified.

An important note: “Apart from the plenary indulgences, Catholics do well to be aware that most of their habitual Prayers, Sacrifices and habitual service to others, from the Sign of the Cross to the Hail Mary, are endowed with partial indulgences which increase their weight before God and give them an opportunity to exercise selfless charity in offering their Prayers in benefit of the Souls in Purgatory.”

The norms given here are from the official Enchiridion of Indulgences (1968) and the Apostolic Constitution The Doctrine of Indulgences (1967).