Dear Friends in Christ,

Here is an article about indulgences for those who need to know.

March 4, 2005

Indulgences have new meaning during this Year of Eucharist

by Jean M. Schildz, Review Staff Writer --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some Catholics visibly cringe when they hear the word "indulgences" and claim that they don’t exist anymore.

But in reality, indulgences are alive and well in the Church.

For example, late last year Pope John Paul II said Catholics can receive a plenary (full) indulgence for eucharistic adoration and prayer before the Eucharist during the Year of the Eucharist, which runs through this October.

Among other recent cases, the pope authorized in 2002 the recognition of a plenary indulgence to Catholics who participate fully in the Divine Mercy devotion, which takes place the Sunday after Easter.

During the Great Jubilee Year of 2000 Catholics also were able to receive an indulgence by making a pilgrimage to one of 15 St. Louis Archdiocese sites designated as pilgrimage churches.

What is an indulgence and why do some Catholics shy away from the idea?

Indulgences may help to abate or cancel punishments limited by time — known as temporal punishments — that may remain as a result of sin. Many Catholics think of indulgences as a means to reduce the time they may have to spend in purgatory, which is where we are cleansed of all sin before going to heaven.

An indulgence, according to the "Catechism of the Catholic Church," "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."

Father C. Eugene Morris, Kenrick-Glennon Seminary professor of sacramental theology, puts it more simply:

"An indulgence is the remission of the temporal punishment that may remain as a result of our sins" even though our sins have been forgiven.

Indulgences, he said, have their roots in the history of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In both, there is a recognition that we need God’s assistance to achieve a perfect relationship with Him.

When we repent, our sins are forgiven by God, but the residual of sin — its effects and consequences — may still remain as does the need to make things whole, Father Morris said.

"It’s the restitution, the making whole," the indulgence addresses, he said.

Nationally known Catholic apologist James Akin explains this in more detail in his "Primer on Indulgences." When we sin, he says, we incur both the liabilities of guilt and punishment. Punishments for sin can be temporal or eternal.

Said Akin, "When someone repents, God removes his guilt and any eternal punishment," but the Church teaches that temporal penalties may remain when a sin is forgiven.

While Jesus "paid the price for our sins before God, He did not relieve our obligation to repair what we have done," Akin says.

The catechism states that "an indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin."

A plenary indulgence removes all temporal punishment due to sin from birth to the moment a person completes the indulgence, while a partial indulgence provides for the removal of an undefined amount of temporal punishment due to sin, said theologian Lawrence J. Welch, Kenrick-Glennon Seminary professor of dogmatic theology.

A plenary indulgence may be gained only once a day. A partial indulgence may be gained several times a day unless something different is explicitly spelled out by the Church. In general, the distinction between the two types is in the various activities or prayers attached to each, Welch explained.

Catholics can gain indulgences for themselves or apply them to the dead. Gaining an indulgence for the dead, Welch said, is a beautiful way to continue to express love for deceased family members and others who have died.

Msgr. Joseph W. Baker, an archdiocesan theologian and longtime canon lawyer, stressed, however, that "we can specify a person, but the disposition is up to God.

We’re not telling God what to do, we’re asking."

Plenary indulgences, in particular, are difficult to obtain, because they require a perfect love for God and complete sorrow for sins, the theologians agreed.

Objectively, Welch acknowledged, "only God ultimately knows the exact amount of temporal punishment that’s been remitted."

Nevertheless, Msgr. Baker said, "indulgences offer us an opportunity to take away or at least lessen whatever punishment is still due to sin."

The Church’s exercise of offering indulgences is based on the authority given to it by Christ to make decisions on the disposition of souls in heaven and earth, referred to as "the power of the keys," Msgr. Baker said.

In Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 16, verse 19, "our Lord entrusted to Peter and the Church power over the instruments of salvation."

Welch, Father Morris and Msgr. Baker outlined the normal conditions necessary to be capable of gaining an indulgence, partial or plenary. Catholics must:

Be baptized;

Not excommunicated from the Church;

Live in a state of grace (meaning without mortal sin and striving to be good in every aspect of life), at least by the end of the prescribed work or prayer;

Have the intent to fulfill these conditions and carry out the work or prayer.

In addition, for plenary indulgences, Catholics must:

Receive Communion and the Sacrament of Reconciliation within seven days of performing the act of indulgence;

Pray for the intentions of the Holy Father (This can be done by reciting one "Hail Mary" and one "Our Father");

Perform the act of indulgence with a contrite heart and in a spirit of total detachment from the attraction of sin (meaning a person abhors all sin, not out of fear of sinning, but out of love of God above all other things).

Noted Welch, the last requirement "is a pretty difficult condition to fill. If one can’t fulfill it, then the indulgence becomes partial."

In the late Middle Ages and on into the 16th century serious abuses of indulgences occurred. There were charges that indulgences were being sold by the Church. Their abuse ultimately led to Martin Luther’s indictment of the Church and the Protestant Reformation.

These abuses, the theologians noted, were stopped centuries ago. Several reforms in the practice of granting indulgences were instituted by the Council of Trent in the mid-1500s. And, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "in 1567 Pope Pius V canceled all grants of indulgences involving any fees or other financial transactions."

No financial remuneration has been connected by the Church to indulgences since then. If someone today were to ask for money in exchange for one, it would not be a legitimate indulgence, Father Morris said.

It is this former abuse and a general lack of understanding of indulgences that lead some to shy away from the practice.

There also are those who choose to deny their efficacy, said Father Morris, because they don’t believe in sin, presume on God’s mercy and believe they are forgiven without the benefit of the Sacrament of Penance, or receive the sacrament and think they need not do anything else.

But because of the nature of sin itself and the potential for temporal punishment, there are other things we all need to do, which an indulgence can help address, he said.

Indulgences, said Father Morris, are "a neglected doctrine, but part of the life of sanctity" of the Church. God bless.

-- Ramanie Weerasinghe (lilanw@yahoo.com), March 05, 2005

Answers

and now you tell me the RCC ain't evil...everyone wants cash...

when did jesus say anything about indulgences?

-- sdqa (sdqa@sdqa.Com), March 05, 2005.

As the abcve article plainly states, indulgences have nothing to do with cash. Jesus told us to "store up riches in heaven". Indulgences are one way of responding to that divine command, in a sense making deposits in that heavenly account.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), March 05, 2005.

A prayer for Lent

Heavenly Father, forgive "sdqa," for he knows not what he is doing.

-- (Parce@Domine.PopuloTuo), March 05, 2005.

and now you tell me the RCC ain't evil...everyone wants cash...

do you even bother to read posts before you respond, sdqa. ten seconds of glancing at the article showed me this: No financial remuneration has been connected by the Church to indulgences since then. If someone today were to ask for money in exchange for one, it would not be a legitimate indulgence, Father Morris said.

your lack of comprehension of what has been said in this article only shows your anti catholic bias which taints all of your posts.

-- paul h (dontSendMeMail@notAnAddress.com), March 05, 2005.