Q. What exactly is an
indulgence and could you provide some examples of how to obtain one?
A. The Compendium of the
Current Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “Indulgences are the remission
before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been
forgiven. The faithful Christian who is
duly disposed gains the indulgence under prescribed conditions for either himself or the departed. Indulgences are granted through the ministry
of the Church which, as the dispenser of the grace of redemption, distributes
the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints.” (No. 312). An indulgence can be either partial, which
remits only some of the temporal punishment due to sin, or plenary, which
remits all temporal punishment due to sin.
The usual conditions for obtaining a partial indulgence are: (1) be in a
state of grace (free of mortal sin); (2) intend to receive the indulgence; (3)
perform the prescribed action of the indulgence. The usual conditions for obtaining a plenary
indulgence are: (1) have the intention of gaining the indulgence; (2) be free
from all attachment to venial sin; The following must be completed within a few
days before or after the prescribed action of the indulgence, though the same
day is best, if possible: (1) Receive the Sacrament of Penance; (2) Receive the
Eucharist; (3) Pray for the intentions of the Holy Father.
The Norms
guiding the obtaining of indulgences can be found in the Apostolic Constitution
Indulgentiarum doctrina.
Some examples
of partial indulgences are: recitation of certain prayers, saying the Creed,
praying the rosary in private, teaching or studying Christian doctrine, the
praying of litanies, the Magnificat, reading of Sacred Scripture, among others.
Some examples
of plenary indulgences are: Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for at least one
hour. Making the Way of the Cross or, if
unable to get to a church, the pious meditation and reading on the Passion and
Death of Our Lord for a half an hour. Public recitation of five decades of the
Rosary (this must be done vocally, continuously, and with the Mysteries
announced out loud and meditated on). A
plenary indulgence is granted on each Friday of Lent to the faithful who after
Communion piously recite before an image of Christ crucified the prayer: “Look
down upon me, good and gentle Jesus,” (on the other days of the year the
indulgence is partial). A plenary
indulgence is gained when an Act of Consecration is publicly recited on the
feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. A
plenary indulgence is received by those who publicly make the Act of
Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart on the Feast of Christ the
King (last Sunday in October per the traditional calendar). A pious visit to a church, a public or chapel
on All Souls' Day (November 2) with the prayers of one Our Father and the
Creed; this indulgence is applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory. A devout visit to a cemetery with a prayer,
even if only mental, for the departed souls, from the first to the eighth day
of November.
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