{"id":453,"date":"2024-10-24T12:12:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-24T10:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pastoralcentre.pl\/?page_id=453"},"modified":"2024-10-24T12:13:07","modified_gmt":"2024-10-24T10:13:07","slug":"indulgences","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pastoralcentre.pl\/index.php\/indulgences\/","title":{"rendered":"Indulgences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What Is an Indulgence?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sin has consequences. Every sin incurs both guilt and the liability of punishment. Scripture speaks of guilt as clinging to our souls, making them unclean before God: \u201cThough your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool\u201d (Is 1:18). The Bible also indicates that some punishments are eternal, lasting forever, but others are temporal. Eternal punishment is mentioned in Daniel 12:2: \u201cAnd many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt.\u201d Temporal punishment \u2013 consequences of sin that happen in time \u2013 is real and goes back to the first sin humans committed: \u201cTo the woman he said, \u2018I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children\u201d (Gn 3:16).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s important to understand that in the Bible, \u201cpunishment\u201d is not some arbitrary thing that God imposes on people because he\u2019s angry. \u201cPunishment\u201d means the very real consequences of our sins. For example, if we cheat on our spouse, our spouse and our children are harmed, with consequences that can be felt in future generations; they are \u201cpunished\u201d for our choice. If we steal something, another person is made poorer, and we will lose the trust and respect of others, as well as helping to create a society where people live in fear and suspicion. We are responsible for the bad consequences that come to us and other people when we sin. And that requires some kind of justice, redress, repair of the damage done. But since only God himself can perfectly fulfill justice, God himself has to offer us the means of escaping the punishment that is due to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The obvious way to try to repair the consequences of our sins is confessing them, making reparation (repaying what we stole, for example), doing acts of penance and charity to show God our sorrow as well as try to repair the damage done to society by our sins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But God gave Peter, the first pope, another means of helping people make reparation for their sins, saying, \u201cTruly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven\u201d (Mt 18:18). This \u201cbinding\u201d and \u201cloosing\u201d means effectively holding someone responsible for his sins (punishment) or setting him free from the punishment for his sins. In practice, this means that if the Church \u2013 in the person and authority of the pope \u2013 declares that certain prayers or penitential acts can set us free from the punishment due to sin, heaven will accept and ratify the Church\u2019s declaration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Jesus walked the earth, he was able to tell people directly, \u201cYour sins are forgiven,\u201d but he also set them free from the consequences of their sins, the punishment due to them, for example, when he did not throw stones at the woman taken in adultery, but set her free, saying, \u201cNeither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.\u201d This power Jesus has left with his Church, and it is available to us still today in the form of indulgences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The consequences of our sins don\u2019t simply vanish when we die. Even if we confess our sins and receive absolution, we are not perfectly pure. Since nothing impure can be in the presence of God, something must be done after death to remove the stain of guilt and the punishment that is due to us. This purification before we enter directly into the presence of God is called \u201cPurgatory.\u201d It is virtually impossible to escape Purgatory, and once we have died, we are no longer able to do acts of reparation, penance or charity to try to atone for our sins. We depend on people still on earth to help us with their prayers and sacrifices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We find this custom of assisting the faithful departed in the Old Testament, when Judah Maccabee finds that some of the Lord\u2019s soldiers had died in battle while wearing pagan amulets. Judah and his men \u201cturned to prayer, beseeching that the sin which had been committed might be wholly blotted out\u201d (2 Mac 12:42). Judah also \u201ctook up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this\u2026he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin\u201d (2 Mac 12:43, 46).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two Kinds of Indulgences<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two kinds of indulgences: partial and plenary. \u201cPlenary\u201d means \u201ccomplete\u201d or \u2018full.\u201d A partial indulgence releases someone from part of the punishment in Purgatory that is due to them for their sins. A plenary indulgence remits the entire punishment due to sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conditions for Receiving an Indulgence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like the condition for receiving absolution in confession, receiving the benefit of an indulgence for ourselves requires repentance for our sins and detachment from sin. This means we cannot actively desire or wish to enjoy indulging in sin. We have to reject sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, the souls in Purgatory can no longer desire sin; they desire only God. So if you offer an indulgence for a person in Purgatory, that person\u2019s detachment from sin is taken for granted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, indulgences are not a magic trick or a way of manipulating God: if our hearts are not sincere, God will not bless us with his mercy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we sincerely reject sin, there are other requirements for receiving an indulgence, either for ourselves or for other people:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Sacramental confession. We need to be in a state of grace to receive God\u2019s grace. Sacramental confession involves rejecting our attachment to sin, so making a good confession to a priest is necessary.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. We should receive Holy Communion once we have been to confession.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. We need to pray for the intentions of the Holy Father (the Pope). This is fitting, given the Holy Father\u2019s role as the one who has the authority to \u201cloose and bind\u201d by granting indulgences.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Completing the indulgenced act. This might be a prayer, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, visit to a holy place, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Normally, the four requirements can be fulfilled within a few days of each other. For example, going to confession on Friday, then Holy Communion at Sunday Mass, followed by the indulgenced act and praying for the Holy Father\u2019s intentions \u2013 all while continuing in a state of grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Particular Indulgenced Acts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Holy Father can grant indulgences on special occasions, for example on the anniversary of the founding of a religious order, during a Year of Jubilee, or under some other special circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Many common prayers and pious acts carry indulgences, but often Catholics don\u2019t realize that an indulgence is possible, for example, when they make the sign of the Cross, pray the rosary with a group, visit the Blessed Sacrament, read Scripture for a half hour or more, or pray the Stations of the Cross. You can also gain indulgences for souls in Purgatory. It is worth staying in a state of grace (making a regular confession), receiving Holy Communion, praying for the Holy Father and consciously asking for the indulgence for yourself or souls in Purgatory when you say these prayers or engage in these pious acts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For a list of 70 indulgenced acts listed in the Enchiridion of Indulgences (a text containing the essential information about indulgences), follow this link: https:\/\/www.catholic.org\/prayers\/indulgw.php<\/a>. You may be surprised to discover how often you have the opportunity to receive an indulgence for yourself or the faithful departed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    What Is an Indulgence? Sin has consequences. Every sin incurs both guilt and the liability of punishment. Scripture speaks of guilt as clinging to our souls, making them unclean before God: \u201cThough your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool\u201d (Is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-453","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pastoralcentre.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pastoralcentre.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pastoralcentre.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pastoralcentre.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pastoralcentre.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pastoralcentre.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":456,"href":"https:\/\/www.pastoralcentre.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/453\/revisions\/456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pastoralcentre.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}