The Grace of the indulgence

In the Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025, “Spes non confundit”, Pope Francis recalls the decisive role of the sacrament of Penance in Christian life and the richness of Grace, which reaches us, through the Church, with the gift of Indulgence.

The sacrament of Penance assures us that God wipes away our sins. We experience those powerful and comforting words of the Psalm: “It is he who forgives all your guilt, who heals every one of your ills, who redeems your life from the grave, who crowns you with love and compassion… The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy… He does not treat us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our faults. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so strong is his love for those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our sins” (Ps 103:3-4.8.10-12). The sacrament of Reconciliation is not only a magnificent spiritual gift, but also a decisive, essential and fundamental step on our journey of faith. There, we allow the Lord to erase our sins, to heal our hearts, to raise us up, to embrace us and to reveal to us his tender and compassionate countenance. There is no better way to know God than to let him reconcile us to himself (cf. 2 Cor 5:20) and savour his forgiveness. Let us not neglect Confession but rediscover the beauty of this sacrament of healing and joy, the beauty of God’s forgiveness of our sins!

Still, as we know from personal experience, every sin “leaves its mark”. Sin has consequences, not only outwardly in the effects of the wrong we do, but also inwardly, inasmuch as “every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death, in the state called Purgatory”. [CCC 1472] In our humanity, weak and attracted by evil, certain residual effects of sin remain. These are removed by the indulgence, always by the grace of Christ, who, as Saint Paul VI wrote, “is himself our ‘indulgence’”.

(cf. “Spes non confundit” no.23)

 

For a fuller understanding of the gift of Indulgence, it is worthwhile also going back to what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches under nos. 1471-1479.

What is an indulgence?

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.”

“An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin”. “Indulgences may be applied to the living or the dead.”

The punishments of sin

It is not possible to fully understand how precious and liberating the gift of Indulgences is without understanding what the punishments of sin are. The Catechism of the Catholic Church comes to our help here.

1472 To understand this doctrine and practice of the Church, it is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence. Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the "eternal punishment" of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the "temporal punishment" of sin. These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain.

1473 The forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment of sin remains. While patiently bearing sufferings and trials of all kinds and, when the day comes, serenely facing death, the Christian must strive to accept this temporal punishment of sin as a grace. He should strive by works of mercy and charity, as well as by prayer and the various practices of penance, to put off completely the "old man" and to put on the "new man.”

In the communion of saints

The precious and fundamental gifts of our Baptism must also include and our living and vivifying insertion in the Church, in the communion of Saints. Let the Catechism guide us once again.

1474 The Christian who seeks to purify himself of his sin and to become holy with the help of God's grace is not alone. (…).

1475 In the communion of saints, "a perennial link of charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth. between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all good things." In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others. Thus, recourse to the communion of saints lets the contrite sinner be more promptly and efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin.

1476 We also call these spiritual goods of the communion of saints the Church's treasury, which is "not the sum total of the material goods which have accumulated during the course of the centuries. On the contrary the 'treasury of the Church' is the infinite value, which can never be exhausted, which Christ's merits have before God. They were offered so that the whole of mankind could be set free from sin and attain communion with the Father. In Christ, the Redeemer himself, the satisfactions and merits of his Redemption exist and find their efficacy."

1477 “This treasury includes as well as the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They are truly immense, unfathomable, and even pristine in their value before God. In the treasury, too, are the prayers and good works of all the saints, all those who have followed in the footsteps of Christ the Lord and by his grace have made their lives holy and carried out the mission the Father entrusted to them. (…)”.

Obtaining indulgence from God through the Church

We also through the gift of Indulgences that we feel the motherhood of the Church which, at the same time, heals us and exhorts us, corrects us and points out to us the way of holiness, giving us all the instruments of Grace necessary to live our Baptism and the sequel of Jesus Christ, in every state of life, to reach and enjoy, as quickly as possible, the fullness of the eternal Communion with the Very Holy Trinity.

1478 An indulgence is obtained through the Church who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favour of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the temporal punishments due for their sins. Thus, the Church does not want simply to come to the aid of these Christians, but also to spur them to works of devotion, penance, and charity.

1479 Since the faithful departed now being purified are also members of the same communion of saints, one way we can help them is to obtain indulgences for them, so that the temporal punishments due for their sins may be remitted.

Over the centuries, the Church has offered many occasions and chances to obtain the gift of Indulgences. The best known one is that of the Jubilee, even though it is not the only one.

The Holy Land, by its very nature, is without a doubt the Place par excellence for a pilgrimage with a path of penance and conversion and to be filled by the Lord with his presence and with the grace of his mercy.

How can you obtain indulgence?

Plenary indulgence (the complete decree) can be acquired for oneself only once a day and gained a second time, applicable only to the deceased (Decree on the granting of the indulgence of the Jubilee year 2025).

The following are necessary to obtain it:

  1. Carry out the work to which the indulgence is annexed*
  2. Exclusion of any affection to the sin, including venial
  3. Fulfil the three conditions:
    • the sacrament of confession **
    • Eucharistic communion ***
    • Pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff

* The practice to which the indulgence is annexes is often made up of a visit to a place (shrine or church). In this case, the faithful must made a pious visit to these holy places, reciting in them the Lord’s Prayer and the Symbol of the Faith (i.e. the Lord’s Prayer and the Credo).

** The faithful can receive or apply for an appropriate period of time the gift of plenary indulgence including on a daily basis without having to repeat confession (Decree on the granting of the Indulgence for the Jubilee Year 2000).

*** It is opportune that receiving the Eucharist – necessary for each indulgence – takes place on the same day in which the indulgenced work is performed (Decree for the granting of indulgence of the jubilee year 2000).

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