List Of Indulgences

[MIKolbe]

iawtc

[Catherine Therese]

[url="http://www.usccbpublishing.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=705"]CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT ABOUT THE OFFICIAL MANUAL FOR INDULGENCES[/url]
TOTALLY worth getting your hands on this little puppy. Explains the lot - what an indulgence is, and many of the different ways to obtain one.

Much as I know that the whole idea of a 'bank' is a commonly used way of explaining indulgences, I think sometimes this can be confusing because its really only an analogy. Here, I've tried to explain what it is in what is hopefully plain English rather than using an analogy. I hope it helps anyone who is still confused about this, having read everyone else's explanations. I've explained it using numbered points so that it is easy to reference if you want to question it.

1. The reality is, when we sin, there is the sinful act itself that needs to be forgiven, and there is also the damaging effect that the sinful act has on our soul.

2. When we make a good confession, we are forgiven for having committed the sinful act - God doesn't hold it against us at all.

3. What confession does NOT address, though, is the effect that sin has on our soul.

4. Bit by bit, frequent sin influences the attitudes of our hearts, it damages our disposition towards God. This is generally something that we're not really consciously aware of, something that can't really be quantified. Only God really sees the extent to which this damage occurs.

5. Now this damage to our soul can be reversed - God often allows suffering that can, if experienced with the right attitude, function as a sort of purification that repairs the damage that sin has left behind.

6. An indulgence is a means by which we can obtain purification, often without any drastic suffering, although never without some effort and the correct intention.

7. A plenary indulgence is TOTAL purification for the damage caused by past sins to date.

8. A partial indulgence is partial purification, and only God knows the extent to which further purification is required before that soul is ready for Heaven.

9. There are a number of conditions that need to be met for an indulgence to be obtained, depending on the type of indulgence. The book that I've linked to at the beginning of this post explains what these are.

10. An indulgence can be gained either for yourself or for a soul in purgatory. You cannot gain an indulgence for another living person.


FINALLY, I thought I'd pop down two very easy ways of obtaining a partial indulgence:


OPTION 1:
a) Pray the [i]Anima Christi[/i] with the intention of gaining a partial indulgence (either for yourself or for a soul in purgatory)
b) Receive the Sacrament of Confession and receive the Eucharist within a week either side of praying the [i]Anima Christi[/i]
c) Pray one [i]Our Father[/i] and one [i]Hail Mary[/i] for the Holy Father and his intentions
If these three things are done with a sincere intention to please God, this is a partial indulgence, right here!

OPTION 2:

a) Pray the [i]Magnificat[/i] with the intention of gaining a partial indulgence (either for yourself or for a soul in purgatory)
b) Receive the Sacrament of Confession and receive the Eucharist within a week either side of praying the [i]Magnificat[/i]
c) Pray one [i]Our Father[/i] and one [i]Hail Mary[/i] for the Holy Father and his intentions
If these three things are done with a sincere intention to please God, this is a partial indulgence, right here!

I try to remember to obtain these each day - I pray the [i]Anima Christi[/i] after Mass each day, and I pray the [i]Magnificat[/i] as part of Vespers each day. Normally rather than specifically requesting to whom I want the indulgence to go, I will entrust the graces of the indulgence to God to apply to the soul most in need, whether that be myself or one of the many souls in purgatory.

Unfortunately, despite praying these prayers daily, I occasionally forget to express my intention to God of obtaining an indulgence, so sometimes I miss out! Seriously though - when we remember to do it, what a wonderful service this can be for the souls in purgatory!! I'm a big fan of indulgences - a beautiful way of contributing to the economy of salvation within the broader communion of saints!!

(Disclaimer: I've typed this from my own memory of what I've read... hopefully I haven't misrepresented any of the details. Good rule of thumb is always to check the Manual for Indulgences to be sure.)

Edited March 2, 2011 by Catherine Therese

[Catherine Therese]

One more thing I forgot!

Sr Mary Barbara OP once explained that a way of explaining indulgences so that even children could understand was this - when you hammer a nail into a piece of wood, and you want the wood to be whole again, you need to do two things:
i. You need to pull the nail out
ii.Then you need to fill in the hole.

Pulling the nail out is Confession - thats where the sin is forgiven. There is still evidence that a sin was committed by the effect it leaves behind, though, isn't there? Filling in the hole again is the indulgence - this purifies the soul and removes the damaging effects, so its like the sin never even happened in the first place.

[Mr.Cat]

[url="http://www.ourladyswarriors.org/indulge/index.html"][b]Partial Indulgences[/b][/url]

[url="http://www.ourladyswarriors.org/indulge/plenary.htm"][b]Plenary Indulgences[/b][/url]

Days and years have been removed from indulgences I suspect, but I could be mistaken. Although if I remember my catechism the days and years attached to indulgence was not time in purgatory remitted, but rather it was the equivalent time of worthy penance and reparation. It was related to the early Church when there were guidelines in prescribing penances, which could be unreasonable, rash, difficult, and lengthy.

Edited March 3, 2011 by Mr.CatholicCat

[Lilllabettt]

Don't forget the big one ... the Apostolic Pardon.

[tarc]

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/tribunals/apost_penit/documents/rc_trib_appen_doc_20020826_enchiridion-indulgentiarum_lt.html
http://www.ecclesiamilitans.com/enchiridion_of_indulgences.pdf