Indulgences still available!

Our Lutheran brethren may not be aware that although Brother Martin Luther opposed the abuse of indulgences, he was not opposed in principle to indulgences themselves. In his famous 95 Theses, Luther declared not only that those who were licitly commissioned by the Pope to grant pardons (indulgences) and were faithfully carrying out their tasks were to be received "with all reverence," but also that any who spoke against the "truth of apostolic pardons" (indulgences granted with the full authority of the Church) should be declared "anathema and accursed"! Here, in fact, is Luther in his own words from his 95 Theses (pictured below, right):

69. Bishops and curates are bound to admit the commissaries of apostolic pardons, with all reverence.

71. He who speaks against the truth of apostolic pardons, let him be anathema and accursed!

73. The pope justly thunders against those who, by any art, contrive the injury of the traffic in pardons.

91. If, therefore, pardons were preached according to the spirit and mind of the pope, all these doubts would be readily resolved; nay, they would not exist.

It is hardly Lutherans (or other Protestants) alone who may be surprised by this, since many Catholics today are as ignorant of their own tradition as are non-Catholics. How many of us, after all, could give a definition of an "indulgence" if we were asked what an indulgence was? Many myths about indulgences abound. A lot of people probably have some vague notion that it means buying or earning one's salvation or his way out of hell. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Here is the definition of an indulgence found in the Catholic Encyclopedia:

[A]n indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment due to sin, the guilt of which has been forgiven.

Notice, in particular the words "... the guilt of which has been forgiven" in the last part of the definition. An indulgence doesn't procure the forgiveness of the guilt of one's sins. That is something accomplished once-for-all by the sacrificial death of Christ on Calvary. An indulgence has no bearing on that. An indulgence is concerned with the temporal punishment due to sins that have been already forgiven. The natural question that arises is: "Why should any punishment remain if my sins have already been forgiven?" The answer is simple. Imagine you're apprearing in court after having received a speeding ticket for driving recklessly fast. Let's assume you're sorry for your recklessness, have resolved never to drive in such a manner again, and have already confessed your sin to God (and received sacramental absolution, if you're a Catholic). God has forgiven you. But you still have to face the magistrate in traffic court. You can't simply tell the judge: "Jesus has paid for my sins on Calvary, so I shouldn't be required to pay a fine." Temporal punishments can still follow even after sins have been forgiven. Now what business does the Church have with temporal punishments? When most of us die, we aren't yet perfectly sanctified. We haven't overcome all of our bad habits, paid all our debts, or taken care of all those unresolved issues that we've repressed somewhere in the recesses of our memories. We have stuff that still has to be taken care of, even if Christ has paid for our sins and earned our eternal salvation. The purging of all this remaining garbage in our souls is the business of Purgatory; and this is where the Church has always claimed the authority to grant remission of some or all of one's temporal punishments that would await him in Purgatory provided he fulfills certain conditions for an indulgence (pardon) while still alive. (A nice, clear explanation of Purgatory can be found in Peter Kreeft's book, Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Heaven But Never Dreamed of Asking. He includes an interesting account of C.S. Lewis's belief in Purgatory. See my further discussion of this here.)

A good example of what is involved in indulgences today can be seen in the indulgence currently being granted by the Holy See in connection with the year 2005, which has been declared the Year of the Eucharist. Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University provides the following clarifications about the Year-of-the-Eucharist Indulgence in an interview with Zenit news service:

ROME, FEB. 15, 2005 (Zenit.org) The new indulgence (its decree was published Jan. 14) may be obtained in two ways. First, "each time the faithful participate attentively and piously in a sacred function or a devotional exercise undertaken in honor of the Blessed Sacrament, solemnly exposed or conserved in the tabernacle."

Second, it is granted "to the clergy, to members of institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life, and to other faithful who are by law obliged to recite the Liturgy of the Hours, as well as to those who customarily recite the Divine Office out of pure devotion, each and every time they recite -- at the end of the day, in company or private -- vespers and night prayers before the Lord present in the tabernacle."

This latter norm created some confusion as even the Latin text was not perfectly clear.

One of the advantages of living in Rome is that one can pick up a phone and ask for clarifications. This process resolved several doubts.

One regarded the expressions "at the end of the day." Did this mean that vespers (Evening Prayer) and Night Prayer had to be prayed together one after the other? Another was the doubt highlighted by our reader regarding two plenary indulgences.

The reply was that although both offices must be prayed before the Blessed Sacrament in order to gain the plenary indulgence, they may be prayed at different moments of the evening.

With this point clear, the other followed naturally: We are dealing with a single plenary indulgence that requires two distinct moments of prayer. Hence, the norm that one may obtain only one plenary indulgence a day, applicable to oneself or to a soul in purgatory, remains in force.

No. 1471 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains: "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."

No. 1479 adds: "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 punishment due for their sins may be remitted."

The decree reminds the faithful that to obtain a plenary indulgence it is necessary to observe the "usual conditions":

1. Sacramental confession, usually within a week before or after obtaining the indulgence. One sacramental confession is sufficient for several indulgences.

2. Eucharistic Communion. Unlike confession, only one indulgence may be obtained for each Communion. Although this Communion may be fulfilled several days before or after obtaining the indulgence, it is preferable that this condition be fulfilled the same day. Thus, those who practice regular confession and daily Mass may obtain a plenary indulgence practically every day.

3. Prayer in keeping with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. Like Communion, prayer for the Pope's intentions must be recited for the gaining of each plenary indulgence. Although there are no prescribed prayers the condition is satisfied by reciting one Our Father and one Hail Mary.

4. Having the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin. This is the most difficult condition as even attachment to venial sin precludes the possibility of obtaining the indulgence. However, note that the condition is not freedom from all venial sin, but from attachment to sin; that is, that there is no sin which the soul is unwilling to renounce.

Apart from the above, here are some of the principal concessions of plenary indulgences within reach of most Catholics.

1. Remain in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at least half an hour.

2. The participation in the Adoration of the Cross, on Good Friday.

3. Spiritual exercises of at least three days.

4. Those who make their first Communion or who assist at another's first Communion.

5. Praying at least five decades of the rosary in a church or chapel, or else in family, a religious community or a pious association. The conditions are that the five decades be prayed without interruption; meditation on the mysteries must be added to the vocal recitation; and in public recitation the mysteries must be announced according to approved local custom.

6. Celebrating or assisting at a priest's first solemn Mass, or at his 25th, 50th or 60th anniversary Mass. The priest should also renew before God his proposal to faithfully fulfill the obligations of his vocation.

7. Visiting a church or altar on the day of its dedication and praying an Our Father and a Creed.

8. Renewing one's baptismal promises during the Easter Vigil or on the anniversary of one's baptism.

9. Reading sacred Scripture as spiritual reading with the devotion due to God's Word for at least a half-hour.

10. Making the pious exercise of the Way of the Cross. This must be done at legitimately erected stations, which require 14 crosses to which other images or statues may be added.

The Way of the Cross usually consists of 14 sacred readings, to which some vocal prayers may be added.

However, to fulfill the pious exercise it is enough to meditate on the Lord's passion and death, with no need to make a particular consideration regarding each individual station. Thus, one may also meditate on episodes of the Passion that differ from the traditional 14 stations.

It is also necessary to move from one station to the next, although, if during a public celebration the whole group cannot easily move, it is sufficient that the person who guides the stations move from one station to the next.

If someone is legitimately impeded from doing the stations, he or she may obtain the same indulgence through pious reading and meditation on the Lord's passion and death for about 15 minutes or so.

11. Devoutly receiving a papal blessing including those imparted "urbi et orbi" (to the city of Rome and the world) such as is customary at Easter and Christmas, and received through live transmission by radio, television or Internet.

The local bishop may also impart the apostolic blessing three times a year on dates of their choosing, at the end of a specially solemn Mass.

12. Each Friday of Lent a plenary indulgence is granted to those who piously recite the prayer "Look down Upon Me, Good and Gentle Jesus" after Communion, before an image of Christ crucified. This prayer is among those offered in the missal for thanksgiving after Communion.

13. "To the faithful in danger of death, who cannot be assisted by a priest to bring them the sacraments and impart the Apostolic Blessing with its plenary indulgence, Holy Mother Church nevertheless grants a plenary indulgence to be acquired at the point of death, provided they are properly disposed and have been in the habit of reciting some prayers during their lifetime. The use of a crucifix or a cross to gain this indulgence is praiseworthy.

"The condition, provided they have been in the habit of reciting some prayers during their lifetime, supplies in such cases for the three usual conditions required for the gaining of a plenary indulgence.

"The plenary indulgence at the point of death can be acquired by the faithful, even if they have already obtained another plenary indulgence on the same day." (Enchiridion of Indulgences)

Apart from the plenary indulgences, Catholics do well to be aware that most of their habitual prayers, sacrifices and habitual service to others, from the sign of the cross to the Hail Mary, are endowed with partial indulgences which increase their weight before God and give them an opportunity to exercise selfless charity in offering their prayers in benefit of the souls in purgatory.