Understanding and Seeking Indulgences

What is an Indulgence?

An indulgence is the wiping away of the residues of sin and a remission of the temporal punishment that a person is due for a sin, even after the guilt of that sin is forgiven. These residues are usually dealt with in this life through our struggles, sufferings, and penance or after our death in purgatory. Indulgences result in the remission of those residues and remove the need for further remission by sufferings in this life or after death.

There are a few things in this statement that might need clarification.

Residues of Sin and Temporal Punishment

A sin itself is an opposition to the will of God. It hurts our relationship with God and with the community. Not only is the act of the sin itself in need of remission through God’s Marcy, but the sin has also more deeply embedded us in sin.

I am reminded of a story of a saint, and I wish I could remember which saint. He lived in Rome during the days of the awful blood-sport of the Gladiators. From where he lived, he could hear the roar and cheers of the crowd and he despised them and thought himself above them for his rejection of what was happening in the arena. His friends often encouraged him to come and see for himself and assured him that he would enjoy them, and they would do him no harm.

One day he agreed to attend the games with them but also pledged to keep his eyes closed through the whole affair, showing his friends his superior moral integrity. When the first gladiators entered the arena, he closed his eyes. But as each cheer of the crowd grew louder and of greater intensity, the temptation to open his eyes grew stronger. Until at last, with a great roar of the crowd, he opened his eyes to behold what was being cheered and he himself was caught up in it all. And the saint later wrote, “And as I opened my eyes to see the spectacle, I fell; and what a great fall it was.”

This saint had a many-years journey back to recover himself fully. His sought forgiveness for his sin and for subsequent times he attended the games. His first sin was forgiven, but that did not remove his attachment to the games. Each subsequent sin connected him more deeply. It was only by the grace of God that he was able to cease attending, and even then, he remained attached to that sin, desiring it greatly. That ongoing unhealthy attachment to his sin is what we are referring to as the residue of sin. Eventually he was able, through the grace of God, to shed that unhealthy attachment to this sin

Whatever our sin, even after forgiveness is obtained, has created an attachment to the object of our sin. We can remove that residue through ongoing penitence and prayer in this life. Or, if it remains at the end of our lives, it becomes what we must be purified of in Purgatory. Or, with a perfect participation in the action of an Indulgence, those attachments to sins can be healed and the sufferings that would have otherwise been necessary are no longer required.

Acts of penitence and discipline are involved changing our lives and, in the wiping away of those residues which are what we call temporal punishments. Temporal punishments should never be thought of as vindictive acts of God from without, but rather are acts of healing which result from God’s mercy, recreating us as the Children of God we are called to be.

There are two kinds of indulgences. The first is a partial indulgence which results in the partial remission of temporal punishment. The second is a plenary indulgence which results in the full remission of temporal punishment. Both kinds of indulgences can be sought on one’s own behalf or on the behalf of one who is in Purgatory.

How does one obtain a Plenary Indulgence

The Catholic Courier summarizes this nicely:

The reception of an indulgence depends on "our turning away from sin and our conversion to God," he said.

That is why there are several conditions for receiving an indulgence:

-- A spirit detached from sin.

-- Sacramental confession as soon as possible.

-- Eucharistic communion as soon as possible.

-- Prayer for the Holy Father's intentions.

-- Being united spiritually through the media to the pope's special prayer and blessing on March 27.

Those who are sick and their caregivers can also unite themselves spiritually whenever possible through the media to the celebration of Mass or the recitation of the rosary or the Stations of the Cross or other forms of devotion, according to Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican court that deals with matters of conscience and with indulgences.

If this is not possible, "they are asked to recite the Creed, the Lord's Prayer and an invocation to Mary," he told Vatican News March 21. (by Carol Glatz / CNS    |    03.26.2020)

Notice that in all cases, what is absolutely necessary is the person’s firm contrition and trust in the mercy of God that comes to us in Christ Jesus. Indulgences are not frivolous, they are not magical; rather they are sincere acts of reliance on God’s grace to bring about change and conversion.

If you have any other questions about Indulgences, please let me know. I can be reached at niven@dor.org.