Indulgences Explained
Indulgences Explained
Indulgences Explained
What is an Indulgence?
In short, an indulgence is a powerful grace that helps repair the damages from sin.
The Code of Canon Law (canon 992) and the Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 1471) give an official definition. For further reading, you can refer to the Catechism (no. 1471-1479, 1498).
The Official Definition
Indulgences are the remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven. The faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains the indulgence under prescribed conditions for either himself or the departed. Indulgences are granted through the ministry of the Church which, as the dispenser of the grace of redemption, distributes the treasury of the merits of Christ and the Saints.
What is Sin?
To grasp the idea of indulgences better, it helps to understand sin and how it affects us.
When we are in a state of grace, we love God before all else. Our love for God is a healthy attachment because He is, by His very nature, all that is good.
But, we are human and do not always make the best choices. When we sin, we suffer from the effects and unhealthy attachments that result from it.
The Effects of Sin
When we go to the Sacrament of Confession, God removes the guilt and the eternal punishment of the sins we confess. But the wounds of those sins remain. It is those wounds that result in temporal punishment and delay our salvation.
During this life, we can gain indulgences to help relieve or cleanse us of the effects of sin.
After death, Purgatory purifies our souls so that we can go to heaven.
Comparing Indulgences
Plenary Indulgence
A plenary indulgence removes all temporal punishment due to sin. Conditions are the usual requirements.
Partial Indulgence
A partial indulgence only cleanses some of the temporal punishment. Conditions for a partial indulgence are sorrow for our sins and performing good works or reciting a prayer. The amount of remission is in proportion to what we have done.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 1471) and the Code of Canon Law (can. 992) have more information on this topic.
The Usual Requirements
An indulgence can be gained once per day. They have certain conditions connected with them, like a prayer or an act of mercy, but every indulgence has, what is referred to as the usual requirements.
- First, we must be in a state of grace and detached from sin. We also need to take part in the Sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist.
- Then, we pray for the *Pope’s intentions. (*Linked at the top of our website pages.) These prayers can be the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be. Some also pray the Apostles’ Creed.
- Finally, these conditions should all take place on the same day. But, they can also take place within 8 days (traditional) or 20 days* before or after the indulgenced act.
(Click below for more info. It refers to the Jubilee Year but has helpful facts. For example, the mention of 20 days is in the General Remarks, paragraph 5.)
Some Examples of Indulgences
Original List of Indulgences
Combined with the usual requirements of Sacramental Confession, Communion, and prayers for the Pope’s intentions within a short time, these are some examples of indulgences. We made a printable PDF of the Enchiridion of Indulgences (Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary, 1968). It contains the original list and more details than we have listed here. It does not list all possible partial indulgences. These are found in the Raccolta and the Vatican website.
Examples of Indulgences
- Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for at least half an hour (partial indulgence for less time).
- Receive an Urbi et Orbi blessing by the Pope, even by radio or other media.
- Visit a cemetery between November 1 and 8 and devoutly pray for the departed.
- One’s First Communion
- The First Mass of a newly-ordained priest.
- Spend 3 days in the spiritual exercises of a retreat.
- Pray the Rosary with pious meditation on the mysteries.
- Recitation of the Way of the Cross (usually in a church).
- The Sign of the Cross
- Prayers like novenas, prayers for the Pope, Act of Spiritual Communion, Ad te beate Joseph, Anima Christi, De Profundis, and the Memorare.
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CREDITS
The LOGO image of Our Lady of Grace is original artwork by Martin Lariviere in 2009. We have the artist’s permission (my son). It is our exclusive trademark logo image.
A beautifully photographed sky by Donald Tong inspired the website’s colour scheme. Cropped portions of it are the background for the footer Bible verse. We also featured it on this page. He shared it as a free download on pexels.com.
Raphael painted The Sistine Madonna circa (1513-1514). We made circular cut-outs from the original image.
Lucia Ceballos y Spina shared her photo of the guy reading a book on Cathopic.
JMA Ruiz on Cathopic shared the photo of seminarian on a rosary walk with friends.
Carlos Daniel shared the First Communion photo on Cathopic.
Stux, on Pixabay, shared his photo of a grieving angel statue.
Our information is from general knowledge, experience, and shared internet sources. We’d like you to use it as a starting point for your research to verify facts and build a reference list.
Art
Ludovico Carracci painted An Angel Frees the Souls of Purgatory circa 1610.
An unknown early 20th Century painter created this heartfelt depiction of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The painting is in the Greek Catholic Cathedral of Hajdúdorog, Hungary.
IN REVIEW
In order to understand indulgences, it helps to know about sin. When we are in a state of grace, we love God before all else. Our love for God is a healthy attachment because He is, by His very nature, all that is good. But, we are human and do not always make the best choices. When we sin, we suffer from the effects and unhealthy attachments that result from it.
When we go to the Sacrament of Confession, God removes the guilt and eternal punishment of the sins we confess. But the wounds of those sins remain. It is those wounds that result in temporal punishment and delay our salvation. During this life, we can gain indulgences to help relieve or cleanse us of the effects of sin. After death, Purgatory purifies our souls so that we can go to heaven.
A plenary indulgence removes all temporal punishment due to sin.
A partial indulgence cleanses some of the temporal punishment. Conditions for a partial indulgence are sorrow for our sins, performing good works, or reciting a prayer. The amount of remission is in proportion to what we have done.
- Be in a state of grace, detached from sin.
- Take part in the Sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist.
- Pray for the Pope’s Intentions
- They should all take place on the same day, but they can also be within 20 days before or after the indulgenced act.
- An indulgence can be gained once per day.
We provide examples of indulgences and a printable PDF of The Enchiridion of Indulgences.