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Why does the Church offer us indulgences? The answer is mercy.

Last week I attempted to explain what an indulgence is -- that it is the grace we receive from the Treasury of the Church through performing a specific good act or praying certain prayers specified by the Church.   God in his justice requires that we atone for sin, to heal the hurt caused by sin.  Through sacramental confession, we mend our relationship with God, but the consequences of sin reverberate. Obtaining the grace of the indulgence heals the temporal punishment resulting from sin.

The Church, through the successors of St. Peter, the popes, grants us access to this treasury of graces from which indulgences are bestowed. The possibility of receiving an indulgence is often tied to certain spiritual activities, including reading the Scriptures, reciting the Rosary, taking part in Eucharistic adoration, or praying for the dead.  Receiving these graces, however, requires not just external acts, but most importantly, our interior cooperation. 

Indulgences have been divided into two kinds:
•    Plenary - gives one a full remission of temporal punishment
•    Partial - gives one a partial remission of temporal punishment

In order to receive a plenary (full) indulgence (removing all temporal punishment for sins previously committed), a person must do the prescribed prayer or action, go to confession, receive Holy Communion, and pray for the intentions of the pope. In addition, they must be free of all attachments to sin. While there is no test to determine this, we can ask ourselves, “Do I want to refrain from sin?” We might find ourselves desiring this, but may still not be fully detached. In this case, we can receive a partial indulgence. God will work with us to supply the grace and mercy that we are open to receiving.

Indulgences are part of the Church's infallible teaching. This means that no Catholic is at liberty to ignore or disbelieve in them. The Council of Trent stated that it "condemns with anathema those who say that indulgences are useless or that the Church does not have the power to grant them.”

I recommend reading through the list of indulgences found in the Enchiridion Indulgenarium (the manual of indulgences) to know exactly how to earn an indulgence. One may find they are actually earning partial indulgences every day just by doing what they have been doing. And if a person does them all well, they are on their way to becoming holy.

We draw on the merits of Christ and the saints, the source of forgiveness and salvation. This freedom that Christ gives us through the Church, however, is not magic. Indulgences require our cooperation, including our openness to God’s grace and our detachment from that which prevents us from serving Him.



Author Bio:
Deacon Dan Vaughn