What is an indulgence?

As Diocesan Bishops open the Holy Doors of the local Churches throughout the world today, many people, both Catholics and others, may find themselves wondering about the notion of an indulgence.

The Code of Canon Law describes an indulgence as "the remission of sin before God of temporal punishments for sins whose guilt is already forgiven" (canon 992). This definition is straightforward enough, but still it leaves us sometimes scratches our heads. What, precisely, does it mean?

Foreseeing this question, His Holiness Pope Francis explained the theology of indulgences this way in Misericordia Vultus, the Bull of Indication of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy:

In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God forgives our sins, which he truly blots out; and yet sin leaves a negative effect on the way we think and act. But the mercy of God is stronger than even this. It becomes indulgence on the part of the Father who, through the Bride of Christ, his Church, reaches the pardoned sinner and frees him from every residue left by the consequences of sin, enabling him to act with charity, to grow in love rather than to fall back into sin.

The Church lives within the communion of the saints. In the Eucharist, this communion, which is a gift from God, becomes a spiritual union binding us to the saints and blessed ones whose number is beyond counting (cf. Revelation 7:4). Their holiness comes to the aid of our weakness in a way that enables the Church, with her maternal prayers and her way of life, to fortify the weakness of some with the strength of others. Hence, to live the indulgence of the Holy Year means to approach the Father's mercy with the certainty that his forgiveness extends to the entire life of the believer. To gain an indulgence is to experience the holiness of the Church, who bestows upon all the fruits of Christ's redemption, so that God's love and forgiveness may extend everywhere (22).

By virtue of the power of the keys entrusted to the Apostle Saint Peter and his successors, the Popes, the Church could loose this indulgence of the Father and so make it fully available to everyone everywhere. However, to emphasize the importance of repentance and conversion, the Church, in her wisdom, has attached the grant of the Father's indulgence to certain pious activities, such as reading the Bible, or listening devoutly to a homily, or making the Stations of the Cross, or visiting a cemetery, or, yes, walking through a Holy Door.

By attaching the gift of an indulgence to these pious acts, Holy Mother Church wishes to prompt and encourage her sons and daughters to pursue and fulfill them. In this way, the Church shows us the way to grow in holiness, to become a saint so that our strength might one day aid the weak.

Two good links

• Over at Caritas in Veritate, Father John Boyle reminds of the indulgences available to the faithful in the month of November. He also reminds us what indulgences are, and how to receive one.
• While standing on his head, Father Dwight Longenecker ably answers the question,"Do you think Jesus turned his back on the apostles at the Last Supper," thereby giving a good explanation for Mass celebrated ad orientem and also a helpful reminder of what the Mass is.

Open the floodgates!

The floodgates of grace have been opened by the Apostolic Penitentiary on the occassion of the Fifteenth World Day of the Sick, Sunday, 11 February 2007. The decree is, of course, not yet available in English but when it is you should be able to find it here.

The Vatican Information Service reported the decree as follows:

VATICAN CITY, FEB 6, 2007 (VIS) - Late yesterday afternoon, the Apostolic Penitentiary published a decree announcing the concession of indulgences to the faithful for the World Day of the Sick, which is celebrated every year on February 11, Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. This year, the Day will be celebrated in Seoul, Korea.

"We must," the text of the decree reads, "reflect deeply upon the fact that human remedies have a limit and that, therefore, there will inevitably come a time when man reaches the end of his journey on this earth. To the sick who are in that condition we must offer the most attentive care and the greatest charity, so that their transit from this world to the Father is comforted by divine consolation and so that, as the Church's prayer for the dying implores, they may see the gentle face of Jesus Christ and clearly hear the voice calling them to eternal glory and joy."

"With this awareness, the Holy Mother Church hopes that the annual celebration of the World Day of the Sick may become an effective catechesis of the teaching ... of the treasure of Revelation, concerning the value and function of suffering."

For this reason, Plenary Indulgence will be granted "to the faithful who, under the usual conditions (sacramental Confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer in keeping with the intentions of the Holy Father), and with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin, participate on February 11 in the city of Seoul, or at any other place decided by the ecclesiastical authorities, in a sacred ceremony held to beseech God to grant the goals of the World Day of the Sick."

The decree continues: "The faithful who, in public hospitals or in private houses, like 'Good Samaritans' charitably assist the sick - especially those suffering incurable and terminal diseases - and who, because of the service they provide, cannot participate in the aforementioned ceremony, will obtain the same gift of Plenary Indulgence if on that day they generously provide, at least for a few hours, their charitable assistance to the sick as if they were tending to Christ the Lord Himself, with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin, and with the intention of observing, as soon as they can, the conditions required for obtaining the Plenary Indulgence.

"The faithful who, through sickness, old age or similar reason, are prevented from participating in the aforementioned ceremony, may obtain the Plenary Indulgence if, with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin and with the intention of observing, as soon as they can, the conditions required, they spiritually participate together with the Holy Father in the aforesaid ceremony, pray devotedly for the sick, and offer - through the Virgin Mary 'Health of the Sick' - their physical and spiritual sufferings to God."

Partial Indulgence, the text of the decree concludes, will be conceded to "all the faithful whenever, between February 9 and 11, with a contrite heart they raise devout prayers to the merciful Lord calling for these aspirations to be met in order to help the sick, especially those suffering incurable and terminal disease."

The text of the Holy Father's Message for the World Day of the Sick is here.