The scandal of the sale of Indulgences has affected the Church for 500 years yet when they are understood acquiring indulgences is greatly beneficial. Truth of the Spirit with Patti Brunner of Patriarch Ministries shares instruction from the Lord as it describes the teachings of the Church about Indulgences and Action-Packed Promises. For audio and video link and the script of the episode please continue reading.
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In our previous episodeon Church Scandals about Money you may have been searching for the notorious scandal of the selling of indulgences. I left out that violation of canon law until this episode on indulgences so we don’t “throw the baby out with the bathwater”. Indulgences are incredible opportunities to call upon God’s grace.
Welcome to Truth of the Spirit and Indulgences and Action-Packed Promises. I am your host, Patti Brunner. Today we will share something the Lord taught me about indulgences then turn to the Catechism and Church documents for more.
The Lord taught me: “When the Church assigns promises to particular prayers or actions it desires the children to benefit from the great treasury of grace and mercy made available by the good works and sacrifices of others. It is a means of ‘inheriting’ those things left on earth by those who came before you.” Remember the illustration of having a ‘billion dollars of blessings in the bank, and holding a blank check and not taking advantage of it’? The granting of indulgence is like a distribution of the funds left behind. This is not cash or jewels but is infinitely more valuable because it is applied to your preparation for judgment.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church quotes the document “Indulgentiarum”, an Ecclesial Pronouncement by Pope Paul VI, as it explains the sharing of merit this way, starting with Paragraph 1475: In the communion of saints, “a perennial link of charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth. Between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all good things.” 87 Indulgentiarum doctrina, 5 . In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others. Thus recourse to the Communion of Saints lets the contrite sinner be more promptly and efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin.
1476 We also call these spiritual goods of the communion of saints the Church’s treasury, which is “not the sum total of the material goods which have accumulated during the course of the centuries. On the contrary the ‘treasury of the Church’ is the infinite value, which can never be exhausted, which Christ’s merits have before God. They were offered so that the whole of mankind could be set free from sin and attain communion with the Father. In Christ, the Redeemer himself, the satisfactions and merits of his Redemption exist and find their efficacy.” 88 Indulgentiarum doctrina, 5
1477 “This treasury includes as well the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They are truly immense, unfathomable, and even pristine in their value before God. In the treasury, too, are the prayers and good works of all the saints, all those who have followed in the footsteps of Christ the Lord and by his grace have made their lives holy and carried out the mission the Father entrusted to them. In this way they attained their own salvation and at the same time cooperated in saving their brothers in the unity of the Mystical Body.” 89 Indulgentiarum doctrina, 5
An “indulgence is the remission granted by the Church of temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven. An indulgence does not take away sin, nor does it take away the eternal punishment due to grave or mortal sins. The Church grants indulgences in accordance with the power conveyed to Peter in Matthew 16:19 and the sharing of spiritual goods in the communion of saints, or spiritual treasury. An indulgence is not a permission or license to sin, and no one can gain an indulgence who is not in a state of grace. An indulgence may be either plenary or partial, and can be applied to the dead by way of suffrage—the actual disposition resting with God.”[i]
Action-packed promises are similar to indulgences. At Fatima, requesting the world to pray the Rosary, Our Lady presented Heaven’s peace plan and truly gave us hope for the world. Conversions were promised at Fatima: the conversion of sinners; the conversion of Russia; and what also appears to be the conversion of Islam. Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
The Holy Mother entices you—much as a young mother gets the attention of her infant with a brightly colored bauble. When you grab it with both hands you develop fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination. So too, when you reach for the promises of grace and favor, as you do the prescribed action you grow in formation. Should you pray and do works of charity and receive sacraments anyway? Of course! Yet in your infancy you need encouragement and impetus to step forward.
When Our Lady of Kibeho appeared to the children in Rwanda [in the 1980s] she promised Marie Claire that when the Seven Sorrows Rosary “was prayed with an open and repentant heart, the rosary would win us the Lord’s forgiveness for our sins and free our souls from guilt and remorse. She also promised that over time, the rosary would develop within us a deep understanding of why we sin, and knowledge would give us the wisdom and strength to change or remove any internal flaws, weaknesses of character, or personality faults causing unhappiness and keeping us from enjoying the joyous life God intended us to live.”[ii]
The Lord reminded me: Another thing to consider, as you mature, is the application of these graces for the benefit of others. The release of pour souls from purgatory is no small thing as you pray for that intention: “Especially for those in most need of thy divine mercy!”
“Indulgences can always be applied either to oneself or to the souls of the deceased, but they cannot be applied to other persons living on earth.”[iii]
The Lord told me: Often your prayers are for the intentions of the needs of others. Prescribed promises show you a path of prayer. The setting of indulgences show a path easy to follow in praying for your own eternity to be forever in the Heavenly Kingdom and for others.
What about the scandal? For a season, especially during and following the reign of the “loop-hole[iv]” Pope, Pope Leo X, from 1513-1521, there was confusion and misinformation concerning indulgences as well as morals and many other operations of the Church. It is reported in the “Catechism for Dummies” “a few avaricious and greedy bishops and priests, along with some like-minded princes, literally sold indulgences, which was a violation of canon law then and now and is also a mortal sin called simony”—Named after Simon the Magician, don’t you think! We talked about him in our episode on the Church Scandals about Money—well, sadly, “… In Germany this practice (of selling indulgences) was encouraged, and preachers went from town to town to encourage the rebuilding of St. Peter’s.”[v] Fifteen years after the death of Pope Leo X, in 1536, Pope Paul III commissioned a report on abuses in the Church. And during the Council of Trent the Bishops brought forth clear reform. During the last 500 years, that time of scandal has been fodder for our enemy who is trying to put a stop to the whole practice of indulgences because they have such merit.
The Lord explained to me: There was a scandal when ambition ‘sold’ promises. The blessings were real but the selling of the blessing was scandalous. Certainly the good action of contributing towards the building of a magnificent cathedral honors God and merits grace. But you cannot buy grace at the corner market and the confusion in the Church when this took place allowed the deceiver to destroy the holiness by scandal and dis-subordination. When days were assigned to indulgences it was a way to quantify the actions as lesser or greater. Of course, in eternity time is not marked in such a resolute manner. “One day is like a thousand and a thousand are like a day” –or like a fraction of a single moment.
The Church cries out to its people, “Take this path!” Take advantage of this novena or that. Remember the Way of the Cross—pause at each station and let it penetrate your heart and soul. Recall the prayers of the Divine Mercy at the hour of death by frequently drawing on its benefits by praying the prayers daily. Study the benefits available that they might encourage you toward this wonderful habit. Break free of ruts by listening to the Church’s encouragement to visit shrines and receive—indulgences! Promises and indulgences are like a preview to the main event. As you fulfill their requirements you get a taste of what is to come.
A main requirement for plenary indulgences is the receipt of the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion, and—drumroll—the unattachment to sin. The goal is always to result in unattachment to sin. The effect of sin leads us to need and ask for indulgence in the first place. These sacraments allow the Grace of God to penetrate your heart and the actions become efficacious. Sometimes the unattachment is very brief. And so, the Church in her great compassion and mercy makes available other actions and promises of divine favor.
Praying for the intentions of the Holy Father completes the requirements. In doing so, we pray for the entire church on earth.
Here is an example. “A plenary indulgence is granted to those who piously make the Way of the Cross. Here are the requirements, according to the Enchiridion of Indulgences: The exercise must be done before legitimately erected stations. 14 stations are required. Although it is customary for the icons to represent pictures or images, 14 simple crosses will suffice. The common practice consists of fourteen pious readings to which some vocal prayers are added. However, nothing more is required than a pious meditation on the Passion and Death of the Lord, which need not be a particular consideration of the individual mysteries of the stations. A movement from one station to the next is required. But if the stations are made publicly and it is not possible for everyone taking part to go from station to station, it suffices if at least the one conducting the exercise goes from station to station, the others remaining in their places. Those who are “impeded” can gain the same indulgence if they spend at least one half an hour in pious reading and meditation on the Passion and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ.”[vi]
A few more actions of piety with a plenary indulgence attached to them are: Adoration of The Blessed Sacrament for 30 Minutes[vii] or Praying The Holy Rosary As A Family Or Group, Or In A Church Or Public Oratory. A visit to a Cemetery—only applicable to the souls in Purgatory—when one devoutly visits and prays for the departed. A plenary indulgence is bestowed for this work each day between November 1 and November 8. And last year, because of Covid, the pope extended it for the entire month of October. Each year on the date of parish patron saint feast day you can acquire a plenary indulgence. Our patron is St. Vincent de Paul and his celebration is coming up on September 27, each year. The recent popes also have prescribed special indulgences for particular acts of piety during the Jubilee year of 2000 and during the year of St. Joseph, 2021. In 2005, The Year of the Eucharist, one of the prescribed acts of piety included those who “make their first Communion or who assist at another’s first Communion.”[viii]
To obtain a plenary indulgence, one must be Catholic and must meet the following general conditions:
1. Be in the state of grace at least when performing the indulgenced act;
2. Be detached from sin, even venial sin;
3. Make a Confession (within 20 days before or after the indulgenced act);
4. Make a holy Communion (within 20 days before or after);
5. Pray for the Pope (within 20 days before or after)
6. Perform the indulgenced act (that special good work with special conditions of place and time).
The indulgences of Divine Mercy Sunday are uniquely allowed even if we continue to struggle with an attachment to sin. You can learn more about Divine Mercy in our episode “Turn and Return – The Glory of Divine Mercy”.
You can easily find it at https://patriarchministries.com/207
In the history of indulgences we first follow the history of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Then starting from the seventh century there is a history of reducing or commuting the stringent penances given within the sacrament. For example “in 1063 Alexander II granted a remission of punishment for those who fought the Moors…True indulgences granted for almsgiving or for devotional visits to churches, altars, etc. began in the 11th century — but still only a few — and became more common in the 12th century and later… After the Council of Trent, Clement VIII established a commission of Cardinals to deal with indulgences according to the mind of the Council. It continued its work during the pontificate of Paul V and published various bulls and decrees on the matter. But only Clement IX established a true Congregation of Indulgences (and Relics) with a Brief of 6 July 1669. [ix]
Catechism Paragraph #1471[x] explains: “The doctrine and practice of indulgences in the Church are closely linked to the effects of the sacrament of Penance. What is an indulgence? “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.”81 “An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin.” 82 The faithful can gain indulgences for themselves or apply them to the dead.” 83
Using the teaching from the Council of Trent Paragraph #1472[xi] continues: “To understand this doctrine and practice of the Church, it is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence. Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the “eternal punishment” of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the “temporal punishment” of sin. These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain. 84
1473 “The forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment of sin remains. While patiently bearing sufferings and trials of all kinds and, when the day comes, serenely facing death, the Christian must strive to accept this temporal punishment of sin as a grace. He should strive by works of mercy and charity, as well as by prayer and the various practices of penance, to put off completely the “old man” and to put on the “new man”. 85”
We hope you will take advantage of the graces of the Communion of Saints and choose to perform pious acts to apply the bounty stored for us through the merits of Jesus Christ active in their lives. My husband and I delight in visiting the cemetery in the fall and praying for the poor souls in purgatory that can be released from the temporal punishment of their sin through special indulgences. We regularly choose to ask for the special graces and we grow in piety by following the requirements set out by our Church. And we have great hope in the promises of Divine Mercy.
You’ve been listening to Truth of the Spirit and Indulgences and Action-Packed Promises. I’m your host Patti Brunner. We invite you to read the script with our references on the PatriarchMinistries.com/230. We have so much for you on our website and our YouTube channel. Please click like, leave us a comment and then come back for more. With the Holy Spirit there’s always more! Amen.
[i] The Catholic Fact Book, John Deedy. The Thomas More Press, 1986. p.353
[ii] The Rosary of the 7 Sorrows as taught by the Blessed Mother in Kibeho, Rwanda, with reflections by Immaculée.
[iii] Apostolic Penitentiary, The Gift of Indulgence, Jan. 29, 2000
[iv] The Church in Crisis: A History of the General Councils 325-1870; Chapter: The Fifth General Council of the Lateran, 1512-17, Philip Hughes, Hanover House, 1961. pp.295-297
[v] Catholicism for Dummies. Rev. John Trigilio Jr., PhD, ThD., Rev. Kenneth Brighenti, PhD., Wiley Publishing, Inc. 2003 Pp. 367-368
[vi] Captured 9/20/2022. Three Ways to Gain a Plenary Indulgence Before Easter (catholicexchange.com)
[vii] ADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT FOR 30 MINUTES (Manual of Indulgences, Grant n. 7 § 1 1°);
PRAYING THE HOLY ROSARY AS A FAMILY OR GROUP, OR IN A CHURCH OR PUBLIC ORATORY (Manual of Indulgences, Grant n. 17 §1,1); Visit to a Cemetery. Only applicable to the souls in Purgatory when one devoutly visits and prays for the departed. A PLENARY INDULGENCE is bestowed for this work each day between November 1 and November 8.( The Enchiridion of Indulgences; Catholic Online Prayers; Issued by the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary, 1968; + Joseph Cardinal Ferretto, Titular Bishop of the Suburban Church of Sabina and Poggio Mirteto, Originally published by Liberia Editrice Vatican, Vatican City, 1968. #13]
[viii] Captured online 9/21/2022 Year-of-the-Eucharist Indulgence | EWTN
[ix] Captured online 9/20/2022 Library : The Historical Origin of Indulgences | Catholic Culture
[x] Notes for CCC Paragraph 1471:
81 Paul VI, apostolic constitution, Indulgentiarum doctrina, Norm 1.
82 Indulgentiarum doctrina, Norm 2; Cf. Norm 3.
83 CIC, can. 994.
English Translation of the Cathechism of the Catholic Church for the United States of America © 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.
[xi] Notes for CCC Paragraph 1472:
84 Cf. Council of Trent (1551): DS 1712-1713; (1563): 1820.
