Transcript

Pope St. Paul VI once said that an indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven.

What is temporal punishment, and how do indulgences work to relieve it?

We'll be answering those questions and more on this episode of Aquinas 101.

When we commit a serious sin, which is to say when we commit a mortal sin, we separate ourselves from life with God.

Charity is no longer active in us and we find ourselves facing eternal punishment.

In the case of mortal sin, once we're forgiven by God, particularly in the sacrament of penance, we're restored to communion with him and the prospect of eternal life with him opens up once again.

But sin is not just an offense against God.

Every sin does something to us.

Even small venial sins have what we call a consequence requiring temporal punishment.

In venial sins, we may not be choosing anything grave that turns us away from God, but in every sin, we are choosing something lower, something beneath God and beneath our own dignity rather than directing all things to God.

The catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that every sin entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures which must be purified, either here on earth or after death in a state called purgatory.

That's why even after we receive absolution in the confessional, we can still have an attraction and a desire to commit the same sins we just confessed.

Absolution brings us the grace of forgiveness, but it doesn't erase our memory or the effects of what we've done.

Absolution doesn't magically turn us into someone else and make us perfect.

The temporal punishment of sin is all of those things we suffer even after we've been forgiven, sometimes falling into other sins, being attached or addicted to this or that craving, finding ourselves unable to pray well because we're distracted or feeling guilty.

All of it, that's the temporal punishment of sin.

By engaging in works of mercy and charity, as well as by praying and fasting and all the other things we do as Christians, our disordered affections are purified, and we grow slowly by grace into persons who are not just forgiven but who have, in the words of St. Paul, put off the old nature and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God and true righteousness and holiness.

Since we're not alone but baptized into the body of Christ, we are beneficiaries not only of the merits of Jesus Christ but also of the merits of the communion of saints.

It's a treasury of infinite value because Christ's own merits are infinitely lovely and worthy to God the Father.

The grace and merits of his redemption overflow and expand in the lives of the saints and we pray in our own.

The church can tap into that treasury for us.

The church sets out various works and prayers the faithful can do and say in order to receive partial or plenary indulgences.

Of course, you have to be in a state of grace to receive any indulgence.

If you've committed a mortal sin, go to confession first.

Indulgences were once listed with a certain number of days that would be taken off purgatory if you gained that particular indulgence.

Concerned that this led to a legalistic understanding of purgatory and indulgences, Pope St. Paul VI directed we should rather think of indulgences either as plenary or partial.

A plenary indulgence is just that.

It takes away all the temporal punishments due to sin.

A partial indulgence, however, takes away a certain amount of temporal punishment to the degree that it is done with charity and intentionality.

To get a plenary indulgence, you need to do a little more.

In addition to saying the prayer or doing the work the church attaches a plenary indulgence to, you can't have any attachment to even venial sins.

At the moment you say the prayer or do the work, you cannot have any affection for sins, even your favorite sins.

Additionally, you have to receive Holy Communion and go to confession a few days before or a few days after doing the work.

One confession can have many plenary indulgences attached to it, but you have to receive Holy Communion once for each plenary indulgence you want to gain.

Finally, in addition to whatever the indulgenced prayer or work is, every time you want to gain a plenary indulgence you need to pray for the Holy Father's intentions.

An Our Father and a Hail Mary would suffice.

While we can receive countless partial indulgences every day, we can only receive one plenary indulgence a day.

So what are some of the ways to get indulgences?

It's surprisingly easy.

Here are a few ways to gain partial indulgences.

Throughout the day, every time you raise your heart and mind to God and make some mental invocation like thinking, Jesus, I trust in you, that's a partial indulgence.

Whenever you serve others in their need, a partial indulgence.

Whenever we abstain from something that's good and pleasing to us like dessert, or witness our faith to others, partial indulgences.

All of the prayers we all know to the Blessed Mother, to the saints, to our guardian angel, all of those bring a partial indulgence.

Ways to get plenary indulgences often involve participating in some common activity with other Catholics such as participating in a Eucharistic procession on the Feast of Corpus Christi or reciting a rosary in church with other members of the faithful or even just with your family.

But there are ways to get a plenary indulgence once a day on your own such as spending a half hour in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, reading or listening to sacred scripture for half an hour, making the way of the cross.

These activities and prayers are good not just for us to do, but in doing them intentionally, we are doing them in union with and as beneficiaries of what Jesus Christ did for us and what he did in the lives of all the saints.

That brings up one final and important point.

We can gain indulgences for ourselves but we can also gain them for the faithful departed.

The works and prayers we do here on earth can help our loved ones who are still being purified in the life to come in purgatory.

Seeking indulgences is a way of intentionally and truly living in the communion of the saints and the faithful departed with Christ Jesus as our head.

For readings, podcasts, and more videos like this, go to Aquinas101.com.

While you're there be sure to sign up for one of our free video courses on Aquinas, and don't forget to subscribe, like, and share with your friends because it matters what you think.