Indulgences

Last month, I wrote the following in my post entitled "The Year of Mercy":

Also during the year, indulgences (which mean some or all punishment for sin is remitted) will be granted to those who, between one and 20 days, do all of the following; pass through a designated Holy Door (I am happy to say Saint Joseph the Worker Shrine in Lowell is one such place in the Archdiocese of Boston!), perform one of the seven spiritual and/or seven corporeal works of mercy, go to Confession, receive the Eucharist, and pray for the intentions of the Holy Father.   All of this must be done with a firm resolve not to sin, even the most venial of sins.  Again, more information on this is available out there which I encourage everyone to avail themselves of.

I do need to make a few slight corrections to that.  First off, the Shrine, while it is a Center of Mercy due to its frequent Confession and Eucharist times, is not a place where there is a Holy Door.   For people here in the Archdiocese of Boston, that is only at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. (Please look on the website for your own Diocese for the location of the Holy Door in your diocese if you are not local here.)   Secondly, if you do go through a Holy Door , then you do not need to necessarily also do an act of Mercy also to receive the indulgence.  Third, the sick and the imprisoned can obtain the indulgence in their own surroundings; the sick by receiving Communion in their home, and the imprisoned by crossing the threshold of their cell, which signifies their passage through the Holy Door.
All of the above indulgenced works, however,  be it a work of mercy, a visit to a Holy Door, or a special act done by the sick or imprisoned, must also be done in conjunction with the normal conditions for an indulgence;  participation in Confession, in Eucharist (with a reflection on mercy during this Year) , and praying for the intentions of the Holy Father.

What exactly is an indulgence?  There was a little pamphlet put together by the Shrine staff that seeks to explain indulgences in as simple terminology as possible.

Getting a “handle” on Indulgences

When we sin, it’s always the case that our relationship with God is wounded.

Invariably, people around us also get hurt in some way

- sometimes slightly, sometimes grievously.

Even when we are forgiven,

for what we have inflicted on ourselves and on them,

the “scars” from those wounds will remain for a long time

- the more grievous the wound,

the deeper and longer lasting will be the “scar”!

We might call this the “temporal punishment due to sin”

- we inflict it, mostly it’s others who suffer it in space and time.

In life, healing such “scar” tissue by making amends

takes time - sometimes a lifetime and even beyond!

Prayer is key: it softens hearts and heals memories

Indulgences can perhaps best be appreciated in this context.

By virtue of our prayer, the “scar” marks resulting from the wounds

we inflicted on ourselves and on other members of the Body of Christ

and for which we are responsible

can be erased partially or completely depending on the

intensity and sincerity of our prayer.  By means of “indulgences,”

the Church (the Body of Christ in space and time) by its prayer guarantees

to make up the difference!  Not to worry if our prayer was sufficient!

This can even impact those who have departed space and time (the dead)

and who can no longer make amends for themselves.

Indulgences help with the remission of the punishment due to sin, not with the forgiveness of sin. Forgiveness only comes through Confession, and that is still the most important and necessary thing.  Salvation is possible only with forgiveness of sins.   We can receive as many indulgences as we like, but if our sins are not also forgiven, we have no hope of entering heaven.
However, just because we are forgiven from sin, the effects of sin remain.   Indulgences help with dealing with the punishment, or scars, due to sin.  We cannot enter heaven until we are free from the scars of sin.  (As long as our sins are forgiven, we will enter heaven, but it will take us longer to get there the more scars we have.)  To help speed us along this road to heaven, we have indulgences.  They are part of the spiritual goods of the Church which are meant to be shared.  In the Body of Christ, we do not go at it alone; we have each other, as well as the Saints in heaven, to help us carry our burdens.  Therefore, indulgences are not an illogical thing. 

I encourage you to read up on indulgences.  There are some that are just for this Year of Mercy, but there are always indulgences that can help us on our journey to heaven.

Joseph, protector of Holy Church, pray for us.