Indulgences - PART FOUR - Conclusion, Examples of General Grants and List of Specific Indulgences

(Read PART ONE HERE) (Read PART TWO HERE) (Read PART THREE HERE)

(this is taken from Indulgences: Double Your Gift)

In PART FOUR I will offer a conclusion, give examples of the General Grants and offer a more comprehensive list of indulgences.

In Conclusion

Indulgences flow from the kindness & mercy of God, who meets the repentant sinner, with effective remedies, in his efforts to live up to his responsibility (to do his part) to heal the wounds caused by his sins. This urges him on to a more fervent charity (love of God and others) and causes him to grow in this love and be further conformed to the Image of Christ, his Lord.

Indulgences help the Christian who is duly disposed to permeate every part of his life – prayer, works, joys, sorrows and sufferings; hopes, dreams, desires, and even faults and failures – with the spirit of the Gospel and to direct everything he does each day to the glory of God. Indulgences underscore the importance of living a Christian life day in and day out while protecting the Christian from compartmentalizing his life of faith and relegating his religious practice to only one hour a week on Sunday.

Indulgences aid in the integration of the Catholic Faith with real life and prevent that pernicious opposition between professional and social activity on the one hand and religious life on the other.

This blessed integration leads to a joy and “peace that surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) because of the presence of Risen Christ in every aspect of life.

Indulgences are a great aid to growing in holiness (intimacy with God) and can increase a person’s capacity to love God and others by 100-fold. In Baptism, the seeds of Faith, Hope & Charity (love) were planted in our souls. In order for them to grow they have to be nurtured. Indulgences are one of the ways that God provides the Christian with opportunities to practice Faith, Hope and Charity in the course of everyday life. These concrete acts then become the vessel (a living well) for God to fill with “living water” of his Holy Spirit.

Finally, INDULGENCES ARE A WONDERFUL WAY TO MAKE YOUR WHOLE DAY INTO A PRAYER FOR YOUR LOVED ONES WHO HAVE DIED. This way you and your loved one can advance together in holiness and toward full union with God.

One Possible Objection:

It might seem too difficult to learn about all of this but it is like anything new that we learn. It takes time and effort to make a habit out of it but it is well worth any difficulty it entails. It is definitely a virtue to form the habit of gaining indulgences each day and like any other virtue, at first it is hard and we have to be very intentional in our efforts; but, as time goes on, with the help of the Holy Spirit, the habit becomes easier and easier to the point where it becomes natural to love this way. Our heart and mind will expand to fit this habit into our hearts.

Jesus himself asked St. Faustina to do this:

Here is a quote from the Divine Mercy Sunday Novena that speaks of Indulgences. These are Jesus' words to St. Faustina on the 8th day of the Novena:

“Today bring to Me THE SOULS WHO ARE DETAINED IN PURGATORY, and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. Let the torrents of My Blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are greatly loved by Me. They are making retribution to My justice. It is in your power to bring them relief. Draw all the indulgences from the treasury of My Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only knew the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt to My justice” (Diary of St. Faustina, 1226).

Jesus clearly does not want us to forget the Holy Souls. Indeed, He encourages us to "draw all the indulgences from the treasury of [His] Church and offer them on their behalf."

Not only that, God blesses the efforts of those who work hard to form this virtue. Here is an example from the life of St. John Macias:

ESCORTS TO HEAVEN

St. John Macias worked for the sick in Peru and, no matter how tired he was, he prayed three Rosaries on his knees (as an indulgence) every night for the poor souls in purgatory. On his deathbed, St. John the Evangelist appeared to him and said that through his prayers St. John Macias had released one million four hundred thousand souls from purgatory. When he died, thousands upon thousands of souls poured from heaven to greet him..

What are some Concrete Examples of Indulgences?

1. (1st general grant) Act of Faith - in a difficult situation.

A person has just lost someone they love in a tragic accident and they are confused about why God would allow this. But deep down inside Faith begins to rise up and they think, “God is love and just because I don’t understand or feel this right now, doesn't mean that it is not true.” At that moment she makes an act of Faith by saying, “Jesus, I trust in you!” I offer this up for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. This act of Faith helps the Holy Souls and opens her heart to receive the living water of the Holy Spirit in a fuller measure and her love for God increases and she begins to experience peace.

2. Act of Love

A woman is at work and is broken-hearted because some of her co-workers are gossiping about her. She begins to get very angry and is about to react with angry words. Deep down inside Charity begins to rise up and she thinks “Instead of reacting in a negative way, I can offer this suffering up as a prayer for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.” This she does right away by praying “Dear Jesus, I open this suffering up to you. Please come into it with your love and unite it with your perfect sacrifice and use it as a channel of your grace for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Thank you for giving me meaning and purpose in my suffering!” This act of Love helps the Holy Souls and opens her heart to receive the living water of the Holy Spirit in a fuller measure and her love for God & others increases.

Often, it is necessary to make the same act of Faith, Hope and/or Love over and over again as the waves of sorrow and suffering wash over us repeatedly. God receives each one of them as a precious gift and he always returns them with the blessing of a fuller measure of his presence.

One more comment about the reason we cannot gain indulgences for other living people

Once again, the Church promotes indulgences partly to help the persons doing the indulgenced work to grow in grace by doing the indulgenced activities, which include things like giving money to the poor, praying Rosaries, adoring the Blessed Sacrament, reading Scripture, etc. The indulgence is a motivational tool to get us to do something that is helpful to us spiritually. If I read Scripture for a half hour, I not only grow spiritually and receive God’s grace for reading the Scripture, but I also can earn the special “bonus gift” of an indulgence. I can keep this indulgence for myself, or give this indulgence to a deceased soul in Purgatory because that soul is unable to get an indulgence for himself/herself or do anything for himself/herself at all.

However, another person walking around on earth is able to earn his or her own indulgence, and the Church would prefer that they did so because one purpose of indulgences is to motivate people to do various spiritual practices. If living person A is doing these practices and giving all the benefits to living person B, then person B has no motivation to bother reading Scripture, giving to the poor, etc. which is not what the Church wants to see happen. They want to see living person B earning his own indulgences.Living person A is of course free to pray for living person B, or have a Mass said for B, so it’s not like we can do nothing for other living persons, even though we can’t give them indulgences.

This is from Indulgentiarum Doctrina, by Pope St. Paul VI:

In an indulgence in fact, the Church, making use of its power as minister of the Redemption of Christ, not only prays but by an authoritative intervention dispenses to the faithful suitably disposed the treasury of satisfaction which Christ and the saints won for the remission of temporal punishment. (38)

The aim pursued by ecclesiastical authority in granting indulgences is not only that of helping the faithful to expiate the punishment due sin but also that of urging them to perform works of piety, penitence and charity—particularly those which lead to growth in faith and which favor the common good. (39)

https://w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_p-vi_apc_01011967_indulgentiarum-doctrina.html

The following is an Analogy for Indulgences and the Communion of Saints

“In the one family of God, we can all help each other.”

A young boy, in defiance of his father for not letting him play baseball in his yard, plays baseball anyway and ends up throwing a baseball through the window. He soon realizes that he is in trouble so he apologizes to his father in order to mitigate the punishment. The wise father knows that if all his son has to do is say he is sorry, he wouldn’t have a true change of heart and he might easily do it again or even something worse down the road. He does forgive him (the relationship is restored) but he tells him that there is still the problem (temporal consequence) of the broken window that needs to be fixed and that he will need to earn the money to fix it (temporal punishment).

The boy sets out to earn the money and, at first, his heart is still angry, but as he goes about the task, his heart begins to change and he begins to feel truly sorry for what he has done.

At this point his older brother is watching what is going on and he sees the change of heart that his brother is undergoing and that he is truly repentant so, he goes to the father and asks if he can help him pay for the window. The father is so pleased with his concern and generosity and looks forward to the way that this would strengthen the relationship between his two sons, so he agrees to a “matching system” where, for every dollar that the young boy earns, his older brother will match it from his savings. The debt of the broken window is taken care of through the hard work and love between the two sons.

When we are truly repentant for our sins (which is one of the conditions for gaining an indulgence), God allows the saints to come to our aid through indulgences. He matches the merit of our actions by drawing from the treasury of the Church. In this way, we learn that there are consequences for our actions but at the same time, we are not alone in our efforts to make amends. It is truly an amazing gift to be a member of the Mystical Body of Christ – the Church!

Learn more about this from The Manuel for Indulgences

THE LISTS THAT FOLLOW ARE BY NO MEANS A COMPLETE LIST. FOLLOW LINK ABOVE TO MANUAL FOR INDULGENCES FOR MORE

Here is a list of Plenary Indulgences

Spend thirty minutes or more in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Participate in the Stations of the Cross, using fourteen stations, marked by at least crosses, progressing from one to the next.
Recite the five decades of the Rosary in a church, religious community, or family, or while listening live to the Holy Father’s Rosary.
Read or listen to Sacred Scripture for at least thirty minutes, preference is given to reading.
Make a three-day retreat.
At the point of death, pray, ideally before a crucifix or cross (requires that you have been in the habit of praying during your life).
Participate in a parish mission and its conclusion.
Attend a ceremony in honor of a new saint during the first year after canonization (available once).
For priests, and those in attendance, a priest’s first Mass, and the jubilee celebrations for priests and bishops renewing their vocational promises.
Visit the church during a diocesan synod.
Assist during a pastoral visit.
Make a pilgrimage to one of the four Patriarchal Basilicas in Rome.

Plenary Indulgences Associated with Particular Feast Days

Visit a basilica, cathedral, parish church, or approved shrine on its titular feast day.
Receive the Papal Urbi et Orbi blessing (usually given on Christmas and Easter) in person, on the radio, on TV, or online.
Recite the Te Deum on December 31st in thanksgiving for the year.
Recite the Veni Creator on January 1st as a prayer for the beginning of the year, and/or on Pentecost.
Participate in special celebrations for days universally designated for particular intentions (like Day of Prayer for Peace on January 1st, or Day of Prayer for Vocations on Good Shepherd Sunday, the 4th Sunday of Easter).
Participate in the services of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: January 18-25.
Recite the Look Down Upon Me, Good and Gentle Jesus before a crucifix, after communion, on a Friday during Lent.
Recite the Tantum Ergo on Holy Thursday before the Altar of Repose.
Adore the cross on Good Friday.
Renew your baptismal promises at the Easter Vigil and/or on the anniversary of your baptism.
Take part in special services held on Divine Mercy Sunday, or, before the Blessed Sacrament on that day, pray the usual prayers and “Merciful Jesus, I trust in you.”
Participate in a Eucharistic Procession on Corpus Christi.
Recite the Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the Feast of the Sacred Heart in a church, religious community, or family.
Use an article Blessed by the Holy Father or any bishop on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.
Visit a basilica or cathedral on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.
The Portiuncula Indulgence of St. Francis of Assisi: with a contrite heart, visit any church on August 2nd (or the first Sunday of August if the church isn’t open every day).
Pray for the dead in a cemetery November 1-8 (applicable only to the souls in purgatory).
Pray for the dead in a church on All Souls’ Day (applicable only to the souls in purgatory).
Recite the Act of Dedication to Christ the King on the Feast of Christ the King in a church, religious community, or family.

Here is a list of Partial Indulgences

Use a properly blessed crucifix, cross, rosary, scapular, or medal.
Use pious invocations throughout the day, mentally or out loud (i.e. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” “Heart of Jesus, I trust in you,” “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.”)
Pray to the merciful heart of Jesus.
Perform charitable works or charitable giving.
Make a voluntary Christian witness to others.
Teach or study Christian doctrine.
Visit the Blessed Sacrament for any amount of time.
Recite a Rosary alone, or recite a partial Rosary.
Make an Examination of Conscience.
Attend a monthly recollection.
Spend time in mental prayer.
Listen to preaching of the Word of God.
Visit a cemetery and pray for the dead any time of year.
Visit the catacombs.
Make the sign of the cross using the customary words.
Renew your baptismal vows at any time.

Here is List of Partially Indulged Prayers

The contents of this document are taken from the Enchiridion of Indulgences given by the 1968 Decree of the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary. Note the norms on indulgences. A convenient summary of which are plenary indulgences are also available here.

In PART FIVE I will continue with a list of Indulgences that fall under Particular Grants