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Our question regards the concept of indulgences and specifically
that one person, in Heaven, or on Earth, can gain indulgences
for another person.
I have always understood that the teaching of the Church
is that when we sin gravely, we do several things.
First, we sever our relationship with God,
Second, we sever our relationship with the Church, and
Finally, we do damage to our soul.
I have also understood that in the Confessional, we restore
our relationship with the Church and with God, however,
penitential acts are required to expiate the damage to
our soul.
To the best of my knowledge, the reason for the need of
penitential acts is to restore our attitude to a more pious
condition. The best example I can come up with is the concept
of a person who looks at pornography. While he can be forgiven
of the sin through Confession, the memories of those images
are still in his mind, leading him to lust.
It is my understanding that he should engage in behaviors
that will counter the attitudes fostered by the pornographic
images as a means of restoring his soul to the condition
it was in before he looked at the pornography.
I have trouble seeing that the merits of the saints, or
even of other living persons, can bring this about.
I look forward to your response as we are continually trying
to improve our understanding of the teachings of Holy Mother,
the Church.
Brock and Gabriella
{ How
can the merits of the Saints, or the living, help a penitent appropriately restore their soul? }
John
replied:
Dear Brock and Gabriella,
This past Sunday's Gospel may help you to understand
the concept of indulgences. It was the story of the
paralytic who was lowered through the roof to see
Jesus. (Matthew 9:1–8, Mark 2:1–12, and Luke 5:17–26) The text says that Jesus saw their faith (those
lowering him into the house) and
said your sins are forgiven. Notice that Jesus responded
to the faith of others to forgive the sins and to
heal the paralytic. St. Paul talks about us being
one body, mystically connected by the Holy Spirit.
Therefore just as one limb assists another, one member
of the Church can assist another in much the same
way. This is a good analogy that helps explain the Church's teachings on indulgences. Remember that our righteousness
or good deeds are not really ours in the
strict sense.
They are actually grace merited by Christ at Calvary
and applied to us. We are all in Christ and therefore
can participate in this redemptive work by
grace. In Colossians St. Paul writes:
24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill
up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions
of Christ, for the sake of His Body, which is the
Church, . . .
We see here that Paul's meritorious suffering is
being offered for the Christians in Colossae,
a city in Asia Minor.
I hope this helps you to understand indulgences
a bit better.
Please feel free to write again about this or any
other question.
Under His Mercy,
John DiMascio
Terry
replied:
Dear Brock and Gabriella,
I think the queries about indulgences need to
include the following explanations:
Much confusion was caused in the past regarding X
number of days indulgence and many people, including some well instructed Catholics, assumed
this was a remittance of that number of days
in
Purgatory. Not So!
The number
of days ascribed to indulgences were the number of days to complete
a particular activity.
For example, so many prayers, or a visit
to shrine, etc. was equivalent to
a sinner completing that number of days of penance. (i.e.
in the early Church, sackcloth and ashes)
It was never to be interpreted as a number of
days in Purgatory:
"with
God, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years
is like a day."
We cannot
know (this side of the grave) how long anyone will spend
in Purgatory. The only thing we do know is, God
is infinitely just as well as infinitely merciful, and
that we have the gift of free will to accept or reject
His Mercy.
Also remember, Jesus gave Peter the keys to loosen or
bind. Whatever he binds on earth is considered bound
in Heaven. (Matthew 16:13-19) Therefore indulgences are an act of mercy
by Holy Mother Church,
in her solicitude for her children.
It is most unfortunate when Catholics neglect and reject
this wonderful gift from their Mother, the Church.
Terry Quinn
BA (Divinity) Hons, MA Theology (Marian Studies)
England
Victor commented:
Hi, guys —
The CCC paragraph 1471 teaches that one can gain an
indulgence for oneself or for the souls in Purgatory. It does not state that we can gain an indulgence
for another living person.
1471 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." (Pope St. Paul VI, Apostolic Constitution, Indulgentiarum Doctrina, Norm 1)
"An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin." (Indulgentiarum Doctrina, Norm 2; cf. Norm 3) The faithful can gain indulgences for themselves or apply them to the dead. (Code of Canon Law, canon 994. 84Cf. Council of Trent (1551): DS 1712-1713; (1563): 1820)
See also:
2 Corinthians 2:6-11 St. Paul himself issued an indulgence by
lessening the temporal penance for sin of a straying brother.
While these answers do
not specifically state that we can gain an indulgence
for another living person they certainly imply it.
Each of us is responsible for our own sins. We are
not held accountable for the sins of other living
individuals and therefore cannot make satisfaction
for them.
In addition, the doctrine of indulgences has its
roots in Judaism and goes back thousands of years.
Victor
Richard
replied:
For those interested,
Pope Paul VI's Apostolic Constitution "Indulgentiarum Doctrina" is available on the Vatican website.
Interestingly, the 1986 edition of the Norms for Indulgences, say flat-out (norm
#3) that one cannot obtain an indulgence for a living
person other than oneself.
In the 1999 edition, that
particular statement is replaced by the text of canon
994: saying that the faithful may obtain indulgences
for themselves or offer them as suffrages for the
dead. It doesn't rule out gaining an indulgence for
a specific deceased person.
— RC
Mary
Ann replied:
Hi, Victor —
Whether or not one is able to offer an indulgence
for another, (I am sure one could ask God to do it),
one may certainly offer the fruit of one's prayers, good works and penances for another for
all the reasons that have been mentioned.
Mary Ann
Terry
replied:
Hi, Victor —
I can't find any specific text but my gut feeling is that an indulgence would normally be obtained
for oneself or a soul in Purgatory — after all, if
one were trying to obtain one for someone else,
it
would surely be more appropriate to encourage them
to obtain the indulgence for themselves.
Terry
Mike
replied:
Hi, guys —
I would tend to agree with Terry's opinion of what
the Church officially teaches:
That an indulgence can only be gained for:
oneself or
the souls in Purgatory.
In addition, I just talked to a friend who is knowledgeable
on Purgatory and he agreed with Richard's opinion
of the Church's view. If you are reading this posting and have a strong devotion for the Holy Souls or have family that has passed away, check out my other web site dedicated to praying for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
