X. Indulgences
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 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.)
The punishments of sin
1472 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. (cf. Council of Trent (1551): DS 1712-1713; (1563): 1820.)
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." (Ephesians 4:22- 24)
In the Communion of Saints
1474 The Christian who seeks to purify himself
of his sin and to become holy with the help of
God's grace is not alone. "The life of each
of God's children is joined in Christ and through
Christ in a wonderful way to the life of all the
other Christian brethren in the supernatural unity
of the Mystical Body of Christ, as in a single
mystical person." (Indulgentiarum doctrina, 5.)
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." (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." (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 in the unity
of the Mystical Body." (Indulgentiarum doctrina, 5.)
Obtaining indulgence from God through the Church
1478 An indulgence is obtained through the Church
who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing
granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favor
of individual Christians and opens for them the
treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints
to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission
of the temporal punishments due for their sins.
Thus the Church does not want simply to come to
the aid of these Christians, but also to spur them
to works of devotion, penance, and charity. (cf. Indulgentiarum doctrina, 5.)
1479 Since the faithful departed now being purified
are also members of the same communion of saints,
one way we can help them is to obtain indulgences
for them, so that the temporal punishments due
for their sins may be remitted. |
