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Dear Daneille,
An Act of Contrition is a prayer
expressing sorrow for sin and a resolution
to not sin in the future. There is
a standard Act
of Contrition, I'm sure you can
google it. The most basic act of
contrition is:
"Lord, have mercy on me,
a sinner."
So to make an act of contrition is
to pray in this way.
Form the intention of gaining
the indulgences, whether for himself
or for the souls in Purgatory . . .
refers to a means by which we may
obtain relief from the temporal effects
of sin in Purgatory.
You see, when we commit a sin, there
are two elements to it, the eternal
and temporal. This is illustrated
by 2 Samuel 12:12-14, where God forgives
David (preventing him from dying) but identifies a temporal effect
of David's sin — the death
of his son.
When we die, any such effects to
sins we have committed, and all attachment
to sin, are cleansed from us in a
process known as Purgatory. We also
are cleansed in this life through
the ordinary trials of life. It is
the Catholic tradition to pray for
deceased individuals so that they
may be cleansed of their sins.
In
prior ages, this process was often
depicted in terms of punishment and
suffering, and indulgences were offered,
as they are offered to this day,
as relief from that suffering.
However you choose to look at it,
we want to assist the cleansing,
and indulgences are a means the Church
institutes by which we may cleanse
ourselves or a departed loved one from the
temporal effects of sin. A Plenary
indulgence is granted to the faithful,
who make the pious exercises of the
Stations of the Cross, also known
as the Way of the Cross. (An indulgence
is partial or plenary according,
as it removes either part or all
of the temporal punishment due to
sin.)
What this phrase basically means
is that you should consciously intend
to obtain the indulgence for participating
in the Stations of the Cross (since
an intention to obtain the indulgence,
is a prerequisite for obtaining the
indulgence) and specify whether it's
for yourself or for some specific
deceased person.
For example, you might pray,
"Lord, I offer this indulgence
for the soul of my grandmother",
or
"Lord, accept this indulgence
for the multitude of my sins."
Eric
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