Sunday, September 9, 2012
312. What are indulgences? (part 1)
(Comp
312) Indulgences are the remission before God of the temporal punishment
due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven. The faithful Christian who
is duly disposed gains the indulgence under prescribed conditions for either
himself or the departed. Indulgences are granted through the ministry of the
Church which, as the dispenser of the grace of redemption, distributes the
treasury of the merits of Christ and the Saints.
“In brief”
(CCC 1498) Through indulgences the faithful can obtain the
remission of temporal punishment resulting from sin for themselves and also for
the souls in Purgatory.
To deepen and explain
1471) The doctrine and practice of indulgences in the Church
are closely linked to the effects of the sacrament of Penance. "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"
(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 (CIC, can. 944). (CCC 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" (Eph 4:22, 24).
On reflection
(CCC 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): DS 1820). (CCC 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). [IT CONTINUES]
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