Are you curious what it's all about? Have you ever heard of what a Plenary indulgence can do? Well I didn't care much about it before but now I'm all for it because I finally know better! 😆
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What is a Plenary Indulgence?
Let's start with knowing about the aftermath of sin and then you'll know why plenary indulgence is important.
🤔 What is the Effect of Sin?
The result of sin is suffering on Earth (Genesis 3:17-19) and then in purgatory IF we do not qualify for the eternal punishment of hell. People go to hell because of non-repentance of sins and/or rejection of God and His teachings/commandments.
Aside from that, if only a few of us prays for each other then don't expect a ton of sinful humans will get to Heaven. 😅 This may be hard to accept but even the mother of Jesus Christ says so.
Mama Mary's message to the three shepherd children of Fatima, Portugal in 1917. | image source
👉 What is God's Remedy for it?
God doesn't want anyone to eternally suffer or be damned to eternity so Jesus Christ eventually instituted the Sacrament of Confession (John 20:22-23) to His apostles. And we can avail of it to this day!
Now, our sins being forgiven by God upon absolution during each confession doesn't mean we won't be punished after death for the sins we did! (Oh boy. Haha.)
☝️ The Sludge of Confessed Sins Must be further Cleansed!
After we repent and when we finally have a great relationship with the Holy Trinity we can then most likely avoid hell. BUT we still need to deal with temporary consequences (temporal punishment) of the forgiven sins.
Meaning after our souls are absolved of sins we need to be further sanctified by gaining indulgences in order for our souls to be completely purified!!! Important: Working on gaining a plenary indulgence is one way of "earning treasures" in Heaven!
🔑 Plenary Indulgence is the Key!
Indulgences can either be full or partial in terms of the required temporal punishments (or consequences) that will not be enforced anymore.
Temporal punishment ends when our souls are finally completely cleansed! Plenary indulgences can fully remit the temporal punishment of our forgiven sins according to our guilt.
😱 Why did it Become Controversial?
From 1517 and onwards, a discontented priest contradicted what Jesus Christ taught including the Catholic Church's millennia of traditions and teachings. | (image source)
Well there was once a Catholic priest who became a Protestant because of this treasured Catholic Church practice, among other things. The influence of the devil is really geared more on those closest to the Lord. Despite being a clergyman he eventually chose not to obey the Pope rather than help the Church to reform itself while still part of it.
(I already wrote a bit more about this in an older post here so feel free to read that too. 😉)
Demons can never go back to live in Heaven that's why they hate people and are envious of humans. They want more people to experience the pain of such loss in hell. Just ask any Catholic exorcist priest! Evil beings do everything to make us ignorant and misinformed so we can't get to Heaven.
Anyway while further thinking about this, I realized something. Because the man was excommunicated and even called an Antichrist, it means all the many Christian followers of him and his teachings also have his excommunication status. Oh boy, that's another topic for another day. Haha.
⛪ In summary...
Here's a priest with an explanation on what it is plus Divine Mercy Sunday.
Again, after we commit sins and confess them, it all gets absolved by God but it doesn't end there. What happens when we get temporal punishment (from God's justice)? We are purified further from our forgiven sins! This is why the devil has prevented and is still preventing so many people from doing such holy acts!
In short, having committed Sins means we are required to Repent from it and receive Punishment as a consequence of our wrongdoings which leads to our soul's Purification or Sanctification! Only when finally we're completely cleansed can we then enter Heaven! (Revelation 21:27)
Yes we humans can be purified while still alive by gaining indulgences!!! Even Jesus Himself granted St. Francis' request that a plenary indulgence be given via the Portiuncula indulgence! (More on that in a later post.) But again, how much of the consequences of sins will be removed depends on God, our state of grace and our actions.
A plenary indulgence will erase ALL the punishment/consequence we got from every confessed sins absolved by the priests. So when we acquire its benefits our souls will be wiped clean of everything just like when we were baptized! That's like straight to Heaven upon death in such a state!
Of course let's not get too excited here... 😆 Plenary indulgences can only be acquired once a day according to the Indulgentiarum Doctrina by Pope Paul VI in 1967. (This is the most up to date major ruling on indulgences.) And we only gain it when we do all the requirements.
The Gift of Indulgence decree given in Rome at the offices of the Apostolic Penitentiary, 29 January 2000 also supersedes the practice of fulfilling the requirements in 8 days before or after. Thus all required works can now be done within twenty days to fulfill the requirements. See the list below.
👀 Additional Things to Know
Take note that a certain Liturgical Year book series by Abbot Guéranger states the traditions, celebrations and liturgical practices of the Catholic Church. This was written in the late 19th century. Any indulgence information from that, including older and later ones like the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) has been updated by the following Vatican decrees/documents:
- Apostolic Constitution, The Doctrine of Indulgences or Indulgentiarum Doctrina (1967)
- Apostolic Penitentiary, Enchiridion Indulgentiarum or Manual of Indulgences a.k.a. Raccolta (1968) which already has a 4th edition from 1999.
- Apostolic Penitentiary, The Gift of the Indulgence (2000)
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REQUIREMENTS or HOW to Receive a Plenary Indulgence
A baptized and non-excommunicated Catholic can obtain this by doing the following:
- Must be in a state of grace and free from all sins, even venial sins. (Meaning you must avail of the Sacrament of Confession.)
- Go to mass and receive communion.
- Pray for the Intentions of the Holy Father. (Any prayer of choice but the suggested ones are 1 Our Father and 1 Hail Mary, optional to add 1 Glory Be).
- Do the required specific actions or works to gain it. (Examples: Going to a Franciscan church or any parish and praying 1 Our Father and 1 Apostle's Creed on Aug 1 to 2. Read the Bible for at least 30 minutes. Pray 1 Our Father and 1 Apostle's Creed in church on November 2 for a soul in purgatory. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for at least half an hour. Etc.)
Take note that this can only be applied to oneself or to a soul of our choice who's in purgatory. Or we can let Mama Mary and God decide who deserves to be granted with the indulgences we acquire.
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All of these are recommended to be done in one day. If such is not possible, all must be done within 20 days of the specified date when it can be done.
Aren't We Required to Say Many Prayers?
Traditionally it was a set of 6 Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be prayers (plus other required prayers). However the Indulgentiarum Doctrina of 1967 already voided the six sets of prayers. Refer to the requirements listed above.
Points to Ponder
Anyway, again, why strive to gain a plenary indulgence? Because it makes our souls as white as snow, just like when we were baptized as an infant/child. It totally wipes out the sludge left by our forgiven sins meaning we can enter Heaven immediately if we die in such a state. AND it helps free suffering souls in purgatory! This is why demons work every second to block people from experiencing such ever!
At the end of the day, know that God is merciful so when doing these church practices, let's not be too hard on ourselves. Apparently scrupulosity is not a good habit. 😅 Even saints warn against being scrupulous.
Remember, in everything we do we must trust in the Lord!
So, have you tried doing this at least once in your life? Feel free to share your thoughts and experience in the comments.
