In keeping with Pope Francis’ wish to extend to the faithful
a plenary indulgence during the Holy Year of Mercy, Bishop Conlon of the Joliet
Diocese has named several parishes as diocesan pilgrimage churches for the Holy
Year. By visiting one of these Churches
and fulfilling the other prescribed conditions, the faithful may receive a
plenary indulgence. Bishop Conlon has
named Ss. Peter and Paul in Naperville as one of the Pilgrimage Churches.
What is an
indulgence?
Going to the sacrament of Confession brings about, through
God’s mercy, the forgiveness of our sins, as well as the eternal consequence of
sins (John 20:21-23; Matthew 16:18-19).
However, even after a sin is forgiven in Confession, temporal
consequences may remain (cf. 2 Sam. 12:7-12; Numbers 14:13-23; 20:12;
27:12-14). Before we are to enter into
the presence of God in Heaven, these temporal consequences must be remitted as
well (Revelation 21:27). But consider:
if Christ gave the ministers of His Church the authority to forgive the eternal
consequences of sin, how much more would the Church have the ability to remit
the temporal consequences of sin as well!
To help understand this, picture your soul as a block of
wood. Each sin is like hammering a nail
into the block. Serious sins drive
large, damaging nails into the wood. The
sacrament of Confession is like removing the nails with a pliers. However, there are remaining effects: there
are holes in the block of wood. Before
we enter into Heaven, God wishes to repair all the damage done by sin; he
wishes to fill in the holes.
With God’s grace and in His mercy, the temporal punishment
due to sin can be remitted in this life through the voluntary penances we take
on, or the involuntary penances we patiently endure. For those dying in a state of grace, if there
still remains temporal punishment due to sin, there is a final state of
purification known as Purgatory (2 Maccabees 12:39-46; 1 Corinthians
3:11-15). Another means of remitting the
temporal punishment due to sin is through an indulgence.
Through an indulgence, by the ministry of the Church God the
temporal punishment due to sins, the guilt of which has been absolved through
the Sacrament of Confession. The
Christian faithful must be rightly disposed and observe prescribed conditions
to gain this remission through the assistance of the Church. An indulgence may be partial or plenary. While a partial indulgence remits some of the
temporal punishment due to sin, a plenary indulgence frees a person from all of
the temporal punishment due to sin. A
plenary indulgence may be gained only once a day. Indulgences are applicable either to oneself
or to the dead.
How can one obtain a
plenary indulgence during the Holy Year of Mercy?
The Holy Father attached the Holy Year indulgence to several
actions. Among them are included:
- Visiting one of the Diocesan Pilgrimage churches, which includes Ss. Peter and Paul in Naperville
- Or by personally performing one or more of the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy.
In addition
to one of these acts, the individual receiving the indulgence must also:
- Have the intention of acquiring the indulgence
- Go to sacramental Confession
- Receive Holy Communion,
- Make a profession of faith, praying for the Holy Father and for the intentions that he bears in his heart for the good of the Church and of the entire world
No comments:
Post a Comment