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What are "plenary" and "partial" indulgences, and how can we obtain them? |
Question: What are "plenary" and "partial" indulgences, and how can we obtain them? Answer: A plenary indulgence means that by the merits of Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints, the full remission of the temporal punishment due to sacramentally forgiven sins is obtained. The person becomes as if just baptised and would go immediately to heaven if he or she died in that instant. A partial indulgence means that a portion of the temporal punishment due to forgiven sin is remitted. For a partial indulgence you need to: 1. Be baptised. 2. Be in the state of grace. 3. Have the intention to obtain the indulgence. 4. Perform the works or offer the prayers correctly. For a plenary indulgence: 1. Meet all the requirements for a partial indulgence. 2. Not be excommunicated. 3. Have no affection for sin, even venial sin. 4. Receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Communion and offer prayers for the Pope's intentions within the prescribed period of time. It may be that someone's wish to obtain a plenary indulgence is not granted because condition no. 3 is not fulfilled. The indulgence can be obtained on any one day, it does not have to be done on multiple days. The communion, confession and prayers for the Pope's intentions (which can be any one of a number of prayers, such as an Our Father and a Hail Mary) do not need to be performed all on the same day and it is sufficient to do these acts within several days of the act performed to obtain the indulgence. |
I have been thinking a great deal about my experience at Reconciliation this past Saturday. I felt an intense and unexplainable urge to go and confess my sins when I woke up that morning. I try to go every six weeks or so, but this was no routine visit to the priest for me. I needed to unburden myself of the numerous venial sins I had committed since I last participated in this Sacrament.
Purest Gold: God's Refining Fire in our Lives »
After salvation, many young Christians wonder if there's anything more to their newfound faith than just the security blanket of "being a Christian." Time and time again, God shows himself as a "refiner," and our lives are as gold. God started leading me in this study to understand what He was doing in my life, as well as in the lives of others.
Picking up my pen to write this column, I couldn’t imagine how time flies. Since the last publication of this column I have gone through a lot, especially the loss of my dear mother to whom I dedicate this article. Not only her, but seems I lost a whole generation of my close family.
How to Achieve Business Excellence »
“Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before Kings; He will not stand before unknown men.” Proverbs 22:29
Spiritual Development for our Youth »
Most of us youth in today's fast moving world are easily thrown off by difficulties and worries.
The theme of conversion is a thread that runs all through Lent, but conversion takes on different aspects throughout the phases of Lent. The first two and a half weeks focused on the interior turning of hearts; the liturgy urges the faithful to reflect and examine consciences thoroughly.
Saint Josephine Bakhita »
Feast Day: February 8
Patron Saint Of: Sudan
Saint Josephine Margaret Bakhita was born around 1869 in the village of Olgossa in the Darfur region of Sudan. She was a member of the Daju people and her uncle was a tribal chief. Due to her family lineage, she grew up happy and relatively prosperous, saying that as a child, she did not know suffering.
Catholics Must Fast More Intensely This Lent»
The Norbertine Canons of St. Michael's Abbey have created this digital Lenten retreat so that you can journey through this holy season alongside them. If you want to have one of your best Lenten seasons yet, join us in our Lenten Program "The Great Fast" - https://theabbotscircle.com/the-great-fast-join
When Your Faith Is Put to the Test - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon»
Friends, we come now to the Second Sunday of Lent, and we’re on both dangerous and very holy ground with the first reading from the twenty-second chapter of Genesis. The ancient Israelites referred to it as the “Akedah,” which means the “binding”: Abraham binds and is ready to sacrifice Isaac at God’s command.
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