Can I release my dead father from Purgatory by devoutly reading 30 minutes of Sacred Scripture?

[TLM08]

The handbook of indulgences says that one can obtain a plenary indulgence by reading 30 minutes of sacred scripture. Does this mean we can free a family member from all of their temporal punishment by obtaining a plenary indulgence through this simple devout act?

 

[Pax_Vobiscum_57]

From www.gotquestions.org

Again, Indulgences pertain only to temporal, not eternal, punishment and can only be distributed through a Roman Catholic Church leader to someone who is either in Purgatory or is still living and whose soul is in the state of sanctifying grace (i.e., he/she would go to Purgatory, not hell, if he/she were to die at that moment). An indulgence can be obtained through a good deed done, a Mass being offered on behalf of someone, prayer, abstinence, giving to the poor, or some other meritorious act performed in accordance with requirements set by a Pope or bishop having jurisdiction over that individual. The offering of a Mass for someone is seen as one of the most effective means of reducing the temporal punishment of that person in Purgatory. A partial indulgence will reduce the temporal punishment a person has. A plenary indulgence will remove all temporal punishment.

gotquestions.org/plenary-indulgences.html

 

[PhilotheaZ]

The handbook of indulgences says that one can obtain a plenary indulgence by reading 30 minutes of sacred scripture. Does this mean we can free a family member from all of their temporal punishment by obtaining a plenary indulgence through this simple devout act?

Obtaining a plenary indulgence requires that you fulfill the following “usual conditions” along with the indulgenced act:

• Go to confession within several days of the indulgenced act (usually considered to be within a week before or after; if you are not in the state of grace, you should go to confession before)
• Receive Holy Communion (preferably on the same day as the indulgenced act)
• Pray for the Pope (most people pray an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be for his intentions, but you can substitute other prayers of your choosing)
• Freedom from all attachment to sin, mortal and venial (ah, there’s the difficult part!)

As to whether your family member will be in heaven immediately after you complete these acts, we leave that to God’s judgment and mercy. We believe in the efficacy of indulgences, and we leave up to God exactly how that will be carried out. He knows best your family member’s need for purification.

And no prayer for the dead ever goes to waste; if your family member is already in heaven, I am sure your prayers will benefit another soul.

 

[TLM08]

From www.gotquestions.org

Again, Indulgences pertain only to temporal, not eternal, punishment and can only be distributed through a Roman Catholic Church leader to someone who is either in Purgatory or is still living and whose soul is in the state of sanctifying grace (i.e., he/she would go to Purgatory, not hell, if he/she were to die at that moment). An indulgence can be obtained through a good deed done, a Mass being offered on behalf of someone, prayer, abstinence, giving to the poor, or some other meritorious act performed in accordance with requirements set by a Pope or bishop having jurisdiction over that individual. The offering of a Mass for someone is seen as one of the most effective means of reducing the temporal punishment of that person in Purgatory. A partial indulgence will reduce the temporal punishment a person has. A plenary indulgence will remove all temporal punishment.

gotquestions.org/plenary-indulgences.html

Hey Pax Vobiscum:
I returned to the Holy Roman Catholic Church six years ago after spending a few years in protestant fundamentalism so rest assured, I can smell an former catholic a mile away. You can spare us the anti-catholic link. You are obviously lurking in here to lead the rest of us poor deceived ignorant catholics away form this “dreadful cult”.

Your motives are pure but I suggest you do a little honest research before you come in here and try to lure those less informed away from Holy Mother Church and into the errors of protestantism.

 

[happymommy]

Hey Pax Vobiscum:
I returned to the Holy Roman Catholic Church six years ago after spending a few years in protestant fundamentalism so rest assured, I can smell an former catholic a mile away. You can spare us the anti-catholic link. You are obviously lurking in here to lead the rest of us poor deceived ignorant catholics away form this “dreadful cult”.

Your motives are pure but I suggest you do a little honest research before you come in here and try to lure those less informed away from Holy Mother Church and into the errors of protestantism.

Good catch! I didn’t go to the website when I read the post earlier. I’m glad you did! Well done!

 

[Eucharisted]

The handbook of indulgences says that one can obtain a plenary indulgence by reading 30 minutes of sacred scripture. Does this mean we can free a family member from all of their temporal punishment by obtaining a plenary indulgence through this simple devout act?

Yes, but you must go by what the handbook of indulences says, i.e., meet the three conditions of confession, Communion in the state of grace, and praying for the intentions of the Holy Father (a simple Hail Mary and Our Father for the Pope’s intentions would suffice). Listening to God in His Word is a beautiful devout act, but we must not simply be listeners but doers of the Word of God.

 

[PhilotheaZ]

Hey Pax Vobiscum:
I returned to the Holy Roman Catholic Church six years ago after spending a few years in protestant fundamentalism so rest assured, I can smell an former catholic a mile away. You can spare us the anti-catholic link. You are obviously lurking in here to lead the rest of us poor deceived ignorant catholics away form this “dreadful cult”.

Your motives are pure but I suggest you do a little honest research before you come in here and try to lure those less informed away from Holy Mother Church and into the errors of protestantism.

TLM08, I think you may be mistaken. Judging from Pax Vobiscum_57’s other posts elsewhere in the forums, she is a well-meaning Catholic, not “lurking” to lead us away. She probably just made an error in judgment regarding that particular website.

God bless both of you.

 

[TLM08]

Good catch! I didn’t go to the website when I read the post earlier. I’m glad you did! Well done!

Thanks. The “cut and paste” flavor of Pax_Vobiscum’s reply smelled strange. These anti-catholics, who are often ex-catholics who were never properly catechized, don’t even understand what they are attacking.

 

[dans0622]

[Edited]

Hello TLM08,

[Edited]

As far as your original question goes, others have given the answer I would give–if the Handbook says it, then yes you can.

God bless you and your father.

Dan

 

[TLM08]

TLM08, I think you may be mistaken. Judging from Pax Vobiscum_57’s other posts elsewhere in the forums, she is a well-meaning Catholic, not “lurking” to lead us away. She probably just made an error in judgment regarding that particular website.

God bless both of you.

Pax Vobiscum’s link it to a website is that is designed to get Catholics to abandon their faith for protestantism. This must be exposed immediately.

No hard feelings toward Pax! This may have been done as an innocent mistake, but it still must be addressed.

 

[fecistinosadte]

Call me old school, but the Baltimore Catechism has a nice overview!

LESSON 33 – Temporal Punishment and Indulgences
435. What is an indulgence?

An indulgence is the remission granted by the Church of the temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven.

Receive the Holy Ghost; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained. (Jn 20,22-23)

1. How many kinds of indulgences are there?

There are two kinds of indulgences, plenary and partial.

1. What is a plenary indulgence?

A plenary indulgence is the remission of all the temporal punishment due to our sins.

1. What is a partial indulgence?

A partial indulgence is the remission of part of the temporal punishment due to our sins.

1. How does the Church by means of indulgences remit the temporal punishment due to sin?

The Church by means of indulgences remits the temporal punishment due to sin by applying to us from her spiritual treasury part of the infinite satisfaction of Jesus Christ and of the superabundant satisfaction of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the saints.

For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all, bearing witness in his own time. (1Tm 2,5-6)

1. What is the superabundant satisfaction of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the saints?

The superabundant satisfaction of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the saints is that which they gained during their lifetime but did not need, and which the Church applies to their fellow members of the communion of saints.

1. What must we do to gain an indulgence for ourselves?

To gain an indulgence for ourselves we must be in the state of grace, have at least a general intention of gaining the indulgence, and perform the works required by the Church.

1. Can we gain indulgences for others?

We cannot gain indulgences for other living persons, but we can gain them for the souls in purgatory, since the Church makes most indulgences applicable to them.

It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins. (2M 12,46)

Here is a good link for you too!
clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/cyd.htm

 

[TLM08]

It is said that even the “just” man sins seven times a day.

To be free from all attachment to sin, even venial sin is necessary for a plenary indulgence… Does that mean that if I were to commit a venial sin the day before or after obtaining a plenary indulgence that the indulgence is void?

Or does that mean that I only have to have a hatred for my venial sins… ?

 

[fecistinosadte]

So the Norm is-

n.7–To acquire a plenary indulgence it is necessary to perform the work to which the indulgence is attached and to fulfill three conditions: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion and prayer for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. It is further required that all attachment to sin, even to venial sin, be absent.
If this disposition is in any way less than complete, or if the prescribed three conditions are not fulfilled, the indulgence will be only partial, except for the provisions contained in n. 11 for those who are “impeded.”

What that means is that you can have no sort of attachment to sin- none. What is attachment to sin? Attachment to sin is any sort of desire or will to sin again. To be detached from sin is to renounce sin. It is the firm purpose of amendment that is required for sacramental confession as well. You need to be firm in your resolve against sin. It does not mean that you are perfect and will never sin again. If you have some attachment to sin, all is not lost it still is a partial indulgence.

Lastly, the indulgence is gained on one day- with the particular act, reception of Holy Communion, prayers for the Supreme Pontiff, and Sacramental confession within several days of the work.

So, if you commit a mortal sin sin, and decide to make reparation for it after Sacramental confession, you receive the Eucharist after, pray for the Holy Father, and say read 30 minutes of Scripture all while being completely detached from sin- then it would be a plenary indulgence.

However, be on guard against presumption and superstition!

Remember- “An indulgence is obtained through the Church who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the temporal punishments due for their sins. Thus the Church does not want simply to come to the aid of these Christians, but also to spur them to works of devotion, penance, and charity.”

 

[jmcrae]

It is said that even the “just” man sins seven times a day.

To be free from all attachment to sin, even venial sin is necessary for a plenary indulgence… Does that mean that if I were to commit a venial sin the day before or after obtaining a plenary indulgence that the indulgence is void?

Nothing can “void” an Indulgence - it is applied at the very moment that you receive it. They aren’t “stored up.”

Or does that mean that I only have to have a hatred for my venial sins… ?

Hatred for your venial sins is sufficient. “Attachment” to your sins is the idea that, in your head you know it’s wrong, but you continue to commit them for some other reason - perhaps an emotional reason, or as a substitute for healthy behaviour that for some reason is lacking in your life, along with making excuses for yourself. “It’s not so bad, because …”

But even if you find yourself attached to some venial sin, you can still gain partial indulgences - as many as you want.

 

[Hoxbar]

I would like to know where this is in the Bible.

 

[TLM08]

I would like to know where this is in the Bible.

It’s a long story, but not everything the church teaches is clearly spelled out in black and white in scripture. Sometimes a little digging is required. For example, the word “trinity” isn’t in the Bible either.

 

[PhilotheaZ]

I would like to know where this is in the Bible.

We read this definition of “indulgence” in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (bold emphasis added):

“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.”

Christ gave the Catholic Church, through Peter, the first Pope, and subsequently to his successors, broad authority to determine how the salvation won by Christ’s saving actions would be dispensed. We see this in Matthew 16:18-19:

“And I tell you, your are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

The keys of the kingdom of heaven granted to the Catholic Church are just that — keys.

 

[fin]

What i’m not sure about is the Confession. Sometimes I even try to gain a plenary indulgence 20 days since my last confession.

I’;ve heard somewhere that Confession is for 20 days within the indulgenced act. so i don’t know if it’s really 20 or 7 days…

 

[thistle]

The handbook of indulgences says that one can obtain a plenary indulgence by reading 30 minutes of sacred scripture. Does this mean we can free a family member from all of their temporal punishment by obtaining a plenary indulgence through this simple devout act?

We do not know nor do we determine when someone moves from Purgatory to Heaven and the Church does not teach this either. We should simply continue to pray for the souls in Purgatory.
Only God knows and decides who moves and when.

 

[Timothysis]

We do not know nor do we determine when someone moves from Purgatory to Heaven and the Church does not teach this either. We should simply continue to pray for the souls in Purgatory.
Only God knows and decides who moves and when.

Excellent answer. The Church has, in fact, moved away from some of these detailed determinations of indulgences. God’s mercy isn’t determined by a check list of prayers.