Days of Penance and Partial Indulgences

[ChristIsTheWay]

I have an old pamphlet that states kissing my scapular grants an indulgence of 500 days. It bears the mark of the imprimatur of the Bishop of Springfield. I was told that in 1968 the Church abolished publishing a number of days of penance granted a partial indulgence. Does that mean that older list of partial indulgences that included the number of days are now invalid? In other words, if I kiss my scapular, will I still receive 500 days of indulgence?

 

[JoelEatMilo]

I think that the indulgences are atill valid, but it is not measured by days or years now… Please correct me if I am wrong…

 

[ChristIsTheWay]

Anyone else?

 

[ChristIsTheWay]

Does no one know the answer to this question?

 

[DavidFilmer]

The Church once categorized partial indulgences by the number of “days” they would remit. Indulgences that were tied to acts that were more sacrificial or difficult would be rated more highly. It was not a firm number, but a means to gauge the relative merits if different indulgences. It was just for reference, not a doctrinal teaching.

This caused confusion, because people started thinking it referred to literal days. It never did. Most theologians do not believe that time exists in purgatory, so the concept of “days” could not literally apply.

The Church has never changed Her teaching that more sacrificial or difficult indulgences can obtain a greater measure of Grace, but She has stopped using specific units of measure. I guess we use our own common sense to figure out that a pilgrimage to the Holy Land would have a greater impact than ten minutes of Bible reading.

 

[ChristIsTheWay]

The Church has never changed Her teaching that more sacrificial or difficult indulgences can obtain a greater measure of Grace, but She has stopped using specific units of measure. I guess we use our own common sense to figure out that a pilgrimage to the Holy Land would have a greater impact than ten minutes of Bible reading.

But what about those of us who can not afford a pilgrimage to the Holy Land? How are we to obtain more sacrificial or difficult indulgences if they are out of our means? Does not God want us all to have access to these indulgences?

 

[JM3]

freecatholicebooks.com/books/indulgences.pdf

vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_p-vi_apc_19670101_indulgentiarum-doctrina_en.html

 

[porthos11]

Does no one know the answer to this question?

The Church stopped measuring partial indulgences by days because of the confusion it caused; people were thinking that a 500-day indulgence took 500 days of one’s stay in Purgatory, which was incorrect to begin with. It meant that it was the equivalent of 500 days of penance as reckoned in the early days of Christianity. It was, as it were, a commutation. How much “time” that took off one’s stay in Purgatory was always unknown.

In 1968, the norms for indulgences were revised, and some acts were removed, some added and the days equivalent for partial indulgences were removed. Kissing or using your scapular still carries with it a partial indulgence but the Church no longer counts days, so neither should we.

 

[porthos11]

But what about those of us who can not afford a pilgrimage to the Holy Land? How are we to obtain more sacrificial or difficult indulgences if they are out of our means? Does not God want us all to have access to these indulgences?

The Handbook has tons of works you can do to gain both plenary and partial indulgences. What’s the difficulty here?

In fact, I’m surprised that many people raise such a ruckus about this or that plenary indulgence being offered (especially during the feast of the Divine Mercy) when plenary indulgences can be had every single day of the year (of course, subject to the usual conditions) and partial indulgences even more so.

 

[Genesis315]

All past grants were explicitly abolished by the Pope with the publishing of the Constitution Indulgentiarum Doctrina in 1968.

“Two years after the date of this constitution, indulgences which have not been confirmed will become null and void.”

I don’t believe there still exists a specific grant for kissing a scapular, but it would fall under this general grant:

ourladyswarriors.org/indulge/g35.htm

Also, while days are no longer used, partial indulgences do not have a totally unknown value. According to Pope Paul VI’s Constitution, they essentially double the value of the act itself. So, if using a scapular remits x on its own, the partial indulgence would remit an additional x, for a total of 2x.
Indulgentiarum Doctrina:

n. 5—The faithful who at least with a contrite heart perform an action to which a partial indulgence is attached obtain, in addition to the remission of temporal punishment acquired by the action itself, an equal remission of punishment through the intervention of the Church.