I have a question on well, indulgences. I understand what they do (remit temporal punishment) and how to obtain them (be in a state of grace and intend to receive them). But when it refers to remission of temporal punishment, how much are we talking? in the olden days the Church used to give the indulgence in days but now refers to them only as Partial and Plenary.
Here recently I came to the understanding that Plenary took away all of your time in purgatory and if you were to die after you receive it you would go straight to heaven. Is this correct? If not how does it really work, again how much time in the slammer are we taking off?
Also I could use an explanation of the Partial indulgences namely, how much time do we get off for them?
Any and all help/discussion is welcome. For those who have no clue what I am talking about when it comes to indulgences just hang out for a bit and maybe we can help you understand (at least to the knowledge I have).
Peace and Blessings be upon you all!
****Here are some things I found in my copy of the *Manual of Indulgences: Norms and Grants *(
Enchiridion Indulgentiarum: Normae et Concessiones) *Fourth Edition *(1999):
Foreward:
…Intimately connected with the Sacrament of Penance, indulgences are given by the Church from her spiritual treasury to remit temporal punishment for sin. Thus, this Manual of Indulgences opens a special door to this treasury for all the faithful…Indulgences are, in the words of Pope John Paul II, “the expression of the the Chruch’s full confidence of being heard by the Father when - in view of Christ’s merits and, by his gift, those of Our Lady and the saints -
she asks him to mitigate or cancel the painful aspect of punishment by fostering its medicinal aspect through other channels of grace.” (Pope John Paul II, General Audience, September 29, 1999).
Norms on Indulgences
N1. An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment for sins, whose guilt is forgiven, which a properly disposed member of the Christian faithful obtains under certain and clearly defined conditions through the intervention of the Church, which, as the minister of Redemption, dispenses and applies authoritatively the treasury of the expiatory works of Christ and the saints.
N2. And indulgence is partial or plenary according to whether it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due sin.
N3. The faithful can obtain partial or plenary indulgences for themselves, or they can apply them to the dead by way of suffrage.
N17. In order to be capable of gaining indulgences one must be baptized, not excommunicated, and in the state of grace at least at the completion of the prescribed work
N18. A plenary indulgence can be acquired only once in the course of a day; a partial indulgence can be acquired multiple times.
N20. To gain a plenary indulgence, in addition to exluding all attachment to sin, even venial sin, it is necessary to perform the indulgenced work and fulfill the following three conditions: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for the intention of the Soverign Pontiff.
Code:
A single sacramental confession suffices for gaining several plenary indulgences; but Holy Communion must be received and prayer for the intention of the Holy Father must be recited for the gaining of each plenary indulgence.
The three conditions may be fullfilled several days before or after the performance of the prescribed work; it is however, fitting that Communion be received and the prayer for the intention of the Holy Father be said on the same day the work is performed.
If the full disposition is lacking, or if the work and the three prescribed conditions are not fullfilled, saving the provisions given in Norm 24 and in Norm 25 regarding those who are "impeded," the indulgence will only be partial.
Here is just one example of a plenary indulgence:
Grants
30. Reading of Sacred Scripture
A plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful who read the Sacred Scriptures as spiritual reading, from a text approved by competent authority and with the reverence due to the divine word, for at least a half an hour; if the time is less, the indulgence will be partial.
