Indulgences: Looking for References/Opinions on a Few Terms

[Wm777]

Ermm… my post on the topics of 1.) The Economy of Salvation, 2.) Redemption, and 3.) The Deposit of Faith - didnt really seem to get much attention, but I came across some new info I’d really like to ask about…

I ended up going to Wikipedia (not the best resource for Catholic literature, but it sometimes helps), and they have some comments associating the “Economy of Salvation” and “The Deposit of Faith”… along with something called “The Treasury of Merit”… to… of all things… indulgences…

I guess what I am asking here ISN’T to start another reformation… or counter-reformation… but I came up with a set of questions/hypotheses on how all those terms fit together… and I think what I need to do now is deep-dive into some credible research on the matter…

Can anyone give me some pointers here?

Thanks and God Bless,

Wm

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I’m having trouble understanding your post.
What does this have to do with indulgences?
Are you reading a specific document that you wanted to ask about?

 

[Wesrock]

Off them top of my head…

The Economy of Salvation - God’s plan to redeem mankind for their sins.

Redemption - Mankind broke union with God, but we have been redeemed, such that we can obtain, with God’s saving grace, communion with him.

The Deposit of Faith - The scriptures and apostolic teachings that the Church received and preserved and teaches.

The Treasury of Merit - The infinite merits of Christ and the finite merits of the saints which, among other things, the Church has the authority (of binding and loosing) to apply as satisfaction for the temporal punishment of sins for penitents on Earth and in Purgatory, as all of the Church is one body and one communion in Christ.

Indulgences - Forgiveness of temporal punishment due to sin (contrasted to eternal punishment due to sin), received from and through the Church, by some act deemed suitable by the Church. For an indulgence to be gained, the person must have already received the sacrament of reconciliation and be properly disposed (simply doing the act isn’t enough), and indulgences can only be applied to past sins, not future sins. Typically, acts are related to something virtuous or which are intended to properly dispose a person towards a more Christian life. Examples being reading scripture, certain devotions, etc… in the past certain acts of charity and almsgiving were also eligible for indulgences, but unfortunately the involvement of money led to corruption in practice, even though there’s nothing wrong with the general principle of applying indulgences to alms or charity, so the Church no longer Grant’s indulgences for anything involving money.

 

[Vico]

…

Treasury of Merit or Treasury of the Church, see Indulgentiarum Doctrina of St. Pope Paul VI:

Indulgentiarum Doctrina - Papal Encyclicals

Thus is explained the “treasury of the Church”20 which should certainly not be imagined as the sum total of material goods accumulated in the course of the centuries, but the infinite and inexhaustible value the expiation and the merits of Christ Our Lord have before God, offered as they were so that all of mankind could be set free from sin and attain communion with the Father. It is Christ the Redeemer Himself in whom the satisfactions and merits of His redemption exist and find their force.21 This treasury also includes the truly immense, unfathomable and ever pristine value before God of the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints, who following in the footsteps of Christ the Lord and by His grace have sanctified their lives and fulfilled the mission entrusted to them by the Father. Thus while attaining their own salvation, they have also cooperated in the salvation of their brothers in the unity of the Mystical Body.