Indulgences?

[LilyM]

<<Mind you, partial indulgences are not to be sneezed at in the slightest (any lessening of purgatory is an excellent thing, right?)>>

It is a common misconception that indulgences are time out of purgatory.

They aren’t.

I never said anything about lessening TIME. I simply, and correctly, said that partial indulgences lessen our purgatory - meaning they lessen its punishment. Which is not the same thing as lessening TIME spent there, if indeed any is.

 

[TOP]

What about the divine mercy indulgence? How does that work in regard to time and severity of temporal punishment? Thanks, Tim

 

[LilyM]

What about the divine mercy indulgence? How does that work in regard to time and severity of temporal punishment? Thanks, Tim

The Divine Mercy Indulgence is a Plenary Indulgence, meaning it completely remits all temporal punishment due to sin.

You can’t speak of ‘time’ in regard to the punishment of Purgatory which indulgences either lessen (if partial) or remit altogether (if Plenary), since we can’t be sure that Purgatory actually exists in time, it may exist outside of time.

 

[TOP]

Thanks LilyM, I’ve always attached the contcept of time to purgatory, I guess because of the promise of the brown scapular. Also, it’s hard for me to not consider purgatory in time because of purgative experience’s I’ve dealt with on earth, though time was not important and became lost, it still existed here, so I could tell you how long it took by filling in the blank. I still can’t wrap my mind around purgatory being outside of time. I find it impossible to consider it eternal. Is there any sermons or teachings on this? Tim

 

[TOP]

I can only find it refered to as “an intermediate state” and a “detainment” by God in this which would suggest a begining and end. I would think time is different maybe even ilrelevant, but still exists in some way. newadvent.org/cathen/12575a.htm

 

[mommyof4]

I was in a situation where a plenary indulgence was granted. However, because I am waiting for an annulment to go through and can’t receive the sacraments right now, I guess I’m just out of luck. That has troubled me greatly.

Don’t worry too much about that. You can gain a plenary indulgence fairly easily (at least the actions are easy, the attachement to sin is difficult). When you are able, go to confession, go to mass, spend a half hour reading scripture, and pray an our father/hail mary for the pope’s prayer intentions. Or go to adoration for a half an hour, or do the stations of the cross. I wish more people would take advantages of indulgences- they are wonderful! I’m kind of an “indulgence junkie” myself!

 

[catechumen08]

Hi, not to go off-topic here, but I have a question about indulgences. I’ve learned in my history classes in college that during the Middle Ages or thereabouts, indulgences were being sold for money. The wealthy were able to commit sins and then buy indulgences to essentially erase those sins. Are those the same type of indulgences that are referred to here?

Thanks in advance!

 

[mommyof4]

Hi, not to go off-topic here, but I have a question about indulgences. I’ve learned in my history classes in college that during the Middle Ages or thereabouts, indulgences were being sold for money. The wealthy were able to commit sins and then buy indulgences to essentially erase those sins. Are those the same type of indulgences that are referred to here?

Thanks in advance!

New Advent has a good article about indulgences. There is probably more here than you want to know.

 

[LilyM]

Hi, not to go off-topic here, but I have a question about indulgences. I’ve learned in my history classes in college that during the Middle Ages or thereabouts, indulgences were being sold for money. The wealthy were able to commit sins and then buy indulgences to essentially erase those sins. Are those the same type of indulgences that are referred to here?

Thanks in advance!

An indulgence is certainly never a licence to sin. It is only ever effective in the presence of sincere repentance on the part of the sinner. And like our indulgences of today, the physical act done (whether praying or paying money) was the least important aspect.

If these rich people had been sinful and sincerely repented, then they could earn indulgences as we all can when we sin and repent. Not otherwise.

The problem was that some corrupt priests and other officials taught wrongly about the nature of indulgences in order to gain money. That’s why the council of Trent put an end to the idea of indulgences being attached to donating money to the Church.