Plenary Indulgence Questions

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ProdigalSon1211

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  1. How many times in one year are we allowed to receive a plenary indulgence? Can we receive them daily?
  2. Are there any other forms of plenary indulgences besides the Divine Mercy Sunday indulgence and the Year of Faith indulgence? What other ways can a person receive a plenary indulgence?
 
From my understanding a person can receive one plenary indulgence each day. However, to earn a plenary indulgence one must not only perform the pious actions/say the prayers involved in receiving the indulgence. One must also have the right disposition. Otherwise the indulgence is only partial. As far as I know a person may receive as many partial indulgences in the course of a day as they want.

With that said to receive any indulgence, partial or plenary, a person must be in a state of grace. Also, for a plenary indulgence you must be free from all attachments to sin and also remember the intentions of the Pope (usually by saying an Our Father, Haily Mary, and Glory Be for his intentions).

One relatively simple example of an act that has an indulgence attached to it is to read Sacred Scripture for at least 30 minutes. Again, the intent must be good. If you just plow through the Bible without any thought or love, just reading mechanically and waiting for a timer to buzz so you can stop, then you aren’t doing yourself any favors.
 
Plenary indulgences can be received once per day if the usual conditions are satisfied, and once again at the hour of death.

All indulgenced works are listed in the Enchiridion of Indulgences, which is available online. There are at least 100 I think. They include praying the rosary in a Church or oratory or in a family group or with a pious association, reading Scripture for 30 minutes, sitting in Adoration for 30 minutes, or participating in Stations of the Cross.
 
ProdigalSon1211 said:
  1. How many times in one year are we allowed to receive a plenary indulgence? Can we receive them daily?
  2. Are there any other forms of plenary indulgences besides the Divine Mercy Sunday indulgence and the Year of Faith indulgence? What other ways can a person receive a plenary indulgence?
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St_Hilary:
You can receive a plenary indulgence after goinng to confession. You have to say an Our Father and a Hail Mary for the Pope and when receiving Communionl, just say I want this Plenary indulgence.

You can gain a plenary indulgence sitting before the BS for a t least one half hour.

God blless you now.
 
To gain a plenary indulgence you must have gone to Confession within seven days before or after the plenary. Also, you must pray for the Holy Father’s intention. No specific prayers are indicated – Our Father and Hail Mary will suffice.

There are many ways to gain a plenary indulgence. Some ways are: Read the Bible for 1/2 hour, or say the rosary in Church, without interruptions, or say the rosary anywhere in a group setting. There are many other ways to gain the indulgence. Some have been listed by other posters.

The Divine Mercy plenary does not indicate that you need to follow the general requirements for a plenary indulgence. The requirement there is to go to Confession within Lent, and receive the Eucharist on Divine Mercy Sunday with the intention of receiving the plenary indulgence. I think prayers for the Holy Father are advised, but not required for Divine Mercy Sunday. Jesus, when speaking to St. Faustina, was eager to share His Mercy with us. He made receiving the plenary very simple.

My sister received the plenary indulgence for Divine Mercy Sunday this past April, and died 1 1/2 days later. God is good. No purgatory for her.
 
*Enchiridion indulgentiarum: normae et concessiones
  • 1st ed. June 28, 1968
    2nd ed. October 1968
    3rd ed. May 18, 1986
    4th ed. 1999
    All prior general indulgences revoked in 1968.
The norms were revised in 1999 so the first through third editions are no longer valid. The Manual of Indulgences is the current version (USCCB, 2006) here:

usccbpublishing.org/produ…ils.cfm?PC=705

If you have this it will have the following on the inside cover page:

Manual of Indulgences

Norm and Grants

Apostolic Penitentiary

Translated into English from the fourth edition (1999)
of Enchiridion Indulgentiarum:
Normae et Concessiones

There are four general concessions which are partially indulgenced acts of four kinds:
Code: 
Raising the mind to God with humble trust when performing one's duties and bearing life's difficulty, and adding, at least mentally, some pious invocation.
Devoting oneself or one's goods compassionately in a spirit of faith to the service of one's brothers and sisters in need.
Freely abstaining in a spirit of penance from something licit and pleasant.
Freely giving open witness to one's faith before others in particular circumstances of everyday life.
Then there is a list of grants numbered 1 through 33. After that are given two others added after the norms were published: Divine Mercy Sunday and Papal Blessing with Plenary Indulgence on the bishops designated solemnity (once per year).

These are the 1999 Grants (some are partial and some are plenary and under each may be various ways given):

1 Act of Family Consecration
2 Act of Dedication of the Human Race to Jesus Christ the King
3 Act of Reparation
4 Papal Blessing
5 Days Designated Universally for Certain Religious Intention
6 Christian Doctrine
7 Eucharistic Adoration and Procession
8 Eucharistic and Spiritual Communion
9 Examination of Conscience and Act of Contrition
10 Spiritual Exercises and Monthly Recollections
11 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
12 At the Point of Death
13 In Memory of the Passion and Death of the Lord
14 Use of Articles of Devotion
15 Mental Prayer
16 Listening to Sacred Preaching
17 Prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary
18 Prayers to One’s Guardian Angel
19 Prayers in Honor of Saint Joseph
20 Prayers in Honor of the Apostles Peter and Paul
21 Prayers in Honor of the Saints and Blesseds
22 Novenas, Litanies, and the Little Offices
23 Prayers of the Eastern Churches
24 Prayers for Benefactors
25 Prayers for Pastors
26 Prayers of Supplication and Acts of Thanksgiving
27 A Priest’s First Mass and Jubilee Celebrations of Ordination
28 Profession of Faith and Acts of the Theological Virtues
29 For the Faithful Departed
30 Reading of Sacred Scripture
31 A Diocesan Synod
32 A Pastoral Visit
33 Visiting Sacred Places

The period over which a sacramental confession may be applied is about 20 days before or after the day that the Eucharist is received and indulgenced act are done. It may be applied multiple times (presuming you remain in grace). So if you confess about every 40 days you are on your way to acquire a plenary indulgence each time you receive the Eucharist.
 
St_Hilary said:
You can receive a plenary indulgence after goinng to confession. You have to say an Our Father and a Hail Mary for the Pope and when receiving Communionl, just say I want this Plenary indulgence.

You can gain a plenary indulgence sitting before the BS for a t least one half hour.

God blless you now.
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You have to actually do the prescribed action from the list of indulgenced acts or prayers in addition to confession and receiving communion, and praying for the pope’s intentions.

You can gain one plenary per day, unless you are at the moment of death, and then you can receive a second that same day (it’s unlikely many people would be in that situation, though).

There are lots of ways to gain plenaries.

The easiest are these (in addition to confession, communion, and prayers for the pope’s intentions):

-pray 5 decades of the rosary in a church without interruption
-spend a half hour or more in front of the blessed sacrament
-read the Bible for a half hour or more continuously
-make the stations of the cross in a church
 
jtodisco said:
From my understanding a person can receive one plenary indulgence each day. However, to earn a plenary indulgence one must not only perform the pious actions/say the prayers involved in receiving the indulgence. One must also have the right disposition. Otherwise the indulgence is only partial. As far as I know a person may receive as many partial indulgences in the course of a day as they want.

With that said to receive any indulgence, partial or plenary, a person must be in a state of grace. Also, for a plenary indulgence you must be free from all attachments to sin and also remember the intentions of the Pope (usually by saying an Our Father, Haily Mary, and Glory Be for his intentions).

One relatively simple example of an act that has an indulgence attached to it is to read Sacred Scripture for at least 30 minutes. Again, the intent must be good. If you just plow through the Bible without any thought or love, just reading mechanically and waiting for a timer to buzz so you can stop, then you aren’t doing yourself any favors.
Click to expand...
Just reading the Bible for 30 minutes can get you a Plenary Indulgence? No confession or prayers for the Pope’s intentions?
 
sw85 said:
Plenary indulgences can be received once per day if the usual conditions are satisfied, and once again at the hour of death.

All indulgenced works are listed in the Enchiridion of Indulgences, which is available online. There are at least 100 I think. They include praying the rosary in a Church or oratory or in a family group or with a pious association, reading Scripture for 30 minutes, sitting in Adoration for 30 minutes, or participating in Stations of the Cross.
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So, I can get a Plenary Indulgence just by doing the Stations of the Cross and spending 30 minutes in Adoration? Do I have to go to confession or be in a state of grace? Must I receive Communion and pray for the Pope’s intentions?
 
ProdigalSon1211 said:
So, I can get a Plenary Indulgence just by doing the Stations of the Cross and spending 30 minutes in Adoration? Do I have to go to confession or be in a state of grace? Must I receive Communion and pray for the Pope’s intentions?
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Yes to all of the above - all the indulgences are granted ‘under the usual conditions’, which means recent confession, communion the same day and prayer for the Holy Father’s intentions. And yes, one would need to be in a state of grace.

By the way it is stations of the cross OR 30 minutes’ adoration.
 
To get a Plenary Indulgence via Adoration,Stations of the Cross, or reading the Bible 30 mins,etc. Do I have to say verbally or pray that I would like a Plenary Indulgence from doing the aforementioned acts or do I just do them? How does God know I want a Plenary Indulgence?
 
ProdigalSon1211 said:
To get a Plenary Indulgence via Adoration,Stations of the Cross, or reading the Bible 30 mins,etc. Do I have to say verbally or pray that I would like a Plenary Indulgence from doing the aforementioned acts or do I just do them? How does God know I want a Plenary Indulgence?
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Intention. Also vocal prayer means at least audible to yourself.

From Enchiridion Indulgentiarum fourth edition:

N****17.
§ 1. To be capable of gaining indulgences a person must be baptized, not excommunicated, in the state of grace at least at the end of the prescribed work. § 2. To gain an indulgence, one must have at least the general intention of doing so and must carry out the enjoined works at the stated time and in due fashion, according to the sense of the grant.

vatican.va/roman_curia/tribunals/apost_penit/documents/rc_trib_appen_doc_20020826_enchiridion-indulgentiarum_lt.html
 
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