Plenary indulgences applied to suffering souls

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When a plenary indulgence is applied to a suffering soul in purgatory, do they gain entrance to heaven right away?

Thanks for the help. John
 
Yes.

By definition a plenary indulgence is the remission of all temporal punishment due to sin.
 
Alphonsus_John said:
When a plenary indulgence is applied to a suffering soul in purgatory, do they gain entrance to heaven right away?

Thanks for the help. John
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Indulgences remove the debt of necessary attonement through suffering due, which was accrued through transgressions of sin. A Plenary indulgence is the total remittance of this debt. For a soul in purgatory, a plenary indulgence purifies the soul to perfection, upon which entrance to heaven is attained.
 
Thank you for the responses. A book on indulgences that I have shows a plenary for one half hour of adoration or one half hour of scripture reading or reciting 5 decades of the rosary in a church or “oratory?”.

For the suffering souls is it sufficient to just be in state of grace and having gone to confession within a week and pray for holy father’s intentions?

Thanks
 
Alphonsus_John said:
Thank you for the responses. A book on indulgences that I have shows a plenary for one half hour of adoration or one half hour of scripture reading or reciting 5 decades of the rosary in a church or “oratory?”.

For the suffering souls is it sufficient to just be in state of grace and having gone to confession within a week and pray for holy father’s intentions?

Thanks
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These are the conditions for gaining a plenary indulgence:

From Indulgentiarum Doctrina (10):
Although indulgences are in fact free gifts, nevertheless they are granted for the living as well as for the dead only on determined conditions. To acquire them, it is indeed required on the one hand that prescribed works be performed, and on the other that the faithful have the necessary dispositions, that is to say, that they love God, detest sin, place their trust in the merits of Christ and believe firmly in the great assistance they derive from the Communion of Saints.
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From The Gift of the Indulgence:
  1. To gain indulgences, whether plenary or partial, it is necessary that the faithful be in the state of grace at least at the time the indulgenced work is completed.
  2. A plenary indulgence can be gained only once a day. In order to obtain it, the faithful must, in addition to being in the state of grace:
    — have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin;
    — have sacramentally confessed their sins;
    — receive the Holy Eucharist (it is certainly better to receive it while participating in Holy Mass, but for the indulgence only Holy Communion is required);
    — pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff.
  3. It is appropriate, but not necessary, that the sacramental Confession and especially Holy Communion and the prayer for the Pope’s intentions take place on the same day that the indulgenced work is performed; but it is sufficient that these sacred rites and prayers be carried out within several days (about 20) before or after the indulgenced act. Prayer for the Pope’s intentions is left to the choice of the faithful, but an “Our Father” and a “Hail Mary” are suggested. One sacramental Confession suffices for several plenary indulgences, but a separate Holy Communion and a separate prayer for the Holy Father’s intentions are required for each plenary indulgence.
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dylanschrader, could you please add your comments about this requirement? It seems to cause a good deal of difficulty.
— have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin
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Thanks.

Betsy
 
  1. It is appropriate, but not necessary, that the sacramental Confession and especially Holy Communion and the prayer for the Pope’s intentions take place on the same day that the indulgenced work is performed; but it is sufficient that these sacred rites and prayers be carried out within several days (about 20) before or after the indulgenced act. Prayer for the Pope’s intentions is left to the choice of the faithful, but an “Our Father” and a “Hail Mary” are suggested. One sacramental Confession suffices for several plenary indulgences, but a separate Holy Communion and a separate prayer for the Holy Father’s intentions are required for each plenary indulgence.
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So, if I went to Confession last weekend, does that mean I can obtain Plenary indulgences for the next 20 days until I need to go to Confession again to receive more?

I’m wondering because I went to Adoration Sunday for the purpose of obtaining the indulgence but it’s hard for me to get to Confession again with the kids. I’d like to try to obtain a few more for the souls in Purgatory.
 
I never really understood indulgences. You have to be perfect to get one even if you are dead. If I was perfect or the person I was offering it to was perfect, we would not need one. Indulgences are sort of pointless.
 
Polaris said:
I never really understood indulgences. You have to be perfect to get one even if you are dead. If I was perfect or the person I was offering it to was perfect, we would not need one. Indulgences are sort of pointless.
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That’s not true at all.

By “being perfect” I presume that you’re referring to comlete detachment from sin.

Partial indulgences can be gained even without a complete detachment to sin. In the case of plenary indulgences, the person who gains the indulgence needs the detachment from sin, not the person in Purgatory to whom it is applied.
 
a couple quick question about plenary indulgence.

1, can they only be given by a priest or can a person seek them out themselves?

2, does the act of making one plenary indulgence remove all temporal punishment for all sin or only for only one sin in particular meaning you need to do it more than once or different forms of it to remove all temporal punishment.

for example say I sin a few times different sins every time. after I confess and am contrite, receive the Eucharist and pray the our father or a hail Mary, I complete one act of plenary indulgence. does that one act free me of all my temporal punishment or does it only count for one sin committed?

Thank you
God bless.
 
baltobetsy said:
dylanschrader, could you please add your comments about this requirement? It seems to cause a good deal of difficulty.

Thanks.

Betsy
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Dear Betsy…I think it means that one does not have any attachment to sin or an habitual inclination. That one desires wholeheartedly to never sin, not even venially and in the main is successful. But I am unsure of this and suggest you address the question to the Apologetics Forum. I am sure you will get a clear and spot on answer there.

Blessings and Peace…Joy…Barb:)
 
followerofGod said:
a couple quick question about plenary indulgence.

1, can they only be given by a priest or can a person seek them out themselves?

2, does the act of making one plenary indulgence remove all temporal punishment for all sin or only for only one sin in particular meaning you need to do it more than once or different forms of it to remove all temporal punishment.

for example say I sin a few times different sins every time. after I confess and am contrite, receive the Eucharist and pray the our father or a hail Mary, I complete one act of plenary indulgence. does that one act free me of all my temporal punishment or does it only count for one sin committed?

Thank you
God bless.
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A priest isn’t necessary in relation to an indulgence. Provided you’ve done the necessary acts then in any event you’ve obtained a partial indulgence. If you do something that has a Plenary indulgence attached AND have the necessary detachment from all sin, you’ve obtained a Plenary indulgence.

Remember that in the case of gaining an indulgence for a soul in Purgatory you don’t need to be detached from sin - it’s the disposition of THEIR soul that matters, not yours.

A single Plenary indulgence covers ALL sins of whatever type or number committed up to the point you gained the Indulgence.

Remember also that in addition to confession, communion and prayer for the Pope’s intentions you ALSO need to do the act to which the Plenary indulgence has been attached. Some of these include half an hour of adoration or scripture reading, the Stations of the Cross (if done in a church) or the Rosary (praying five decades in a row in a group or in a church).
 
Remember that in the case of gaining an indulgence for a soul in Purgatory you don’t need to be detached from sin - it’s the disposition of THEIR soul that matters, not yours.
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Hi Lily…I am fairly confident that this is not so - that it is the disposition of the person that is taken into account. Souls in Purgatory cannot commit sin and so their disposition would not come into things - their disposition is established. However, the theology of indulgences is something I am unsure about.

God’s Blessings and His Peace…Barb:)
 
Oh, one of my favorite subjects- Indulgences! I love 'em! Just last night, I was watching a show on EWTN, and someone asked the question about complete detatchment from veniel sin. The preist answered that we have to have the interior disposition that we do not WANT to go right out again and commit the same veniel sin again right away. So don’t be fantasizing about your next act of gluttony while you’re at adoration trying to gain the indulgence. (I chose guttony because that is one of my “pet” vices.) So no, you do not have to be “perfect” to gain a pleary indulgence, just be in a state of grace, and try no to be planning your next veniel sin while your working on it.
 
Alphonsus_John said:
Thank you for the responses. A book on indulgences that I have shows a plenary for one half hour of adoration or one half hour of scripture reading or reciting 5 decades of the rosary in a church or “oratory?”.

For the suffering souls is it sufficient to just be in state of grace and having gone to confession within a week and pray for holy father’s intentions?

Thanks
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In addition to those things, you also receive Holy Communion on the same day as the Indulgenced action.

In summary:

Do these steps in any order, while in a state of grace:

Go to Confession at any time within 20 days of the action, either before or after doing the action. (If after, then your Confession will be of the devotional kind, since you are already in a state of grace - which is okay; it still counts. For a devotional confession, simply recall one sin from the past that you are sorry for, or mention a venial sin, and then mention to the priest that you are sorry for this and for all the sins of your past, and receive the Absolution.)

Do the indulgenced action.

Receive Holy Communion on the same day.

Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be for the intentions of the Holy Father, on the same day.

Have at least the general intention to receive the Indulgence.
 
jmcrae said:
In addition to those things, you also receive Holy Communion on the same day as the Indulgenced action.

. . .

Receive Holy Communion on the same day.
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Hi jmcare,

My impression is that the reception of Holy Communion need NOT be on the same day as the indulgenced act, although it is fitting, encouraged, and laudable .

See the Norms on Indulgences #26 and #27:
  1. To acquire a plenary indulgence it is necessary to perform the work to which the indulgence is attached and to fulfill the following three conditions:

    1. *]sacramental confession
      *]Eucharistic Communion, and
      *]prayer for the intention of the Sovereign Pontiff.
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    1. The three conditions may be fulfilled 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 Sovereign Pontiff be said on the same day the work is performed.
    Likewise, The Apostolic Penitentiary’s document The Gift of The Indulgence restates this:
    1. It is appropriate, but not necessary, that the sacramental Confession and especially Holy Communion and the prayer for the Pope’s intentions take place on the same day that the indulgenced work is performed; but it is sufficient that these sacred rites and prayers be carried out within several days (about 20) before or after the indulgenced act.
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    It also adds that while it is the reception of Holy Communion that is necessary, it is better if one were to receive communion at Mass.

    God Bless you,
    VC
 
Verbum_Caro said:
Hi jmcare,

My impression is that the reception of Holy Communion need NOT be on the same day as the indulgenced act, although it is fitting, encouraged, and laudable .

See the Norms on Indulgences #26 and #27: Likewise, The Apostolic Penitentiary’s document The Gift of The Indulgence restates this:
It also adds that while it is the reception of Holy Communion that is necessary, it is better if one were to receive communion at Mass.

God Bless you,
VC
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I stand corrected - and actually the 1991 edition specifies that only the prayers for the Pope and the reception of Holy Communion are “fittingly” done on the same day, and in addition, points out that one Sacramental Confession can be applied to as many Indulgences as one may intend to receive in the following several days. (One each of reception of Holy Communion and the prayers for the Pope can only apply to one plenary Indulgence, however. All others will be considered partial.)
 
Whenever we try to obtain a plenary indulgence and perform the steps necessary with a pure heart, we must all remember that we put the “judgement” in God’s hands. He is the one who decides whether we receive a plenary or a partial indulgence for He is the only one who knows our hearts. If we at least try to obtain indulgences, we can be sure that God is happy with us and applies our efforts according to His plan.

God Bless you all,
In Carmel’s Love,
Roe
 
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