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childhoodtimes
Guest
Every saints have a merits but how if they merits are gone or become empty?
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LilyM
Guest
The expression ‘treasury of merits’ isn’t just to do with the merits of the Saints, but the merits of Christ Himself. The Church, being His body, has access to HIS merits, which of course are infinite!
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Filioque
Guest
The merits of the Saints would be impossible if not for the connection with the Merits of Christ. Any “Good Work” we as humans do that is devoid of unity with Christ’s Merits, ie, done when in a state of Mortal Sin, and without at least the habitual intention of obtaining indulgences, or supernatural merit, is just a good work, which has no direct supernatural effect on our souls, or the souls in Purgatory…
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dmar198
Guest
I thought it was standard Catholic doctrine that Christ’s merits remit the eternal punishment due to sin, and an indulgence remits the temporal punishment due to sin. How does that square with this suggestion?The expression ‘treasury of merits’ isn’t just to do with the merits of the Saints, but the merits of Christ Himself. The Church, being His body, has access to HIS merits, which of course are infinite!
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DavidFilmer
Guest
No. It is true that an indulgence remits only the temporal punishment, but the merits of Christ apply to *both *eternal and temporal punishment (CCC 1478). The Church teaches:I thought it was standard Catholic doctrine that Christ’s merits remit the eternal punishment due to sin, and an indulgence remits the temporal punishment due to sin.
The Treasury of the Church is the infinite value, which can never be exhausted, which Christ’s merits have before God. (CCC 1476)
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CentralFLJames
Guest
In confession of sins God forgives the eternal debt owed for sin and as He elects He also may remit all or part of the temporal debt that is owed. We can never know what temporal debts God wants us to work off here on earth and what he is willing to absolve based on our prior good works or His mercy. It is always better to work of our eternal debts here on earth rather than in purgatory though and probably a good assumption to presume we all have some temporal debts. This is why the Catholic Church used to impose a Friday penance of fasting and abstaining from meat so that through normal church discipline one could do penance weekly.
In the early Church gaining indulgences was - HARD. Some pilgrims had to make long an difficult pilgrimages to the Holy Lands or special holy places where saints taught or lived. This why the Crusades were so vital to the Church since the Muslims and regular thieves were capturing pilgrim travelers seeking to do devotionals and pressing them into slavery or forcing them to pay homage and taxes for that right. It could take a year or more to do some of these pilgrimages. Other’s had to spend 1, 2, 10 or more years pleading for prayers outside of Church and fasting etc.
Today the church grants from its considerable spiritual treasury the merits off all the faithful for consideration to God to help each other in a community of spiritual charity and giving to help offset our temporal debts. The Church itself has no authority to “declare” that anyone has gained a full plenary or to tell anyone how much of their temporal debts are wiped compared to the full debt since only God knows this and has the authority to accept or reject our offerings – but we presume that no prayer or good deed performed in a state of grace can ever be wasted and will always contribute to some offsetting of temporal debts for oneself or a deceased person.
The reason we assume that God grants this privilege is because of the profund love relationship of Christ with His Bride (the Church) and His promise that we may ask anyting good in His name and that this is consistent also with perfecting ourselves before God. It is a work - but it is a work through grace and therefor a part of God’s Plan and not a work that any of us merit by our own human means. God wants us to participate in our own salvation and wants us to carry our crosses to bond with Christ through that common shared suffering for God.
James
In the early Church gaining indulgences was - HARD. Some pilgrims had to make long an difficult pilgrimages to the Holy Lands or special holy places where saints taught or lived. This why the Crusades were so vital to the Church since the Muslims and regular thieves were capturing pilgrim travelers seeking to do devotionals and pressing them into slavery or forcing them to pay homage and taxes for that right. It could take a year or more to do some of these pilgrimages. Other’s had to spend 1, 2, 10 or more years pleading for prayers outside of Church and fasting etc.
Today the church grants from its considerable spiritual treasury the merits off all the faithful for consideration to God to help each other in a community of spiritual charity and giving to help offset our temporal debts. The Church itself has no authority to “declare” that anyone has gained a full plenary or to tell anyone how much of their temporal debts are wiped compared to the full debt since only God knows this and has the authority to accept or reject our offerings – but we presume that no prayer or good deed performed in a state of grace can ever be wasted and will always contribute to some offsetting of temporal debts for oneself or a deceased person.
The reason we assume that God grants this privilege is because of the profund love relationship of Christ with His Bride (the Church) and His promise that we may ask anyting good in His name and that this is consistent also with perfecting ourselves before God. It is a work - but it is a work through grace and therefor a part of God’s Plan and not a work that any of us merit by our own human means. God wants us to participate in our own salvation and wants us to carry our crosses to bond with Christ through that common shared suffering for God.
James
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