Questions on the Rosary Indulgence

[Pythagoras]

A plenary indulgence is granted when the rosary is recited in a church or oratory or when it is recited in a family, a religious community, or a pious association. A partial indulgence is granted for its recitation in all other circumstances.

Is the Rosary Indulgence independent already from the usual conditions of the Plenary indulgence? I am asking this because I read that the usual conditions of the Plenary Indulgence can already give you a plenary indulgence or maybe I am wrong?

Usual conditions for Plenary Indulgence

1. Prayer for the Pope’s intentions,
2. Sacramental Confession
3. Sacramental Communion
4. No attachment to sin.

 

[pianistclare]

I don’t know actually.
I pray my rosary our of love for Our Lady and her Divine Son.
I’m hoping that works out really well.

 

[porthos11]

Is the Rosary Indulgence independent already from the usual conditions of the Plenary indulgence? I am asking this because I read that the usual conditions of the Plenary Indulgence can already give you a plenary indulgence or maybe I am wrong?

Usual conditions for Plenary Indulgence

1. Prayer for the Pope’s intentions,
2. Sacramental Confession
3. Sacramental Communion
4. No attachment to sin.

The usual conditions by themselves do not give the plenary indulgence; they are to be followed in addition to the indulgenced work. The Rosary, as stated, is the indulgenced work. Except for the indulgence at the moment of death, the usual conditions apply along with the indulgenced work. So when praying the Rosary under the conditions for the plenary indulgence (in public, family, church, etc.,) you have to perform the conditions in addition, customarily within seven days before or after the performance of the indulgenced work.

 

[Joe_5859]

Is the Rosary Indulgence independent already from the usual conditions of the Plenary indulgence? I am asking this because I read that the usual conditions of the Plenary Indulgence can already give you a plenary indulgence or maybe I am wrong?

Usual conditions for Plenary Indulgence

1. Prayer for the Pope’s intentions,
2. Sacramental Confession
3. Sacramental Communion
4. No attachment to sin.

No, the usual conditions for obtaining a plenary indulgence don’t give a plenary indulgence by themselves. Those same four conditions for a plenary indulgence are necessary for any plenary indulgence (including praying the rosary in certain circumstances). If any of them are lacking, you still gain an indulgence—just a partial one rather than a plenary one.

For the rosary, “a plenary indulgence is granted when the rosary is recited in a church or oratory or when it is recited in a family, a religious community, or a pious association. A partial indulgence is granted for its recitation in all other circumstances” (Handbook of Indulgences 48).

So only in certain circumstances can one gain a plenary indulgence for reciting the rosary, and the other conditions must also be met. All other times you still get a partial indulgence, just not a plenary one.

 

[MiserableSinner]

I don’t know actually.
I pray my rosary our of love for Our Lady and her Divine Son.
I’m hoping that works out really well.

Yes it will

But in order to get a plenary indulgence, at least a GENERAL intention to gain the indulgence is required.

Fulfill the requirements for a plenary indulgence and then go to Holy Adoration for a half an hour or more. All temporal punishment for sin remitted. It is very much worth it, because suffering for sin is not as good as suffering for the salvation of souls! If I am going to suffer, let it be for the salvation of souls and not for my sins.

I used to say the exact same thing as you. I figured I would get the indulgence anyways. No, you need a general intention to gain the indulgence!

Also, if you get a plenary indulgence every day (not hard to do), you can know that you will barely spend any time in purgatory if any at all - since when you get the indulgence, all your time in purgatory is also remitted.

I think it is easier, in my life, to fulfill the requirements for a plenary indulgence and then go to Holy Adoration. You only get one for praying the Rosary in special circumstances that another poster mentioned. Half an hour in Adoration with the 4 requirements fulfilled AND a general intention to get a plenary indulgence will get you a plenary indulgence.

Make sure not to forget the intention to gain the indulgence! That is not mentioned often enough in my opinion.

 

[Mintaka]

That said, you can get a plenary indulgence for a half hour of pious reading/meditating on the life of Christ (if you are “legitimately impeded” from doing the Stations of the Cross at church), and you can do that all by your lonesome.

(One source notes that when Pope JPII was traveling from place to place during a papal visit, that was enough “legitimate impedance” for him to say the Stations while sitting in a helicopter. So having a schedule where you can’t get to church constitutes impedance.)

And obviously, most of the Rosary mysteries are all about meditating on the life of Christ, so you are covered if you say two decades of the Rosary instead of just one.

(Some sources even say “fifteen minutes” of meditating on Christ is enough, so then you’d get it for just one decade of the Rosary. I don’t know if they got it from the 1986 revision, or if that is misinformation.)

(And nobody can earn more than one plenary indulgence during the course of a day, except if you are up for the one where you get one at the moment of death from Last Rites, or you get one if you’ve been in the habit of praying regularly. So indulgences don’t “stack.” This makes sense, because plenary means “full and total.”)

 

[pianistclare]

Yes it will

But in order to get a plenary indulgence, at least a GENERAL intention to gain the indulgence is required.

Fulfill the requirements for a plenary indulgence and then go to Holy Adoration for a half an hour or more. All temporal punishment for sin remitted. It is very much worth it, because suffering for sin is not as good as suffering for the salvation of souls! If I am going to suffer, let it be for the salvation of souls and not for my sins.

I used to say the exact same thing as you. I figured I would get the indulgence anyways. No, you need a general intention to gain the indulgence!

Also, if you get a plenary indulgence every day (not hard to do), you can know that you will barely spend any time in purgatory if any at all - since when you get the indulgence, all your time in purgatory is also remitted.

I think it is easier, in my life, to fulfill the requirements for a plenary indulgence and then go to Holy Adoration. You only get one for praying the Rosary in special circumstances that another poster mentioned. Half an hour in Adoration with the 4 requirements fulfilled AND a general intention to get a plenary indulgence will get you a plenary indulgence.

Make sure not to forget the intention to gain the indulgence! That is not mentioned often enough in my opinion.

I guess I wasn’t clear. I pray. Period. I know lots of people are into indulgences, but it was not part of my catechesis/upbringing.
Peace.

 

[porthos11]

I guess I wasn’t clear. I pray. Period. I know lots of people are into indulgences, but it was not part of my catechesis/upbringing.
Peace.

But now that you know of them, you should take the time to learn more about them. Indulgences are a great treasure of the Church and it would be a crying shame to not take advantage of them.

 

[Pythagoras]

Yes it will

But in order to get a plenary indulgence, at least a GENERAL intention to gain the indulgence is required.

I used to say the exact same thing as you. I figured I would get the indulgence anyways. No, you need a general intention to gain the indulgence!

Make sure not to forget the intention to gain the indulgence! That is not mentioned often enough in my opinion.

Do you mean we have to say/state the intention to gain the indulgence everytime on that same day? All the Catholic websites I read never said about saying this “intention to gain plenary indulgence” as a requirement.

How about the other posters what do you think about this?

 

[Joe_5859]

Do you mean we have to say/state the intention to gain the indulgence everytime on that same day? All the Catholic websites I read never said about saying this “intention to gain plenary indulgence” as a requirement.

How about the other posters what do you think about this?

The Code of Canon Law says:

Can. 996 §2. To gain indulgences, however, a capable subject must have at least the general intention of acquiring them and must fulfill the enjoined works in the established time and the proper method, according to the tenor of the grant.

The key phrase is “general intention.” What exactly that means is, I suppose, a matter for debate, but it seems clear to me that it is a lower bar to clear than saying people must have an “explicit” or “fully-conscious” intention each and every time.

 

[porthos11]

Do you mean we have to say/state the intention to gain the indulgence everytime on that same day? All the Catholic websites I read never said about saying this “intention to gain plenary indulgence” as a requirement.

How about the other posters what do you think about this?

You do not need to say/state. You only need to have.

The intention, at least general, to obtain the plenary indulgence has always been a requirement.