Technical questions about indulgences

[Tis_Bearself]

I have another question as to partial indulgences:

Is it enough for simply to carry out an indulged action with an intention to obtain an indulgence and to be in a state of grace? No prayers for the intention of the Supreme Pontiff required? No other conditions?

It’s my understanding that the conditions in paragraph 26 including the prayers for the intention of the Supreme Pontiff only apply to plenary indulgences. So you should be able to get the partial indulgences without doing those, and in fact if you try to get a plenary and one or more of the conditions is missing, you get a partial.

However I would still recommend going to Confession once every couple of weeks to make sure you stay in the state of grace for the partial indulgences.

 

[Nelka]

So you could gain a plenary indulgence today even though you go to confession next week?

 

[Tis_Bearself]

So you could gain a plenary indulgence today even though you go to confession next week?

If you do the work and all the other conditions, it would be partial until you go to confession, then it becomes plenary when the confession is done so that all the required conditions are met. (Note that the “lack of all attachment to sin” is a hard condition to meet, from what I’ve read, so we are never quite sure we have the plenary - we just make our best effort to do all the requirements, trust in God, and move on.)

Unless you have been to confession in the last couple of weeks or so; if you did that and you’re still in the state of grace, then that past confession will count.