What Are Indulgences?

  • Thread starter Thread starter MrZetterlund
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
M

MrZetterlund

Guest
I know the history nd concept of the Rosary, so I bought two very beautiful rosaries, one for me and one for my girlfriend. 😊 I heard I had to get them blessed by a Priest to recieve “special indulgences.” And so I did. What are indulgences? Can you show me that in the Bible, or the concept therein? 👍
 
MrZetterlund said:
I know the history nd concept of the Rosary, so I bought two very beautiful rosaries, one for me and one for my girlfriend. 😊 I heard I had to get them blessed by a Priest to recieve “special indulgences.” And so I did. What are indulgences? Can you show me that in the Bible, or the concept therein? 👍
Click to expand...
Remember, my brother, that the Church is more than the bible. It has power over sin and the power to bind and loose on earth and in heaven. Do you have a copy of Catholicism for Dummies? Excellent resource to go along with that catechism that you have 😉

For a wonderful Rosary experience, try this site.

Christ’s peace be with you and your girlfriend.
 
PS…for you as a Baptist the indulgence per se is not going to be applicable…but the fact that your rosary is blessed is good…it is set aside for the worship of God and is now a sacramental…it is now blessed via the prayer etc of the Church 🙂
 
A couple lines from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

1668 Sacramentals are instituted for the sanctification of certain ministries of the Church, certain states of life, a great variety of circumstances in Christian life, and the use of many things helpful to man…

1670 Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the sacraments do, but by the Church’s prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it. "For well-disposed members of the faithful, the liturgy of the sacraments and sacramentals sanctifies almost every event of their lives with the divine grace which flows from the Paschal mystery of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. From this source all sacraments and sacramentals draw their power. There is scarcely any proper use of material things which cannot be thus directed toward the sanctification of men and the praise of God."174
 
Here is the concept of Indulgences in the Bible:

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)

Our charitable works “cover over” the temporal punishments for our sins. And here are our temporal punishments in the Bible:

“Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.” (Colossians 3:25)

And again:

“The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows." (Luke 12:47-48)

And you can look at the Purgatory article at Scripture Catholic for more related scriptures. God bless.
 
po18guy said:
Remember, my brother, that the Church is more than the bible. It has power over sin and the power to bind and loose on earth and in heaven. Do you have a copy of Catholicism for Dummies? Excellent resource to go along with that catechism that you have 😉

For a wonderful Rosary experience, try this site.

Christ’s peace be with you and your girlfriend.
Click to expand...
Thank you, po18guy. You’ve done a great service to me here at CAF as an apologetic. And for the Catechism you’ve mailed to me, thank you. I can feel the Holy Spirit absolutely emminating from it. No, I don’t have that book. Are you to offer to mail it to me as well as you have the Catechism? I’m familiar with the Papacy and that Sacred Scripture purports other authorities than itself. Ironic for Evangelicals, I know.
Bookcat said:
PS…for you as a Baptist the indulgence per se is not going to be applicable…but the fact that your rosary is blessed is good…it is set aside for the worship of God and is now a sacramental…it is now blessed via the prayer etc of the Church 🙂
Click to expand...
Thank you for your attentitive answers as well, Bookcat. I’m much more Catholic than I am Baptist at this point, indulgences are fine by me, I just wish I understood better what they are. The description in the link provided was somewhat confusing. I’m sort of writing an instruction book for my Girlfriend, (I think rosaries should come with them!) And I need a good watered down defenition that I can explain to a lay-faithful person. I can hardly comprehend it. But thank you for assisting me and participating in my thread.

Peace to both of you.
 
Luke65 said:
Here is the concept of Indulgences in the Bible:

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)

Our charitable works “cover over” the temporal punishments for our sins. And here are our temporal punishments in the Bible:

“Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.” (Colossians 3:25)

And again:

“The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows." (Luke 12:47-48)

And you can look at the Purgatory article at Scripture Catholic for more related scriptures. God bless.
Click to expand...
Oh… k. What does “temporal” mean? Immediate concequences to sin? By who am I recieving this? God? Mary? The Priest? Is it a chain-effect that involves all three of them?
 
MrZetterlund said:
Thank you for your attentitive answers as well, Bookcat. I’m much more Catholic than I am Baptist at this point, indulgences are fine by me, I just wish I understood better what they are. The description in the link provided was somewhat confusing. I’m sort of writing an instruction book for my Girlfriend, (I think rosaries should come with them!) And I need a good watered down defenition that I can explain to a lay-faithful person. I can hardly comprehend it. But thank you for assisting me and participating in my thread.

Peace to both of you.
Click to expand...
Your welcome.

I have to note though …just like myself before I came into full communion with the Church…a non Catholic cannot actually receive an indulgence.

But they can receive blessings! 🙂 and pray rosaries etc
 
Bookcat said:
Your welcome.

I have to note though …just like myself before I came into full communion with the Church…a non Catholic cannot actually receive an indulgence.

But they can receive blessings! 🙂 and pray rosaries etc
Click to expand...
Well, I accept the Apostle’s Creed to start the thing. I accept the dogma of the Church. I accept Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, I’m Baptised (though not in a CC.) What qualifies me as a Catholic?
 
MrZetterlund said:
Well, I accept the Apostle’s Creed to start the thing. I accept the dogma of the Church. I accept Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, I’m Baptised (though not in a CC.) What qualifies me as a Catholic?
Click to expand...
Being received into the full Communion with the Catholic Church.
 
MrZetterlund said:
Oh… k. What does “temporal” mean? Immediate concequences to sin? By who am I recieving this? God? Mary? The Priest? Is it a chain-effect that involves all three of them?
Click to expand...
Temporal just means temporary. And it’s clear that these scriptures are about temporary suffering because saved Christians are not exempt (“no favoritism”), and in Our Lord’s parable He is speaking only of His “servants” - the Elect - and the punishments are limited to “few” or “many blows”. There are sometimes immediate consequences and suffering for our sins, but of course, divine justice is rarely achieved in this world. But Our Lord tells us, again in a parable:

“Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny." (Matthew 5:25-26)

And there are many ways to settle our debt while we are still on the Earth. First, we offer up our sufferings, joining them to Our Lord’s Passion. Then we do Penances, like praying the Rosary, and other charitable works that bear fruit for the Kingdom of God. And Indulgences fall into that second category.
 
MrZetterlund said:
Which qualifies as what? Accepting the Holy Eucharist? Done it. Full fledged transubstantiation.
Click to expand...
It is a process…one contacts ones local Catholic Church or Diocese and begins the process.

If your Baptism is valid…then one is already a Christian…but just not in full communion with the Church…one would go for some formal instruction etc and then make a profession of Faith .and be received into full communion with the Catholic Church (usually at the Easter Vigil…just as in the early centuries!) (the Priest actually says in the rite “I receive you into full communion…”) and one is then confirmed and can receive the Holy Eucharist…

(one would have gone to confession a little prior to that…at the right time)

Then one will be a Catholic. 🙂

(I too professed the Faith and was “Catholic in heart…and belief” well before being fully received …)
 
To comprehend Indulgences, you first need to comprehend Purgatory. (gasp!)

Fear not, it CAN be explained simply (possibly TOO simply, but for starters…)
As believers, we understand that salvation is a gift of God. By Grace, we are cleansed of our sins and made worthy to live with God forever in heaven. Thing is, most of us humans aren’t done yet. We still have hangups and problems with sin. Even if we had a St. Paul style conversion, almost all of us find ourselves sometimes succumbing to sin and still being attracted to sins.

If Osama nukes us all right now and we stand before judgement, what happens? Some protestants believe that the Father looks at them and doesn’t SEE their sins. Instead they see believers as being ‘covered’ by the righteousness of Christ and God sees that and let’s them into heaven. Problem: If the nuke went off RIGHT now and we’ve already established that being a believer doesn’t make you perfect, how can heaven be heaven? Won’t we STILL have that pesky inclination towards sin? Won’t we sin in heaven? Doesn’t that make it NOT heaven? I don’t know how that brand of protestant resolves that question (unless they believe God strips us of free will after judgement).

Catholics, on the other hand see salvation and sanctification as a unified process, not a singular event. If that nuke goes off, catholics know and expect that although our sins have been forgiven, our inclination towards MORE sin still needs scrubbing off. That doesn’t happen suddenly or by a violation of our free will. It is the result of an enormous string of YES choices to God over self and sin, and is integrally assisted by Grace. But WE still need to choose it. For most of us, the scrubbing isn’t done yet when death arrives. Thus purgatory. It’s not hell with a timer, nor is it punishment in the judicial sense. It is punishment in the PARENTAL sense (the purpose is to learn, not to pay). Only believers in a state of Grace go to purgatory. It’s not a second chance. Every single person there winds up in heaven eventually (not that time has any meaning there!). In purgatory, we will see sin for what it REALLY is and learned to be as apalled by it as God is. Upon finishing in purgatory, we won’t be sinners covered by righteousness, we will BE righteous (by the power of God, not merely our own will).

Indulgences are a means of describing ways in which we learn to discard our attachment to sin and embrace the nobility of God’s own character. Indulgences are bestowed on actions that by their very nature incline people away from sin and towards God.
 
MrZetterlund said:
Are you to offer to mail it to me as well as you have the Catechism? I’m familiar with the Papacy and that Sacred Scripture purports other authorities than itself. Ironic for Evangelicals, I know.
Click to expand...
You are going to make me send you my copy of that, too? Sure! Just PM me with your addr once more.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top