Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time.
My dear Parishioners,
Peace! There are twenty-three (23) In Brief passages in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and five (5) canons in the Code of Canon Law which can help us to appreciate the Sacrament of Penance. The following is a reflection on CCC, 1498.
The term “Indulgences” when used by Mother Church refers to the remission of the temporal punishments which are a consequence of our sins. Presupposed are certain specific conditions, such as sacramental confession and absolution, freedom from any attachment to sin and the performance of some particular act. The eternal punishment and guilt due to sin is removed in the Sacrament of Penance, but temporal punishments may remain, exacted in this life or the next (in Purgatory). Some penances assigned might include so many days of fasting or making pilgrimage… temporality is indicated by the inclusion days…
Other understandings of the term “indulgence” which are opposed to the true Catholic doctrine are highlighted by the Oxford Dictionary such as a luxury which is indulged in or the state or attitude of being indulgent or tolerant. The Church’s doctrine on indulgences is not “permission to commit as many crimes” as one may wish. That “Vatican II did away with indulgences” or “Martin Luther did away with indulgences” does not take into consideration the Catechism or that in 2006 the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) published the English fourth edition (1999) of the Manual of Indulgences, Norms and Grants, which had been preceded by the 1991 publication in English of the third edition (1986)…
The “poster boy” for the abuses concerning indulgences is said to be Johann Tetzel (+1519) whose famous rhyme concerning the simonious “sale of indulgences” runs: as soon as the gold in the casket rings, the rescued soul to Heaven springs. The sin of simony is the attempt to buy or sell what is holy and is named after Simon Magus who tried to “buy” the power of the Apostles as related in Acts 8:9–24. It is good to recall that Sacred Scripture does include the injunctions that “almsgiving expiates every sin” (Tobit 12:9) and “almsgiving covers a multitude of sins” (Sirach 3:33).
Indulgences may be obtained by the faithful during this life. There are some twenty-six Norms governing the current practice of indulgences, together with four general and thirty-three other Concessions whereby which the faithful may obtain the desired graces.
The indulgences obtained during this life may be applied to oneself or to the souls in Purgatory. The “Poor Souls” in Purgatory are poor insofar as they are not yet enjoying the bliss of Heaven. Because Purgatory is the anti-chamber of Heave the souls there are blessed. The souls in purgatory rely upon the communion of saints and the intercession of the Saints in Heaven and the saints still living on Earth. By offering suffrages for the dead we help them on their journey to God and dynamically live out the communion of saints.
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr