{"id":330,"date":"2018-08-08T12:00:40","date_gmt":"2018-08-08T16:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aboutcatholics.com\/beliefs\/indulgences\/"},"modified":"2020-10-01T23:45:28","modified_gmt":"2020-10-02T03:45:28","slug":"indulgences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aboutcatholics.com\/beliefs\/indulgences\/","title":{"rendered":"Indulgences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
An indulgence<\/strong> is the remission (removal) of temporal punishment for sin in response to certain prayers or spiritual works. In common parlance an indulgence would reduce the time spent in purgatory if one should need to go there on one’s way to heaven. An indulgence does not take the place of a confession<\/a>; confession and repentance of sin must have already taken place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just like when one goes to confession, God forgives the penitent (confessor) through the priest<\/a>, it is God who remits (removes) the temporal punishment through the Church. Temporal punishment will end in time; it is not eternal punishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A person may gain an indulgence for themselves or apply it to one who has died who may be in purgatory<\/a>. This is possible through the belief in the communion of saints<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indulgences are rooted in the belief in the abundance of God\u2019s forgiving love through Jesus. God\u2019s love is endless and thus he would grant us remission of temporal punishment due to sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Bible, it is clear that just because God forgives someone’s sin does not mean he removes the consequences of that sin. David, the king of Israel, committed adultery with Bathsheba and then killed her husband, Uriah, to cover up his sin. The prophet Nathan affirms to David, “The Lord has removed your sin,” but warns him that as a consequence of his sin, the child he has with Bathsheba will die (2 Samuel 12:13-14). God has forgiven David, but there are still consequences to David’s sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A partial indulgence<\/strong> removes part of the temporal punishment due to sin. Some ways to gain a partial indulgence are by<\/p>\n\n\n\n A plenary indulgence<\/strong> removes all temporal punishment due to sin. The conditions for a plenary indulgence are<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some ways to gain a plenary indulgence are through<\/p>\n\n\n\n There may be other ways not listed here that the pope or a local bishop could authorize as a means to gain a partial or plenary indulgence. Often plenary indulgences are attached to actions Catholics can do appropriate to particular feast days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note that the ways to obtain an indulgence all involve prayer or an act of piety. This is because our sins hurt the world, and our prayers can help the world heal from the hurt our sins cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indulgences have a controversial place in the history of the Catholic Church. The buying and selling of indulgences is what helped to launch the Reformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indulgences began in about the ninth century A.D. as a means to substitute a set of tasks for a difficult to fulfill penance. Since the time of the early Church, penance for sins was usually long, difficult, and severe. Someone might do penance for years. So sometimes praying a particular prayer or performing an act of piety could substitute for a penance altogether or take some time off the assigned penance. This type of practice created a sort of Church currency by which people could exchange a difficult penance for a calculated number of prayers or alms. Indulgences showed the mercy of God, exercised through the authority of the Church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the Crusades under Pope Urban II (1088-1099) Christians who could not participate in the Crusades personally could do so vicariously by almsgiving. Those who personally took part received a plenary indulgence upon death.<\/p>\n\n\n\nKinds of Indulgences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Partial Indulgence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Plenary Indulgence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The History of Indulgences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n