Why indulgence is important during jubilee year

Those that are sick or homebound, in prison can still receive mercy, indulgences

Published: February 26, 2016

By Father Josh Stengel

What is an indulgence?

Indulgences are still an important part of the spiritual life of the Catholic faithful.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints. An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin.”

The indulgence can be offered for oneself or for the deceased, but may not be offered for another living person. Only one plenary indulgence can be gained each day.

The usual conditions for receiving a plenary indulgence include sacramental confession, holy Communion and prayer for the Holy Father’s intentions. These conditions may be fulfilled several days before or after the performance of the work or prayer of the indulgence, but it is preferable that the reception of holy Communion and prayers for the Holy Father’s intentions take place on the same day as the performance of the indulgenced work.

The person performing the indulgence must be in the state of grace and free from attachment to sin. If any of these conditions are lacking, the indulgence is partial, rather than plenary.

During the Jubilee Year of Mercy, we are called to reflect on and experience the abundance of God’s love and mercy. The theme for the jubilee year is “Merciful like the Father” for the Father’s merciful love for us is generous and indulgent, as in the parable of the Prodigal Son.

Pope Francis’ desire for this Holy Year is “that the jubilee be a living experience of the closeness of the Father, whose tenderness is almost tangible, so that the faith of every believer may be strengthened and thus testimony to it be ever more effective.” One of the ways that we can experience this abundance of God’s mercy is through the jubilee indulgence.

In his letter Sept. 1, 2015, Pope Francis established the particular norms for obtaining the jubilee indulgence during the Year of Mercy.

“I wish that the jubilee indulgence may reach each one as a genuine experience of God’s mercy, which comes to meet each person in the face of the Father who welcomes and forgives, forgetting completely the sin committed. To experience and obtain the indulgence, the faithful are called to make a brief pilgrimage to the holy door, open in every cathedral or in the churches designated by the diocesan bishop, and in the four papal basilicas in Rome, as a sign of the deep desire for true conversion.”

The diocese’s Door of Mercy, located at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Little Rock, was officially opened by Bishop Anthony B. Taylor Dec. 13 and will be available during the Year of Mercy for pilgrims from throughout Arkansas and beyond to receive the grace of the jubilee indulgence. Special pilgrimage days are scheduled on the first Saturday through November.

To receive the indulgence:

Make a pilgrimage to the Door of Mercy, accompanied by the profession of faith and prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father.
Complete the usual conditions for plenary indulgences: sacramental confession and holy Communion.

Prayer guides will be available at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church to assist pilgrims in the steps necessary for the indulgence.

If you can’t make a pilgrimage to the Door of Mercy:

For the sick or homebound: Pope Francis encourages them “to live their sickness and suffering as an experience of closeness to the Lord” and that “living with faith and joyful hope this moment of trial, receiving communion or attending holy Mass and community prayer, even through the various means of communication, will be for them the means of obtaining the jubilee indulgence.”
For prisoners: “They may obtain the indulgence in the chapels of the prisons. May the gesture of directing their thought and prayer to the Father each time they cross the threshold of their cell signify for them their passage through the holy door, because the mercy of God is able to transform hearts and is also able to transform bars into an experience of freedom.”

In addition, the faithful can obtain the indulgence by performing the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. More information is available in Pope Francis’ letter at www.im.va.

The symbol of the open door is an invitation for us to seek God’s mercy.

In the words of Pope Francis at the general audience Nov. 18, “The door is before us, not just the holy door, but another: the great door of the Mercy of God — and that is a beautiful door — which embraces our penance, offering the grace of his forgiveness. The door is generously open, it takes a little courage on our part to cross the threshold. Each of us has burdensome things within ourselves. We are all sinners! Let us take advantage of this coming moment and cross the threshold of this mercy of God who never tires of forgiving, never tires of waiting for us. He watches us, he is always beside us. Take heart! Let us enter through this door.”

What is an indulgence?

Indulgences are still an important part of the spiritual life of the Catholic faithful.

The indulgence can be offered for oneself or for the deceased, but may not be offered for another living person. Only one plenary indulgence can be gained each day.

The person performing the indulgence must be in the state of grace and free from attachment to sin. If any of these conditions are lacking, the indulgence is partial, rather than plenary.