Year of Mercy Yields Indulgence

As Jesus died being nailed to the cross, he suffered from five wounds:  two in his hands, two in his feet, and the one that confirmed his death was in his side when the soldier thrust a lance into his most sacred and merciful heart (Jn. 19:34). The Roman centurion followed this act with a response of conversion stating: “Truly, this man was the Son of God” (Mk. 15:39, Mt. 27:54). Each of Jesus’ five wounds received and offered in redemptive love and mercy for all of us can be symbolized in number through the five doors at St. Peter’s Basilica. It is the one in his side, the one in which blood and water flowed out, that symbolized the Jubilee Holy Door of Mercy that Pope Francis pushed open recently to launch this Year of Mercy. While this extraordinary event at St. Peter’s Basilica took place in Rome back on December 8th, it also occurred on the same day that we celebrated the Immaculate Conception and commemorated the 50th anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council.

“I have decided to announce an Extraordinary Jubilee which has at its center the mercy of God. It will be a Holy Year of Mercy. We want to live in the light of the word of the Lord: ‘Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful,” (Lk. 6:36) Pope Francis said.

This Year of Mercy will last until Nov. 20th, 2016, the Solemnity of Christ the King, when the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica as well as all the Holy Doors of designated basilicas and cathedrals around the world will be closed. Where is our “Holy Door?” It is at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit and was solemnly opened on Dec. 13th. It means we Catholics have the opportunity to receive an indulgence that is associated with a visit to our own cathedral off of Woodward in the “D” over the next year. The faithful who make a pilgrimage and pass through the Holy Door receive the gift of a plenary indulgence. If you have never been to our cathedral and/or have never received a plenary indulgence, then this may be the year and the opportunity for you to do just that.

What is an indulgence? The Catechism states it is “a remission before God the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven…” (Catechism 1471). In other words, sin has a double consequence like a coin has two sides. One consequence or one side of the coin is that sin is forgiven either after Baptism or through a sacramental confession. The other consequence or side is that their is a just punishment in which the debt for it still needs to be paid. An analogy is if you break your next door neighbor’s window playing baseball. You could go over to your neighbor and apologize and receive forgiveness but a new window still needs to be bought, paid for and replaced. It is that second part where penance or purgatory come into play as a remedy. Temporal punishment, which is done through purification, if not done in this life, is done in the afterlife through what we come to understand is the Church’s teaching on purgatory. In addition, the gift of an indulgence comes into play too. How so? The gift of receiving an indulgence is NOT rooted in works as if we earn our way to heaven…Wrong! It is rooted in the gift of Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection, also known as the Paschal Mystery. Furthermore, the indulgence is a gift received from the merits of all the saints down through the ages. By the authority of the Church given from Jesus to Peter and his successors (Mt. 16:18-19) and all the way to our present Pope Francis and beyond, we are given the gift of an indulgence that comes from the treasury of the Church, namely, from Jesus first, followed by the saints.

Unfortunately, indulgences have not always been clearly taught or rightfully given and received. We see this through the sinfulness of mankind even in our own Church. We learn through Church History that indulgences were more about money rather than faith. People bought and sold indulgences, which is one of the reasons that brought on the Protestant Reformation in the 1500’s. There is a phrase that states: Ecclesia semper reformanda est. It is Latin for “the Church is always to be reformed.” The Church, like at the time of the Reformation, and like in our own personal lives at times, is always in need of reform, always in need of saying “Yes” to God every day.

Pope Francis challenges us to reform our lives, as did his papal predecessors, by showing mercy to others in this Jubilee Year of Mercy through participating in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy and by participating in a way that one can receive the plenary indulgence. This type of reform doesn’t mean we change or compromise Church doctrine, but there is always a deepening and better understanding of the faith, and due to the sinfulness in our lives, we are called to reform and turn our lives back to God. Our Church is a hospital for sinners. Pope Francis confirmed this in an interview he gave back in 2013. He stated: “The thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. I see the church as a field hospital after battle.” We are a field hospital. Though we are sinners, whether in clerical leadership or in the laity, thanks be to God that we have the gift of mercy given through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This also means we have the opportunity to receive a plenary indulgence in this Year of Mercy, and that we can take great comfort in faith that our beloved, One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church is guided by the Holy Spirit in which “the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Mt. 16:18).

As a result of the Reformation, changes were later made in response to it through what became known as the Council of Trent to stop the abuses of indulgences, which was accompanied by tremendous greed, something we can strongly identify with in our own age. The abuses from indulgences and other matters as well as the Reformation, do not take away from the fact that indulgences are real, are matters of truth, and can be rightfully given by Church authority and well received by the faithful who follow the conditions to receive an indulgence.

What are the conditions of an indulgence? They are as follows:
1). Be in a state of grace in which one has the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin
2). Go to confession (about 20 days) before or after the indulgenced act
3). Receive the Eucharist
4). Pray for the intentions of the pope (i.e. an “Our Father” and a “Hail Mary”)
5). State a profession of Faith (i.e. Apostles Creed)
6) * Make a pilgrimage to the Holy Door of your cathedral (or in the church, shrine, or basilica designated by your local bishop)
* Necessary for this particular plenary indulgence in the Year of Mercy

Pope Francis stated: “The Holy Door will become a Door of Mercy through which anyone who enters will experience the love of God who consoles, pardons, and instills hope” (Face of Mercy/Misericordiae Vultus, 3). When will our Holy Door of Mercy in the Archdiocese of Detroit be open to the public? It opened Sunday, Dec. 13th, and it will be open every first Friday of the month from 9am-2pm as well as on Sunday afternoons from 1-3pm. You may want to plan a pilgrimage. Individuals and groups with less than 15 people can visit without an appointment on the days designated above. Groups of 15 + must make an appointment with the cathedral for a private pilgrimage. Source: http://cathedral.aod.org/holy-door-of-mercy

While this Year of Mercy avails us to the opportunity to receive an indulgence, it may be helpful to know that there are two types: partial and plenary. Partial means incomplete or part. Plenary means complete, full or absolute. The Catechism states: ”an indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin.” In addition, “the faithful can gain indulgences for themselves or apply them to the dead (i. e. soul in purgatory)” (Catechism 1471). Also, an indulgence cannot be gained for another living person (except yourself).

The purpose of receiving an indulgence, whether partial or plenary, is not just to receive a remission of temporal punishment due to sin, or what some would consider “time off” purgatory. We need to be careful not to put specific days or times on things, which was a danger and another reason that brought on the abuse of indulgences that ignited the Protestant Reformation in the first place. Rather the purpose is to grow in the spiritual life for true conversion and spur us on to works of devotion (i.e. prayer), penance and acts of charity (Catechism 1478).

Other examples of indulgences, whether partial or plenary, include Divine Mercy (from Good Friday – to Divine Mercy Sunday, the Sunday that follows Easter Sunday), Stations of the Cross, praying the rosary, and the Portiuncula (indulgence given through St. Francis in the 1200’s and later approved by the Church, can be received every year on August 2nd).

There are many other examples of indulgences. If interested in reading further, check out the two sources below after the Catechism. Jesus, lead us all through you, the Door of Mercy, to become greater people of mercy during this holy and Extraordinary Jubilee Year.

In The Mercy of Jesus Christ,
Fr. Jeff Allan

Sources: Catechism 1032, 1471-1479, 1498
The Manual of Indulgences
The Handbook of Indulgences: Norms and Grants