Posted on 11/11/2003 5:00:31 AM PST by Desdemona
Sin and Indulgences
11/11/03
Dear Grace, Could you please explain what an “indulgence” is and how someone may obtain one?
This is a very good question because many Catholics do not have a full understanding of what an indulgence is or how to gain one. In order to answer your question, we will have to discuss sin and the consequences of sin, and that is a subject we often do not want to talk about. We may think that it makes God seem harsh and unforgiving, but this is not so at all. In fact, the opposite is true. Our God is a loving, merciful and forgiving Father. When we incur a consequence or punishment due to our sin, it is always a means to a true conversion of heart and the complete purification of the sinner.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states the following: "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” (CCC 1471). The doctrine on indulgences is closely linked to the Church’s teaching on purgatory and the communion of saints.
In order to understand the Church’s practice of granting indulgences, we must realize that sin is, above all, an offense against God. When the sin is grave, it can even cut off our communion with Him. Sin has two consequences — eternal punishment and temporal punishment, depending on the type of sin committed. Eternal of course means forever, so that refers to the possibility of hell, or eternal damnation. Temporal, on the other hand, refers to something that lasts only for a time (not eternal). It is this temporal punishment that we are concerned with when we speak about indulgences. In other words, even after sin has been forgiven and communion with God has been restored, there still remains some attachment to sin and this needs to be purified either here on earth, or after death in purgatory, before the soul can go to be with God (CCC 1472). Now, who wants to go to purgatory? If you do not, then indulgences are a means to avoid it.
One may ask, “Where does the indulgence come from and how is it that the Church has the power to grant them?” This requires an understanding of the doctrine of the communion of saints, which teaches that there is a link between (1) the faithful who have already reached heaven, (2) those whose souls are being purified in purgatory, (3) and those who are still struggling on earth in their journey towards heaven. And all of the saints, no matter what state they are in, care for one another (CCC 1475).
We believe that those saints who died in faithfulness to God’s friendship and love have gone to be with Him in heaven. We also believe that, by their good works, the saints have earned merit and that all of this merit makes up the Church’s treasury. This would of course include the merit earned by Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Church, by the “power of the keys” given to Peter by Christ, has authority to dispense merits from this treasury as she sees fit. When these merits are applied to the saints in purgatory, who are in a state of purification in order to enter heaven, or to the saints on earth who are still struggling to reach heaven, they have the power to remit or wipe away their temporal punishment due to sin. An indulgence is partial or plenary, as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin.
If you would like to know more about indulgences and how to gain one, a very good source would be a publication authorized by Pope Paul VI titled Handbook of Indulgences. All of the prayers and practices and norms are listed there and would be too many to include here. For example, norm 17 of the Handbook states that, “A plenary indulgence is granted the Christian faithful who devoutly take part in the adoration of the Cross during the solemn liturgy of Good Friday.” Keep in mind that plenary means a “total” remittance (wiping away) of all temporal punishment due to sin. Usually, as in the one just mentioned, in addition to a particular good work, the Church requires three basic conditions for obtaining an indulgence: Confession, Communion, and prayer for the Holy Father. For additional norms, one would need to consult the Handbook.
The faithful can gain indulgences for themselves or apply them to the dead for the remission of temporal punishment due to sin (CCC 1471). We should especially never neglect to pray for the souls in purgatory. They long to reach heaven, and we can help them. And how consoling it is to know that they in turn will pray for us when they have arrived at that beautiful home that awaits us all.
1. This appears to be a transaction between God and the penitent.
2. However, the bible says something on the order of 'whoever's sin you remit will be remitted; whoever's retained will be retained.' There's clearly the idea of the church having a 'hand' in the decision to remit on some offenses on this earth.
3. The question is this: "What can the church REQUIRE as any form of 'satisfaction' to exercise its authority to 'remit offenses' in those cases in which it is appropriate for the church to be involved in that 'remission' process?
........Can it require ACTIONS of penitence?
........Can it require MONEY? (Can it sell indulgences?)
........Can it require INNER AMENDMENTS?
No! Idulgences only concern the remittance of temporal punishments still due to already forgiven sins.
In order for indulgences to be obtained, it is necessary - required - that the penitent has true sorrow for sin, etc. They must be in a state of Grace. Actions required and performed for specific indulgences have to be performed for love of God as an interior disposition. With these lacking, no indulgence is obtained.
Indulgences cannot be sold. Attempts at doing so are an abuse.
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1 posted on 11/11/2003 6:00 AM MST by Desdemona
Why then did Peter say in Acts 10 that everyone who believes in the L-rd receives forgiveness of sins
NAU Acts 10:40 "God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, 41 not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. 42 "And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. 43 "Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins." 44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.
a bondslave to the Christ
chuck
Admitting one's sins and asking for forgiveness are all scriptural;
please provide the scriptural citation for indulgences.
a bondslave to the Christ
chuck
Principle 1: Sin Results in Guilt and Punishment
When a person sins, he acquires certain liabilities: the liability of guilt and the liability of punishment. Scripture speaks of the former when it pictures guilt as clinging to our souls, making them discolored and unclean before God: "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool" (Is. 1:18). This idea of guilt clinging to our souls appears in texts that picture forgiveness as a cleansing or washing and the state of our forgiven souls as clean and white (Ps. 51:4.9).
We incur not just guilt, but liability for punishment when we sin: "I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant and lay low the haughtiness of the ruthless" (Is. 13:11). Judgment pertains even to the smallest sins: "For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil" (Eccl. 12:14).
Principle 2: Punishments are Both Temporal and Eternal
The Bible indicates some punishments are eternal, lasting forever, but others are temporal. Eternal punishment is mentioned in Daniel 12:2: "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt."
We normally focus on the eternal penalties of sin, because they are the most important, but Scripture indicates temporal penalties are real and go back to the first sin humans committed: "To the woman he said, ‘I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children (Gen. 3:16).
Principle 3: Temporal Penalties May Remain When a Sin is Forgiven
When someone repents, God removes his guilt (Is. 1:18) and any eternal punishment (Rom. 5:9), but temporal penalties may remain. One passage demonstrating this is 2 Samuel 12, in which Nathan the prophet confronts David over his adultery:
"Then David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Nathan answered David: ‘The Lord on his part has forgiven your sin; you shall not die. But since you have utterly spurned the Lord by this deed, the child born to you must surely die’" (2 Sam. 12:13-14). God forgave David but David still had to suffer the loss of his son as well as other temporal punishments (2 Sam. 12:7-12). (For other examples, see: Numbers 14:13-23; 20:12; 27:12-14.)
Protestants realize that, while Jesus paid the price for our sins before God, he did not relieve our obligation to repair what we have done. They fully acknowledge that if you steal someone’s car, you have to give it back; it isn’t enough just to repent. God’s forgiveness (and man’s!) does not include letting you keep the stolen car.
Protestants also admit the principle of temporal penalties for sin, in practice, when discussing death. Scripture says death entered the world through original sin (Gen. 3:22-24, Rom. 5:12). When we first come to God we are forgiven, and when we sin later we are able to be forgiven, yet that does not free us from the penalty of physical death. Even the forgiven die; a penalty remains after our sins are forgiven. This is a temporal penalty since physical death is temporary and we will be resurrected (Dan. 12:2).
Principle 4: God Blesses Some People As a Reward to Others
In Matthew 9:1-8, Jesus heals a paralytic and forgives his sins after seeing the faith of his friends. Paul also tells us that "as regards election [the Jews] are beloved for the sake of their forefathers" (Rom. 11:28).
When God blesses one person as a reward to someone else, sometimes the specific blessing he gives is a reduction of the temporal penalties to which the first person is subject. For example, God promised Abraham that, if he could find a certain number of righteous men in Sodom, he was willing to defer the city’s temporal (and eternal) destruction for the sake of the righteous (Gen. 18:16-33; cf. 1 Kgs. 11:11-13; Rom. 11:28-29).
Principle 5: God Remits Temporal Punishments through the Church
God uses the Church when he removes temporal penalties. This is the essence of the doctrine of indulgences. Earlier we defined indulgences as "what we receive when the Church lessens the temporal penalties to which we may be subject even though our sins have been forgiven." The members of the Church became aware of this principle through the sacrament of penance. From the beginning, acts of penance were assigned as part of the sacrament because the Church recognized that Christians must deal with temporal penalties, such as God’s discipline and the need to compensate those our sins have injured.
In the early Church, penances were sometimes severe. For serious sins, such as apostasy, murder, and abortion, the penances could stretch over years, but the Church recognized that repentant sinners could shorten their penances by pleasing God through pious or charitable acts that expressed sorrow and a desire to make up for one’s sin.
The Church also recognized the duration of temporal punishments could be lessened through the involvement of other persons who had pleased God. Scripture tells us God gave the authority to forgive sins "to men" (Matt. 9:8) and to Christ’s ministers in particular. Jesus told them, "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you. . . . Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (John 20:21-23).
If Christ gave his ministers the ability to forgive the eternal penalty of sin, how much more would they be able to remit the temporal penalties of sin! Christ also promised his Church the power to bind and loose on earth, saying, "Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matt. 18:18). As the context makes clear, binding and loosing cover Church discipline, and Church discipline involves administering and removing temporal penalties (such as barring from and readmitting to the sacraments). Therefore, the power of binding and loosing includes the administration of temporal penalties.
Principle 6: God Blesses Dead Christians As a Reward to Living Christians
From the beginning the Church recognized the validity of praying for the dead so that their transition into heaven (via purgatory) might be swift and smooth. This meant praying for the lessening or removal of temporal penalties holding them back from the full glory of heaven. For this reason the Church teaches that "indulgences can always be applied to the dead by way of prayer" (Indulgentarium Doctrina 3). The custom of praying for the dead is not restricted to the Catholic faith. When a Jewish person’s loved one dies, he prays a prayer known as the Mourner’s Kaddish for eleven months after the death for the loved one’s purification.
In the Old Testament, Judah Maccabee finds the bodies of soldiers who died wearing superstitious amulets during one of the Lord’s battles. Judah and his men "turned to prayer, beseeching that the sin which had been committed might be wholly blotted out" (2 Macc. 12:42).
The reference to the sin being "wholly blotted out" refers to its temporal penalties. The author of 2 Maccabees tells us that for these men Judah "was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness" (verse 45); he believed that these men fell asleep in godliness, which would not have been the case if they were in mortal sin. If they were not in mortal sin, then they would not have eternal penalties to suffer, and thus the complete blotting out of their sin must refer to temporal penalties for their superstitious actions. Judah "took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this . . . he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin" (verses 43, 46).
Judah not only prayed for the dead, but he provided for them the then-appropriate ecclesial action for lessening temporal penalties: a sin offering. Accordingly, we may take the now-appropriate ecclesial action for lessening temporal penalties— indulgences—and apply them to the dead by way of prayer.
These six principles, which we have seen to be thoroughly biblical, are the underpinnings of indulgences. But, the question of expiation often remains. Can we expiate our sins—and what does "expiate" mean anyway?
Some criticize indulgences, saying they involve our making "expiation" for our sins, something which only Christ can do. While this sounds like a noble defense of Christ’s sufficiency, this criticism is unfounded, and most who make it do not know what the word "expiation" means or how indulgences work.
Protestant Scripture scholar Leon Morris comments on the confusion around the word "expiate": "[M]ost of us . . . don’t understand ‘expiation’ very well. . . . [E]xpiation is . . . making amends for a wrong. . . . Expiation is an impersonal word; one expiates a sin or a crime" (The Atonement [Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1983], 151). The Wycliff Bible Encyclopedia gives a similar definition: "The basic idea of expiation has to do with reparation for a wrong, the satisfaction of the demands of justice through paying a penalty."
Certainly when it comes to the eternal effects of our sins, only Christ can make amends or reparation. Only he was able to pay the infinite price necessary to cover our sins. We are completely unable to do so, not only because we are finite creatures incapable of making an infinite satisfaction, but because everything we have was given to us by God. For us to try to satisfy God’s eternal justice would be like using money we had borrowed from someone to repay what we had stolen from him. No actual satisfaction would be made (cf. Ps. 49:7-9, Rom. 11:35). This does not mean we can’t make amends or reparation for the temporal effects of our sins. If someone steals an item, he can return it. If someone damages another’s reputation, he can publicly correct the slander. When someone destroys a piece of property, he can compensate the owner for its loss. All these are ways in which one can make at least partial amends (expiation) for what he has done.
An excellent biblical illustration of this principle is given in Proverbs 16:6, which states: "By loving kindness and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord a man avoids evil" (cf. Lev. 6:1-7; Num. 5:5-8). Here we are told that a person makes temporal atonement (though never eternal atonement, which only Christ is capable of doing) for his sins through acts of loving kindness and faithfulness.
In 2 Machabees 12:46 we see that the prayers of the living can lift the suffering of the departed, and in Luke 16:24 that the sainted departed can assist the suffering departed.
Hence, the prayers, sacrifices, fastings, pieties, etc. -- even the martyrdoms -- of the stronger, more virtuous members of the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church, may be applied for the comfort of the weaker, more sinful members of the Mystical Body (Colossians 1:24).
As you know, Catholic beliefs are grounded in both Scripture and Tradition. We see that the earliest Christians believed that the martyrs could share the blessings they received when they shed their blood for Christ with the less fortunate members of the Church. Tertullian writes, "Which peace some, not having it in the Church, are accustomed to beg from the martyrs in prison; and therefore you should possess and cherish and preserve it in you that so you perchance may be able to grant it to others" (Ad martyres, c. i, P.L., I, 621). And St. Cyprian of Carthage writes, "Those who have received a libellus from the martyrs and with their help can, before the Lord, get relief in their sins, let such, if they be ill and in danger, after confession and the imposition of your hands, depart unto the Lord with the peace promised them by the martyrs " (Ep. xiii, P.L., IV, 261).
You may find more information at: Indulgences (Catholic Encyclopedia) and at
"The Doctrine on Indulgences" by Pope Paul VI (Jan. 1, 1967).
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In 2 Machabees 12:46 we see that the prayers of the living can lift the suffering of the departed, and in Luke 16:24 that the sainted departed can assist the suffering departed.
5 posted on 11/11/2003 5:39 PM MST by Dajjal
NAU Matthew 5:21 "You have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER ' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' 22 "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. 23 "Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. 25 "Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 "Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.
NAU Matthew 18:23 "For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 "When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 "But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. 26 "So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.' 27 "And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. 28 "But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, 'Pay back what you owe.' 29 "So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you.' 30 "But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. 31 "So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. 32 "Then summoning him, his lord said to him, 'You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 'Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?' 34 "And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35 "My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart."
I don't see the construct of purgatory in either of the citations.
The first is a directive and the second is a parable
Does 2 Maccabees also glorify suicide ?
Is this G-d's Word ?
NJB 2 Maccabees 10:8 They also decreed by public edict, ratified by vote, that the whole Jewish nation should celebrate those same days every year. 9 Such were the circumstances attending the death of Antiochus styled Epiphanes. 10 Our task now is to unfold the history of Antiochus Eupator, son of that godless man, and briefly to relate the evil effects of the wars. 11 On coming to the throne, this prince put at the head of affairs a certain Lysias, the general officer commanding Coele-Syria and Phoenicia, 12 whereas Ptolemy, known as Macron, and the first person to govern the Jews justly, had done his best to govern them peacefully to make up for the wrongs inflicted on them in the past. 13 Denounced, in consequence, to Eupator by the Friends of the King, he heard himself called traitor at every turn: for having abandoned Cyprus, which had been entrusted to him by Philometer, for having gone over to Antiochus Epiphanes, and for having shed no lustre on his illustrious office: he committed suicide by poisoning himself.
NJB 2 Maccabees 14:37 Now, a man called Razis, one of the elders of Jerusalem, was denounced to Nicanor. He was a man who loved his countrymen and stood high in their esteem, and he was known as the father of the Jews because of his kindness. 38 In the earlier days of the insurrection he had been convicted of Judaism, and he had risked both life and limb for Judaism with the utmost zeal. 39 Nicanor, by way of demonstrating the enmity he had for the Jews, sent over five hundred soldiers to arrest him, 40 reckoning that if he eliminated this man he would be dealing them a severe blow. 41 When the troops were on the point of capturing the tower and were forcing the outer door and calling for fire to set the doors alight, Razis, finding himself completely surrounded, fell on his own sword,
a bondslave to the Christ
chuck
I simply try to distinguish between G-d's Word and man's word.
Acts 17:11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the
Thessalonians, for they received the message with great
eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if
what Paul said was true.
a bondslave to the Christ
chuck
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