Posted on 11/29/2005 9:32:31 PM PST by murphE
ping lists please
Text from the Vatican Information Service
PLENARY INDULGENCE FOR SOLEMNITY IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
VATICAN CITY, NOV 29, 2005 (VIS) - According to a decree made public today, Benedict XVI will grant the faithful a Plenary Indulgence for the forthcoming Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (December 8, 2005). The decree is signed by Cardinal James Francis Stafford and Fr. John Francis Girotti, O.F.M. Conv., respectively penitentiary major and regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary.
"December 8," the text reads, "will mark 40 years since Servant of God Paul VI, Supreme Pontiff, who had already proclaimed the Virgin Mary as Mother of the Church, in closing Vatican Council II dedicated great praise to the Virgin who, as Mother of Christ, is Mother of God and spiritual Mother to us all.
"On this Solemnity, the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI, when he renders public homage of praise to Mary Immaculate, has the heartfelt desire that the entire Church should join with him, so that all the faithful, united in the name of the common Mother, become ever stronger in the faith, adhere with greater devotion to Christ, and love their brothers with more fervent charity. From here - as Vatican Council II very wisely taught - arise works of mercy towards the needy, observance of justice, and the defense of and search for peace."
For this reason, the decree continues, the Holy Father "has kindly granted the gift of Plenary Indulgence which may be obtained under the usual conditions (sacramental Confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer in keeping with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff), with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin, on the forthcoming Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, by the faithful if they participate in a sacred function in honor of the Virgin, or at least offer open testimony of Marian devotion before an image of Mary Immaculate exposed for public veneration, adding the recitation of the Our Father and of the Creed, and some invocation to the Virgin."
The document concludes by recalling that faithful who "through illness or other just cause," are unable to participate in a public ceremony or to venerate an image of the Virgin, "may obtain a Plenary Indulgence in their own homes, or wherever they may be, if, with the soul completely removed from any form of sin, and with the intention of observing the aforesaid conditions as soon as possible, they unite themselves in spirit and in desire to the Supreme Pontiff's intentions in prayer to Mary Immaculate, and recite the Our Father and the Creed."
.../DECREE INDULGENCE/STAFFORD VIS 051129 (420)
I was thinking of posting the VIS version this afternoon, and didn't because of that very reason....
You know I thought of that...but I wanted other Catholics to know about this great opportunity. Maybe the usual suspects may actually learn something to boot.
"I was thinking of posting the VIS version this afternoon, and didn't because of that very reason...."
That's right! Your avoiding controversy remember!
(Nothing wrong with standing to the side and looking...)
:)
Well, on one side we have...
"... has kindly granted the gift of Plenary Indulgence which may be obtained under the usual conditions (sacramental Confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer in keeping with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff), with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin, on the forthcoming Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, by the faithful if they participate in a sacred function in honor of the Virgin, or at least offer open testimony of Marian devotion before an image of Mary Immaculate exposed for public veneration, adding the recitation of the Our Father and of the Creed, and some invocation to the Virgin."
and on the other side we have...
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
- 1John 1:9
"I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and you forgave the iniquity of my sin."
- Psalms 32
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Sure would be nice if they could keep that in mind!
good news bump
And as usual, I'll remind you that indulgences cleanse the temporal punishment remaining from sins that have been forgiven, so your Scripture citations don't apply. And, as always, God is free to remit any temporal punishment he wishes to, but he is also free in justice to hold us to it.
Does just going to Mass on the feast day (remember that the IC is a holyday of obligation in the US, but not everywhere) count as a "formal prayer service in honor of Mary"? I think perhaps it does!
"I'll remind you that indulgences cleanse the temporal punishment remaining from sins that have been forgiven"
So, as a Catholic, when you pray and as God to forgive you, per 1st John, you are only half forgiven?
At our chapel we pray the Rosary before every mass, but I wonder if there will be something special planned because of this announcement.
"...In them there are some things hard to understand that the ignorant and unstable distort to their own destruction, just as they do the other scriptures."
Those quotes I posted are not from Paul.
...has kindly granted the gift of Plenary Indulgence which may be obtained under the usual conditions (sacramental Confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer in keeping with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff), with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin, on the forthcoming Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, by the faithful if they participate in a sacred function in honor of the Virgin, or at least offer open testimony of Marian devotion before an image of Mary Immaculate exposed for public veneration, adding the recitation of the Our Father and of the Creed, and some invocation to the Virgin.
This is a churchwide feast day even if it's not a day of obligation everywhere, so the masses will be dedicated to her.
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