← [[ei-en-03|Decree]] | [[enchiridion-indulgentiarum-en|Manual of Indulgences]] | [[ei-en-05|Norms on Indulgences]] → # Introduction 1. The publication of the first edition of this Manual of Indulgences in June 1968 was accomplished in fulfillment of norm 13 of the Apostolic Constitution Indulgentiarum doctrina, which laid down that “the Manual of Indulgences is to be revised in such a way that only the principal prayers and principal works of piety, charity and penance have an indulgence attached to them.” In subsequent editions, including the present one, the Apostolic Penitentiary has taken care to make the text clearer, to correct some minor details in conformity with scholarly protocols, and to make some additions. 2. In this regard the principal prayers and principal works have been taken to be those which by tradition and by their suitability for present-day needs seem particularly apt, so that not only are faithful helped to make satisfaction for the punishment due their sins, but also, and above all, are encouraged to a greater zeal for the exercise of charity. This is the principle upon which the compilation of this work is based.1 3. In accordance with tradition, participation in the Sacrifice of the Mass or the Sacraments is not enriched by indulgences, by reason of the surpassing efficacy for “sanctification and purification” that they have in themselves.2 When an indulgence is granted for reason of a particular occasion (such as First Holy Communion, the celebration of his first Mass by a newly ordained priest, Mass at the conclusion of a Eucharistic Congress), the indulgence is not attached to participation in Mass or the Sacraments, but to the special occasion connected with such participation. The purpose of the indulgence is to promote and, as it were, reward the effort of commitment that is part of any festivity, the good done to other people, the good example shown, and the honor accorded the most Holy Eucharist and the Priesthood. Nevertheless an indulgence can be attached, according to tradition, to various works of piety, both private and public; likewise, works of charity and penance, which in our own times are accorded increased importance, can also be so enriched. Yet all these works to which indulgences are attached, as indeed any good deed performed or any suffering patiently endured, are by no means separated from the Mass and the Sacraments. These, on the contrary, are the principal fonts of sanctification and purification,3 since good works and sufferings are made into an oblation in which the faithful themselves are offered up, an oblation conjoined to the offering of Christ in the Eucharistic Sacrifice.4 Similarly, the Mass and the Sacraments move the faithful to carry out theirduties so that “by the manner of their life they hold fast to what they have received in faith,”5 and these duties, in turn, when diligently carried out, make them day by day better disposed for fruitful participation in the Mass and the Sacraments.6 4. Regarding personal piety, increased emphasis is given to the act of the individual believer (opus operantis), whence long lists of pious works (opus operatum), as it were distinct from the daily life of the Christian, are not compiled. Rather, a relatively small number of grants is indicated,7 the better to move the believer to make his life more fruitful and more holy, thereby eliminating “that split between the faith professed and the daily lives of many... by gathering into one vital synthesis all their undertakings in the human, domestic, professional, scholarly or technical sphere with religious values, under whose supreme direction all things are harmonized unto God’s glory.”8 The Apostolic Penitentiary therefore, rather than stress the repetition of formulas and acts, has been concerned to put greater emphasis on the Christian way of life and to focus attention on cultivating a spirit of prayer and penance and on the exercise of the theological virtues. 5. In the Manual, before various grants of indulgences are set out, the Norms are given, drawn principally from the Apostolic Constitution Indulgentiarum doctrina and the Code of Canon Law, and from other directives as well. To avoid any uncertainties that might arise about these matters, it was deemed opportune to provide an orderly and comprehensive exposition of all the directives currently in force regarding indulgences. 6. In the Manual, four grants of a more general nature are first presented, which may in some sense serve as beacons for the conduct of daily Christian life. For the benefit and instruction of the faithful, each of these general grants is supplemented by quotations that illustrate how the particular grants are in harmony with the spirit of the Gospel and the renewal begun by the Second Vatican Council. 7. There follows a listing of grants pertaining to certain works of religion. These, however, are few in number, since several works are covered by the general grants, and since in the case of prayers explicit mention is limited to those of universal appeal and character. For editions of the Manual in the different languages, the competent episcopal conferences should take care to include, as appropriate, other prayers traditionally cherished and beneficial to the piety of the faithful. 8. The Manual contains an appendix giving a list of invocations along with the text of the Apostolic Constitution Indulgentiarum doctrina. ____________ 1 Pope Paul VI, Address to the College of Cardinals and the Roman Curia, December 23, 1966(AAS 59 [1967] 57). 2 Cf. ID, no. 11. 3 ID, no. 11. 4 Cf. LG, no. 34. 5 RM, Collect of Monday within the Octave of Easter. 6 Cf. SC, no. 9-13. 7 Cf. below especially norms I-IV. 8 Cf. GS, no. 43. --- ![[maps/bibliography#^biblio-ei]]