← [[ei-en-08|Other Concessions]] | [[enchiridion-indulgentiarum-en|Manual of Indulgences]] | [[ei-en-10-indices|Indices]] → # Appendices ## Pious Invocations The following points are to be noted in regard to pious invocations: 1. An invocation, in relation to an indulgence, is not to be considered a complete or distinct work in itself, but rather is to be used as a complement to some other work by which the faithful raise their minds to God in humble trust, while carrying out their duties and bearing the hardships of life. Hence, a pious invocation completes the elevation of the mind to God; both the raising up of the mind and the pious invocation are like a precious stone which is inserted into ordinary activities to adorn them, or are like salt which properly seasons these same activities.1 2. The invocation to be preferred is the one which is more in harmony with the particular situation and the personal dispositions of the individual: whether it comes spontaneously to mind or is chosen from those proven effective in their long-standing use by the Christian faithful. A short list of these is added below. 3. An invocation can be very short, expressed either in just one or a few words, or even merely conceived in the mind. The following are presented by way of example: My God!—Father!—Jesus!—Praised be Jesus Christ! (or another customary Christian greeting)—I believe in you, O Lord!—I adore you!—I hope in you!—I love you!—All for you!—Thanks be to you!—(or Thanks be to God!)—Blessed be God! (or Let us bless the Lord!)—Your kingdom come!—Your will be done!—As the Lord wills!—Help me, O God!—Comfort me!—Hear me! (or Hear my prayer!)—Save me!—Have mercy on me!— Spare me, O Lord!—Do not allow me to be separated from you!—Do not forsake me!—Hail, Mary! —Glory to God in the highest!—You are great, O Lord!2—I am totally yours! ## Examples Of Invocations Currently in Use (3) Allow me to praise you, Virgin most holy; give me strength against your enemies. All holy men and women of God, pray for us. Blessed be the Holy Trinity Christ conquers! Christ reigns! Christ rules! Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. 4 Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Hail, O Cross, our only hope. Heart of Jesus, all for you. Heart of Jesus, burning with love for us, inflame our hearts with love for you. Heart of Jesus, in you I trust. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me. Holy Mother of God, ever Virgin Mary, intercede for us. Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, make my heart like unto yours. Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist me in my last agony. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with you. Lord, increase our faith. 5 Lord, let our minds be united in truth, and our hearts in love. Lord, save us, we are perishing. 6 Lord, send laborers into your harvest. 7 May the Virgin Mary bless us with her holy child. May the most Blessed Sacrament be praised now and forevermore. Merciful Lord Jesus, grant them rest. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Mother of Sorrows, pray for us. My God and my all. My Lord and my God!8 My Mother, my trust. O God, be merciful to me a sinner.9 O Queen conceived without original sin, pray for us. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Remain with us, O Lord. 10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. 11 Tender heart of Mary, be my safety! You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 12 We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world. ____________ 1 Cf. Rom 8: 15 and Gal 4: 6.2 Cf. Jud 16: 16 and Ps 86 [Vg 85]: 10. 3 Others can be found in common prayer books. 4 Lk 23: 46; cf. Ps 31 [Vg 30]: 6. 5 Lk 17: 5. 6 Mt 8: 25. 7 Cf. Mt 9: 38. 8 Jn 20: 28. 9 Lk 18: 13. 10 Cf. Lk 24: 29. 11 Ps 143: 10. 12 Mt 16: 16. --- ## Decree Deus Cuius Misericordiae (June 29, 2002) TO THE CITY OF ROME AND TO THE WORLD APOSTOLIC PENITENTIARY DECREE ### Indulgences Attached to Devotions In Honor Of Divine Mercy “O God, your mercy knows no bounds and the treasure of your goodness is infinite...” (Prayer after the “Te Deum” Hymn) and “O God, you reveal your almighty power above all by showing mercy and forgiveness...” (Prayer for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time): in these prayers Holy Mother Church humbly and faithfully sings of Divine Mercy. Indeed, God’s great patience with the human race in general and with each individual person shines out in a special way when sins and moral failures are forgiven by Almighty God Himself and the guilty are readmitted in a fatherlike way to his friendship, which they deservedly lost. **Duty of honoring Divine Mercy** The faithful with deep spiritual affection are drawn to commemorate the mysteries of divine pardon and to celebrate them devoutly. They clearly understand the supreme benefit, indeed the duty, that the People of God have to praise Divine Mercy with special prayers and, at the same time, they realize that by gratefully performing the works required and satisfying the necessary conditions, they can obtain spiritual benefits that derive from the Treasury of the Church. “The paschal mystery is the culmination of this revealing and effecting of mercy, which is able to justify man, to restore justice in the sense of that salvific order which God willed from the beginning in man, and through man, in the world” (Encyclical Letter Dives in misericordia, no. 7). It is God’s Mercy that grants supernatural sorrow and resolution to amend Indeed, Divine Mercy knows how to pardon even the most serious sins, and in doing so it moves the faithful to perceive a supernatural, not merely psychological, sorrow for their sins so that, ever with the help of divine grace, they may make a firm resolution not to sin any more. Such spiritual dispositions undeniably follow upon the forgiveness of mortal sin when the faithful fruitfully receive the sacrament of Penance or repent of their sin with an act of perfect charity and perfect contrition,with the resolution to receive the sacrament of Penance as soon as they can. Indeed, Our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us in the parable of the Prodigal Son that the sinner must confess his misery to God saying: “Father I have sinned against heaven and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (Lk 15: 18-19), realizing that this is a work of God, “for [he] was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found” (Lk 15: 32). **Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday** And so with provident pastoral sensitivity and in order to impress deeply on the souls of the faithful these precepts and teachings of the Christian faith, the Supreme Pontiff, John Paul II, moved by the consideration of the Father of Mercy, has willed that the Second Sunday of Easter be dedicated to recalling with special devotion these gifts of grace and gave this Sunday the name “Divine Mercy Sunday” (Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Decree Misericors et miserator, May 5, 2000). The Gospel of the Second Sunday of Easter narrates the wonderful things Christ the Lord accomplished on the day of the Resurrection during his first public appearance: “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the discples were glad to see the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And then he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’” (Jn 20: 19-23). **Plenary Indulgence** To ensure that the faithful would observe this day with intense devotion, the Supreme Pontiff himself established that this Sunday be enriched by a plenary indulgence, as will be explained below, so that the faithful might receive in great abundance the gift of the consolation of the Holy Spirit. In this way, they can foster a growing love for God and for their neighbor, and after they have obtained God’s pardon, they in turn might be persuaded to show a prompt pardon to their brothers and sisters. Pardon of others who sin against us Thus the faithful will more closely conform to the spirit of the Gospel, receiving in their hearts the renewal that the Second Vatican Council explained and introduced: “Mindful of the words of the Lord: ‘By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another’ (Jn 13: 35), Christians can yearn for nothing more ardently than to serve the men of this age with an ever growing generosity and success.... It is the Father’s will that we should recognize Christ our brotherin the persons of all men and love them with an effective love, in word and in deed” (Pastoral Constitution, Gaudium et spes, no. 93). **Three conditions for the plenary indulgence** And so the Supreme Pontiff, motivated by an ardent desire to foster in Christians this devotion to Divine Mercy as much as possible in the hope of offering great spiritual fruit to the faithful, in the Audience granted on June 13, 2002, to those Responsible for the Apostolic Penitentiary, granted the following Indulgences: a plenary indulgence, granted under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer for the intentions of Supreme Pontiff) to the faithful who, on the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, in any church or chapel, in a spirit that is completely detached from the affection for a sin, even a venial sin, take part in the prayers and devotions held in honour of Divine Mercy, or who, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, recite the Our Father and the Creed, adding a devout prayer to the merciful Lord Jesus (e.g., “Merciful Jesus, I trust in you!”); a partial indulgence, granted to the faithful who, at least with a contrite heart, pray to the merciful Lord Jesus a legitimately approved invocation. For those who cannot go to church or the seriously ill In addition, sailors working on the vast expanse of the sea; the countless brothers and sisters, whom the disasters of war, political events, local violence and other such causes have been driven out of their homeland; the sick and those who nurse them; and all who for a just cause cannot leave their homes or who carry out an activity for the community which cannot be postponed may obtain a plenary indulgence on Divine Mercy Sunday, if totally detesting any sin, as has been said before, and with the intention of fulfilling as soon as possible the three usual conditions, will recite the Our Father and the Creed before a devout image of Our Merciful Lord Jesus and, in addition, pray a devout invocation to the Merciful Lord Jesus (e.g., “Merciful Jesus, I trust in you”). If it is impossible that people do even this, on the same day they may obtain the plenary indulgence if with a spiritual intention they are united with those carrying out the prescribed practice for obtaining the indulgence in the usual way and offer to the Merciful Lord a prayer and the sufferings of their illness and the difficulties of their lives, with the resolution to accomplish as soon as possible the three conditions prescribed to obtain the plenary indulgence. Duty of priests: Inform parishioners, hear confessions, lead prayers Priests who exercise pastoral ministry, especially parish priests, should inform the faithful in the most suitable way of the Church’s salutary provision. They should promptly and generously be willing to hear their confessions. On Divine Mercy Sunday, after celebrating Mass or Vespers, or during devotions in honour of Divine Mercy, with the dignity that is in accord with the rite, they should lead the recitation of the prayers that have been given above. Finally, since “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Mt 5: 7), when they instruct their people, priests should gently encourage the faithful to practise works of charity or mercy as often as they can, following the example of, and in obeying the commandment of Jesus Christ, as is listed for the second general concession of indulgence in the Enchiridion indulgentiarum. This Decree has perpetual force, any provision to the contrary notwithstanding. + Archbishop Luigi De Magistris Titular Archbishop of Nova Major Pro-Penitentiary Fr. Gianfranco Girotti, OFM Conv Regent ## Decree Ecclesia Cathedralis (June 29, 2002) TO THE WORLD APOSTOLIC PENITENTIARY DECREE For the greater spiritual good of the faithful, eparchial and diocesan bishops are granted the faculty of imparting the Papal Blessing with the attendant plenary indulgence once a year, in the co-cathedral churches which were formerly the cathedrals of eparchies or dioceses that no longer exist as dioceses or eparchies. In no way does this grant diminish the triple concession established by law for each particular Church. The cathedral church, “with the majesty of its architectural structure, represents the spiritual temple that is built within each soul in the splendor of grace, in accordance with the Apostle’s words: ‘You in fact are the temple of the living God’” (2 Cor 6: 16). The cathedral is also a powerful symbol of the visible Church of Christ who prays, sings and worships on this earth; that is, it should be seen as an image of the mystical Body whose members are united through charity and nourished by the outpouring of supernatural gifts (cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Constitution Mirificus eventus, no. 72, December 7, 1965). It is very profitable for the faithful to feel a special bond of affection for the cathedral church, the most noble seat and symbol of the bishop’s magisterium and liturgical ministry. Indeed, on the one hand, with this religious disposition the faithful express their recognition and veneration for the certain charism of truth (cf. St Irenaeus of Lyons, Ad haereses, Book IV, c. 40, no. 2), with which the bishops are endowed who are hierarchically united with the Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ; and, on the other hand, they wish to participate in and, insofar as they are empowered, celebrate the sacred realities in communion with the Pastor who on earth represents the Eternal Shepherd and Bishop of our souls (cf. 1 Pt 2: 25). In recent times, new social, geographical and economic shifts, new lifestyles, the unfortunate reduction in number of sacred ministers in many regions that had an ancient Catholic tradition, and the justifiable need to coordinate pastoral activity have led to the suppression of some particular Churches, while their territory and population have been merged with that of the bishop of a larger particular Church. However, out of consideration for their venerable antiquity, for famous historical events or for the remarkable degree of holiness which flourished among many of the faithful of these former particular Churches, to those church buildings that at one time had been cathedrals the title of co-cathedral was given for the precise purpose of fostering the devotion of the faithful to their previous church, while preserving the wholly spiritual and canonical communion with their bishop who is bound by a privileged bond to the present cathedral. Approving these filial sentiments and desiring to make them ever more spiritually perfect, the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, at an audience granted on June 13, 2002, to the undersigned Superiors of the Apostolic Penitentiary, established that bishops in those churches that had once been cathedrals, and today are co-cathedrals existing in their territory, without prejudice to the provision that allows for the Papal Blessing to be imparted in the Cathedral on three Solemnities in the year, as established in art. no. 7 § 2 of the Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, have the faculty to impart the Papal Blessing along with a plenary indulgence once a year, on the celebration of a solemnity that the bishops themselves will designate. In this way the faithful present in these co-cathedral churches can receive the blessing and indulgence, in a spirit that is detached from all affection for any sin, and under the usual conditions required for receiving a plenary indulgence (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer according to the Supreme Pontiff’s intentions). The present Decree is perpetually valid, notwithstanding anything to the contrary. Given in Rome, at the offices of the Apostolic Penitentiary, June 29, 2002, on the Solemnity of the Apostles, Sts. Peter and Paul. + Archbishop Luigi De Magistris Titular Archbishop of Nova, Major Pro-Penitentiary Rt. Rev. Gianfranco Girotti, OFM Conv. Regent ## Apostolic Constitution Indulgentiarum Doctrina TEXT OF THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION INDULGENTIARUM DOCTRINA OF POPE PAUL VI SERVANT OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD AD PERPETUAM REI MEMORIAM I. 1\. The doctrine and practice of indulgences which have been in force for many centuries in the Catholic Church have a solid foundation in divine revelation1 which comes from the Apostles and “develops in the Church with the help of the Holy Spirit,” while “as the centuries succeed one another the Church constantly moves forward toward the fullness of divine truth until the words of God reach their complete fulfillment in her.”2 For an exact understanding of this doctrine and of its beneficial use it is necessary, however, to remember truths which the entire Church illumined by the Word of God has always believed and which the bishops, the successors of the Apostles, and first and foremost among them the Roman Pontiffs, the successors of Peter, have taught by means of pastoral practice as well as doctrinal documents throughout the course of centuries to this day. 2\. It is a divinely revealed truth that sins bring punishments inflicted by God’s sanctity and justice. These must be expiated either on this earth through the sorrows, miseries and calamities of this life and above all through death,3 or else in the life beyond through fire and torments or “purifying” punishments.4 Therefore it has always been the conviction of the faithful that the paths of evil are fraught with many stumbling blocks and bring adversities, bitterness and harm to those who follow them.5 These punishments are imposed by the just and merciful judgment of God for the purification of souls, the defense of the sanctity of the moral order and the restoration of the glory of God to its full majesty. Every sin in fact causes a perturbation in the universal order established by God in His ineffable wisdom and infinite charity, and the destruction of immense values with respect to the sinner himself and to the human community. Christians throughout history have always regarded sin not only as a transgression of divine law but also—though not always in a direct and evident way—as contempt for or disregard of the friendship between God and man,6 just as they have regarded it as a real and unfathomable offense against God and indeed an ungrateful rejection of the love of God shown us through Jesus Christ, who called His disciples friends and not servants.73. It is therefore necessary for the full remission and—as it is called—reparation of sins not only that friendship with God be re-established by a sincere conversion of the mind and amends made for the offense against His wisdom and goodness, but also that all the personal as well as social values and those of the universal order itself, which have been diminished or destroyed by sin, be fully reintegrated whether through voluntary reparation which will involve punishment or through acceptance of the punishments established by the just and most holy wisdom of God, from which the sanctity and the splendor of His glory will shine forth throughout the world. The very existence and the gravity of the punishment enable us to understand the foolishness and malice of sin and its harmful consequences. That punishment or the vestiges of sin may remain to be expiated or cleansed and that they in fact frequently do even after the remission of guilt8 is clearly demonstrated by the doctrine on purgatory. In purgatory, in fact, the souls of those “who died in the charity of God and truly repentant, but before satisfying with worthy fruits of penance for sins committed and for omissions”9 are cleansed after death with purgatorial punishments. This is also clearly evidenced in the liturgical prayers with which the Christian community admitted to Holy Communion has addressed God since most ancient times: “that we, who are justly subjected to afflictions because of our sins, may be mercifully set free from them for the glory of thy name.”10 For all men who walk this earth daily commit at least venial sins;11 thus all need the mercy of God to be set free from the penal consequences of sin. II. 4\. By the hidden and benign mystery of the divine will, a supernatural solidarity reigns among men, whereby the sin of one harms the others just as the holiness of one also benefits the others. Thus the Christian faithful give each other mutual aid to attain their supernatural aim. A testimony of this solidarity is manifested in Adam himself, whose sin is passed on through propagation to all men. But of this supernatural solidarity the greatest and most perfect principle, foundation and example is Christ Himself to communion with Whom God has called us.12 5\. Indeed Christ “committed no sin,”13 “suffered for us,”14 “was wounded for our iniquities, bruised for our sins... by His bruises we are healed.”15 Following in the footsteps of Christ,16 the Christian faithful have always endeavored to help one another on the path leading to the heavenly Father through prayer, the exchange of spiritual goods and penitential expiation. The more they have been immersed in the fervor of charity, the more they have imitated Christ in His sufferings, carrying their crosses in expiation for their own sins and those ofothers, certain that they could help their brothers to obtain salvation from God the Father of mercies.17 This is the very ancient dogma of the Communion of the Saints,18 whereby the life of each individual son of God in Christ and through Christ is joined by a wonderful link to the life of all his other Christian brothers in the supernatural unity of the Mystical Body of Christ till, as it were, a single mystical person is formed.19 Thus is explained the “treasury of the Church”20 which should certainly not be imagined as the sum total of material goods accumulated in the course of the centuries, but the infinite and inexhaustible value the expiation and the merits of Christ Our Lord have before God, offered as they were so that all of mankind could be set free from sin and attain communion with the Father. It is Christ the Redeemer Himself in whom the satisfactions and merits of His redemption exist and find their force.21 This treasury also includes the truly immense, unfathomable and ever pristine value before God of the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints, who following in the footsteps of Christ the Lord and by His grace have sanctified their lives and fulfilled the mission entrusted to them by the Father. Thus while attaining their own salvation, they have also cooperated in the salvation of their brothers in the unity of the Mystical Body. “For all who are in Christ, having His spirit, form one Church and cleave together in Him” (Eph 4: 16). Therefore the union of the wayfarers with the brethren who have gone to sleep in the peace of Christ is not in the least weakened or interrupted, but on the contrary, according to the perpetual faith of the Church, is strengthened by a communication of spiritual goods. For by reason of the fact that those in heaven are more closely united with Christ, they establish the whole Church more firmly in holiness, lend nobility to the worship which the Church offers to God here on earth and in many ways contribute to building it up evermore (1 Cor 12: 12-27). For after they have been received into their heavenly home and are present to the Lord (2 Cor 5: 8), through Him and with Him and in Him they do not cease to intervene with the Father for us, showing forth the merits which they have won on earth through the one Mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ (1 Tim 2: 5), by serving God in all things and filling up in their flesh those things which are lacking of the sufferings of Christ for His Body which is the Church (Col 1: 24). Thus by their brotherly interest our weakness is greatly strengthened.22 For this reason there certainly exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth a perennial link of charity and an abundant exchange of all the goods by which, with the expiation of all the sins of the entire Mystical Body, divine justice is placated. God’s mercy is thus led to forgiveness, so that sincerely repentant sinners may participate as soon as possible in the full enjoyment of the benefits of the family of God. III. 6\. The Church, aware of these truths ever since its origins, formulated and undertook various ways of applying the fruits of the Lord’s redemption to the individual faithful and of leading them to cooperate in the salvation of their brothers, so that the entire body of the Church might be prepared in justice and sanctity for the complete realization of the kingdom of God, when He will be all things to all men. The Apostles themselves, in fact, exhorted their disciples to pray for the salvation of sinners.23 This very ancient usage of the Church has blessedly persevered,24 particularly in the practice of penitents invoking the intercession of the entire community,25 and when the dead are assisted with suffrages, particularly through the offering of the Eucharistic Sacrifice.26 Good works, particularly those which human frailty finds difficult, were also offered to God for the salvation of sinners from the Church’s most ancient times.27 And since the sufferings of the martyrs for the faith and for the law of God were considered of great value, penitents used to turn to the martyrs, to be helped by their merits to obtain from the bishops a more speedy reconciliation.28 Indeed the prayer and good works of the upright were considered to be of so great a value that it could be asserted that the penitent was washed, cleansed and redeemed with the help of the entire Christian people.29 It was not believed, however, that the individual faithful by their own merits alone worked for the remission of sins of their brothers, but that the entire Church as a single body united to Christ its Head was bringing about satisfaction.30 The Church of the Fathers was fully convinced that it was pursuing the work of salvation in community, and under the authority of the pastors established by the Holy Spirit as bishops to govern the Church of God.31 The bishops, therefore, prudently assessing these matters, established the manner and the measure of the satisfaction to be made and indeed permitted canonical penances to be replaced by other possibly easier works, which would be useful to the common good and suitable for fostering piety, to be performed by the penitents themselves and sometimes by others among the faithful.32 IV. 7\. The conviction existing in the Church that the pastors of the flock of the Lord could set the individual free from the vestiges of sins by applying the merits of Christ and of the saints led gradually, in the course of the centuries and under the influence of the Holy Spirit’s continuous inspiration of the people of God, to the usage of indulgences which represented a progression in the doctrine and discipline of the Church rather than a change.33 From the roots of revelation a new advantage grew in benefit to the faithful and the entire Church. The use of indulgences, which spread gradually, became a very evident fact in the history of the Church when the Roman Pontiffs decreed that certain works useful to the common good of the Church “could replace all penitential practices”34 and that the faithful who were “truly repentant and had confessed their sins” and performed such works were granted “by the mercy of Almighty God and... trusting in the merits and the authority of His Apostles” and ‘by virtue of the fullness of the apostolic power,’ not only full and abundant forgiveness, but the most complete forgiveness for their sins possible.”35 For “the only-begotten son of God... has won a treasure for the militant Church... and has entrusted it to blessed Peter, the keybearer of heaven, and to his successors, Christ’s vicars on earth, that they may distribute it to the faithful for their salvation, applying it mercifully for reasonable causes to all who are repentant and have confessed their sins, at times remitting completely and at times partially the temporal punishment due sin in a general as well as in special ways insofar as they judge it to be fitting in the eyes of the Lord. It is known that the merits of the Blessed Mother of God and of all the elect... add further to this treasure.”36 8\. The remission of the temporal punishment due for sins already forgiven insofar as their guilt is concerned has been called specifically “indulgence.”37 It has something in common with other ways or means of eliminating the vestiges of sin but at the same time it is clearly distinct from them. In an indulgence in fact, the Church, making use of its power as minister of the Redemption of Christ, not only prays but by an authoritative intervention dispenses to the faithful suitably disposed the treasury of satisfaction which Christ and the saints won for the remission of temporal punishment.38 The aim pursued by ecclesiastical authority in granting indulgences is not only that of helping the faithful to expiate the punishment due sin but also that of urging them to perform works of piety, penitence and charity—particularly those which lead to growth in faith and which favor the common good.39 And if the faithful offer indulgences in suffrage for the dead, they cultivate charity in an excellent way and while raising their minds to heaven, they bring a wiser order into the things of this world. The Magisterium of the Church has defended and illustrated this doctrine in various documents.40 Unfortunately, the practice of indulgences has at times been improperly used either through “untimely and superfluous indulgences” by which the power of the keys was humiliated and penitential satisfaction weakened,41 or through the collection of “illicit profits” by which indulgences were blasphemously defamed.42 But the Church, in deploring and correcting these improper uses “teaches and establishes that the use of indulgences must be preserved because it is supremely salutary for the Christian people and authoritatively approved by the sacred councils; and it condemns with anathema those who maintain the uselessness of indulgences or deny the power of the Church to grant them.”43 9\. The Church also in our days then invites all its sons to ponder and meditate well on how the use of indulgences benefits their lives and indeed all Christian society. To recall briefly the most important considerations, this salutary practice teaches us in the first place how it is “sad and bitter to have abandoned... The Lord God.”44 Indeed the faithful when they acquire indulgences understand that by their own powers they could not remedy the harm they have done to themselves and to the entire community by their sin, and they are therefore stirred to a salutary humility. Furthermore, the use of indulgences shows us how closely we are united to each other in Christ, and how the supernatural life of each can benefit others so that these also may be more easily and more closely united with the Father. Therefore the use of indulgences effectively influences charity in us and demonstrates that charity in an outstanding manner when we offer indulgences as assistance to our brothers who rest in Christ. 10\. Likewise, the religious practice of indulgences reawakens trust and hope in a full reconciliation with God the Father, but in such a way as will not justify any negligence nor in any way diminish the effort to acquire the dispositions required for full communion with God. Although indulgences are in fact free gifts, nevertheless they are granted for the living as well as for the dead only on determined conditions. To acquire them, it is indeed required on the one hand that prescribed works be performed, and on the other that the faithful have the necessary dispositions, that is to say, that they love God, detest sin, place their trust in the merits of Christ and believe firmly in the great assistance they derive from the Communion of Saints. In addition, it should not be forgotten that by acquiring indulgences the faithful submit docilely to the legitimate pastors of the Church and above all to the successor of Blessed Peter, the keybearer of heaven, to whom the Savior Himself entrusted the task of feeding His flock and governing His Church. The salutary institution of indulgences therefore contributes in its own way to bringing it about that the Church appear before Christ without blemish or defect, but holy and immaculate,45 admirably united with Christ in the supernatural bond of charity. Since in fact by means of indulgences members of the Church who are undergoing purification are united more speedily to those of the Church in heaven, the kingdom of Christ is through these same indulgences established more extensively and more speedily “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the deep knowledge of the Son of God, to perfect manhood, to the mature measure of the fullness of Christ.”46 11\. Therefore Holy Mother Church, supported by these truths, while again recommending to the faithful the practice of indulgences as something very dear to the Christian people during the course of many centuries and in our days as well—this is proven by experience—does not in any way intend to diminish the value of other means of sanctification and purification, first and foremost among which are the Sacrifice of the Mass and the Sacraments, particularly the Sacrament of Penance. Nor does it diminish the importance of those abundant aids which are called sacramentals or of the works of piety, penitence and charity. All these aids have this in common that they bring about sanctification and purification all the more efficaciously, the more closely the faithful are united with Christ the Head and the Body of the Church by charity. The preeminence of charity in the Christian life is confirmed also by indulgences. For indulgences cannot be acquired without a sincere conversion of mentality (“metanoia”) and unity with God, to which the performance of the prescribed works is added. Thus the order of charity is preserved, into which is incorporated the remission of punishment by distribution from the Church’s treasury. While recommending that its faithful not abandon or neglect the holy traditions of their forebears but welcome them religiously as a precious treasure of the Catholic family and duly esteem them, the Church nevertheless leaves it to each to use these means of purification and sanctification with the holy and free liberty of the sons of God. It constantly reminds them, though, of those things which are to be given preference because they are necessary or at least better and more efficacious for the attainment of salvation.47 Holy Mother Church has then deemed it fitting, in order to give greater dignity and esteem to the use of indulgences, to introduce some innovations into its discipline of indulgences and has accordingly ordered the issuance of new norms. V. 12\. The following norms introduce appropriate variations in the discipline of indulgences, taking into consideration the proposals advanced by the episcopal conferences. The rulings of the Code of Canon Law and of the decrees of the Holy See concerning indulgences which do not go counter to the new norms remain unchanged. In drawing up the new norms these three considerations have been particularly observed: to establish a new measurement for partial indulgences; to reduce considerably the number of plenary indulgences; and, as for the so-called “real” and “local” indulgences, to reduce them and give them a simpler and more dignified formulation. Regarding partial indulgences, with the abolishment of the former determination of days and years, a new norm or measurement has been established which takes into consideration the action itself of the faithful Christian who performs a work to which an indulgence is attached. Since by their acts the faithful can obtain, in addition to the merit which is the principal fruit of the act, a further remission of temporal punishment in proportion to the degree to which the charity of the one performing the act is greater, and in proportion to the degree to which the act itself is performed in a more perfect way, it has been considered fitting that this remission of temporal punishment which the Christian faithful acquire through an action should serve as the measurement for the remission of punishment which the ecclesiastical authority bountifully adds by way of partial indulgence. It has also been considered fitting to reduce appropriately the number of plenary indulgences in order that the faithful may hold them in greater esteem and may in fact acquire them with the proper dispositions. For indeed the greater the proliferation (of indulgences) the less is the attention given them; what is offered in abundance is not greatly appreciated. Besides, many of the faithful need considerable time to prepare themselves properly for the acquisition of a plenary indulgence. As regards the “real” and “local” indulgences, not only has their number been reduced considerably, but the designations themselves have been abolished to make it clearer that indulgences are attached to the actions performed by the faithful and not to objects or places which are but the occasion for the acquisition of the indulgences. In fact, members of pious associations can acquire the indulgences proper to their associations without the requirement of the use of distinctive objects. ____________ 1 Cf. COUNCIL OF TRENT, Session 25, Decree on Indulgences (DS 1835); cf. Mt 28: 18. 2 Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, no. 8 (AAS 58 [1966] 821); cf. First Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith, ch. 4 “On Faith and Reason” (DS 3020). 3 Cf. Gen 3: 16-19: “To the woman [God] said: ‘I will make great your distress in child-bearing; in pain shall you bring forth children; for your husband shall be your longing, though he have dominion over you.’ and to Adam he said: ‘Because you have listened to your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat: Cursed be the ground because of you; in toil shall you eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you.... In the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, since out of it you were taken; for dust you are and unto dust you shall return.’”Cf. also Lk 19: 41-44; Rom 2: 9; and 1 Cor 11: 30. Cf. AUGUSTINE, Exposition on Psalm 58 1: 13— “Every sin, whether small or great, must be punished, either by man himself doing penance, or by God chastising him”: CCL 39, p. 739; PL 36, Cf. THOMAS, S. Th. 1-2, q. 87, a. 1: “And because sin is an inordinate act, it is evident that whoever sins commits an offense against an order; wherefore he is put down, in consequence, by that same order. This repression is punishment.” 4 Cf. Mt 25: 41-42: “Depart from me, accursed ones, into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you did not give me to eat.” Cf. also Mk 9: 42-43; Jn 5: 28-29; Rom 2: 9; Gal 6: 6-8. Cf. SECOND COUNCIL OF LYONS, Session 4, Profession of faith of Emperor Michael Palaeologus (DS 856-858). Cf. COUNCIL OF FLORENCE, Decree for the Greeks (DS 1304-1306). Cf. AUGUSTINE, Enchiridion, 66,17: “Many sins, likewise, seem now to be overlooked and visited with no punishments, but the penalties for these are reserved for the time to come; for it is not in vain that that day is called the day of judgment in which the Judge of the living and the dead is to come. On the other hand, sins are punished now and will, provided they are pardoned, inflict no harm in the life to come. Accordingly, concerning certain temporal punishments inflicted on sinners in this life, the Apostle, referring to those whose sins have been blotted out and not reserved for the final judgment, says (1 Cor 11: 31-32): ‘For if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged by the Lord; but when we are judged, we are being chastised by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world’”: ed. Scheel, Tubingen 1930, p. 42; PL 40, 263. 5 Cf. The Shepherd of Hermas, Mand. 6, 1, 3: Funk, The Apostolic Fathers 1, 487. 6 Cf. Is 1: 2-3: “Sons have I raised and reared, but they have disowned me. An ox knows its owner, and an ass, its master’s manger. But Israel does not know, my people has not understood.” Cf. also Dt 8: 11, 32: 15ff.; Ps 105: 21 and 118, passim; Wis 7: 14; Is 17: 10, 44: 21; Jer 33: 8; Ez 20: 27. Cf. SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum, no. 2: “Through this revelation, therefore, the invisible God (see Col 1: 15; 1 Tm 1: 17) out of the abundance of his charity speaks to men as friends (see Ex 33: 11; Jn 15: 14-15) and dwells with them (see Bar 3: 38) in order that he may invite and receive them into fellowship with himself” (AAS 58 [1966] 818). Cf. also ibid., no. 21: loc. cit., 827-828. 7 Cf. Jn 15: 14-15. Cf. SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et spes, no. 22 (AAS 58 [1966] 1042), and the Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church Ad gentes divinitus, no. 13 (AAS 58 [1966] 962). 8 Cf. Num 20: 12: “But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: ‘Because you were not faithful to me in showing forth my sanctity before the Israelites, you shall not lead this community into the land I shall give them.’” Cf. Num 27: 13-14: “When you have viewed it, you too shall be taken to your people, as was your brother Aaron, because in the rebellion of the community in the desert of Sin you both rebelled against my order to manifest my sanctity to them by means of the water.” Cf. 2 Sam 12: 13-14: “And David said to Nathan: ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ And Nathan said to David: ‘The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, for this thing the child, that is born to you, shall surely die.’” Cf. INNOCENT IV, Instruction for the Greeks (DS 838). Cf. COUNCIL OF TRENT, Session 6, can. 30: “If anyone should say that, after having received the grace of justification, the guilt of the repentant sinner and his debt of eternal punishment are so cancelled that no debt of temporal punishment remains, to be satisfied, before he can enter into the kingdom of heaven, either in this life or in the life to come in purgatory: let him be anathema” (DS 1580); cf. also DS 1689, 1693. Cf. AUGUSTINE, Tract on the Gospel of John, 124, 5: “Man is obliged to suffer (in this life) even when his sins are forgiven, although it was the first sin that caused his falling into this misery. For the penalty is of longer duration than the guilt, lest the guilt should be accounted small, were the penalty also to end with it. It is for this reason—either to make manifest the indebtedness of his misery, or to correct his frailty in this life, or to exercise him in necessary patience—that man is held in this life to the penalty, even when he is no longer held to the guilt unto eternal damnation”: CCL 36, pp. 683684; PL 35, 1972-1973. 9 SECOND COUNCIL OF LYONS, Session 4 (DS 856). 10 Cf. Roman Missal, Oration for Septuagesima Sunday: “O Lord, in your kindness hear the prayers of your people. We are being justly punished for our sins, but be merciful and free us for the glory of your name.” Cf. Roman Missal, Monday after First Sunday in Lent, Oration over the People: “Free us from the slavery of our sins, O Lord, and mercifully shield us from the punishments these sins deserve.” Cf. Roman Missal, Third Sunday in Lent, Prayer after Communion: “O God, you have allowed us to share in this great sacrament. In your mercy free us also from all guilt an[d] danger of sin.” 11 Cf. Jas 3: 2: “For in many things we all offend.” Cf. 1 Jn 1: 8: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” The Council of Carthage comments on this text, as follows: “In regard to the words of the Apostle St. John: ‘If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us,’ the Council agreed to the following declaration: whoever should hold that this [text] is to be so understood as to mean that it is out of humility that we should say ‘we have sin,’ and not because this is truly so, let him be anathema” (DS 228). Cf. COUNCIL OF TRENT, Session 6 Decree on Justification, ch. 11 (DS 1537). Cf. SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Nature of the Church Lumen Gentium, no. 40: “But since we all offend in many things (cf. Jas 3: 2) we all stand in need of God’s mercy continuously and must daily pray: ‘And forgive us our trespasses’ (Mt 6: 12)” (AAS 57 [1965] 45). 12 Cf. AUGUSTINE, On Baptism, Against the Donatists, 1, 28: PL 43, 124. 13 Cf. Jn 15: 5: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he bears much fruit.” Cf. 1 Cor 12: 27: “Now you are the body of Christ, member for member.” Cf. also 1 Cor 1: 9, 10: 17; Eph 1: 20-23. Cf. SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Nature of the Church Lumen Gentium, no. 7 (AAS 57 [1965] 10-11). Cf. PIUS XII, Encyclical Mystici Corporis: “Through this communication of the Spirit of Christ... The Church becomes the fullness and complement of the Redeemer, Christ being in a certain sense filled out through the Church in all things (see Thomas, Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians, 1, lesson 8). In these words we arrive at the reason, why... The mystical Head, which is Christ, and the Church, which on this earth as another Christ bears his person, are joined together in perpetuating the saving work of the Cross: by Christ we mean the Head and the Body, the Whole Christ” (DS 3813; AAS 35 [1943] 230-231). Cf. AUGUSTINE, Exposition 2 on Psalm 90, 1: “Our Lord Jesus Christ, as a man complete and perfect, has both head and body. The head we acknowledge to be he who was born of the Virgin Mary.... This head is the head of the Church. The body of this head is, not that Church which exists atthis time, but that which is made up of the Saints from Abel down to the last men to be born and to believe in Christ, all of them constituting one people and belonging to one city. It is this city which the body, whose head is Christ”: CCL 39, p. 1266; PL 37, 1159. 14 Cf. 1 Pt 2: 22, 21. 15 Cf. Is 53: 4-6 with 1 Pt 2: 21-25; cf. also Jn 1: 29; Rm 4: 25, 5: 9ff.; 1 Cor 15: 3; 2 Cor 5: 21; Gal 1: 4; Eph 1: 7ff.; Heb 1: 3 etc.; 1 Jn 3: 5. 16 Cf. 1 Pt 2: 21. 17 Cf. Col 1: 24: “I rejoice now in the sufferings I bear for your sake; and what is lacking of the sufferings of Christ I fill up in my flesh for his body, which is the Church.” Cf. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, Lib. What rich man shall be saved, 42: The Apostle St. John exhorts the youthful robber to repentance, exclaiming: “I shall render an account for you to Christ. If it is necessary, I shall willingly suffer death for you, just as the Lord suffered death for us I shall give my life vicariously for yours”: GCS Clement 3, p. 190; PG 9, 650. Cf. CYPRIAN, On Apostates 17, 36: “We believe indeed that the merits of the martyrs and the works of the just can avail very much with the judge, when the day of judgment arrives and when this era and world come to an end and the people of Christ are standing before his tribunal.” “To him who is repentant, who performs good works, who prays, he can be merciful and forgiving; he can regard as received from them, whatever the martyrs have asked and the priest done on their behalf”: CSEL 3l, pp. 249-250, 263; PL 4: 495, 508. Cf. JEROME, Against Vigilantius 6: “You say in your booklet that we can pray one for another while we live, but that no one’s prayer for another will be heard after we have died, especially since the martyrs, though crying out for the avenging of their blood, were not able to obtain it (Ap 6: 10). If the apostles and martyrs can pray for others while they are still in the flesh and while they must still have a care for themselves, how much more after they have been crowned, victorious and triumphant?”: PL 23, 359. Cf. BASIL THE GREAT, Homily on Julitta, martyr, 9: “We must therefore weep with those who weep. When you see a brother mourning out of sorrow for his sins, weep with such a man and be sorrowful with him. For the sins of another will thus enable you to correct your own. For he, who sheds fervid tears for the sin of a neighbor, brings healing to himself, at the same time that he weeps for his brother... Mourn because of sin. Sin is a sickness of the soul; it brings death to the immortal soul; sin deserves to be mourned and to be lamented with ceaseless weeping”: PG 31, 258-259. Cf. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, Homily on the Epistle to the Philippians 1, hom. 3, 3: “Let us not, therefore, mourn as a rule those who die, nor let us rejoice as a rule over those who live. What then? Let us mourn for sinners, not only when they die, but also while they live. Let us rejoice for the just, not only while they live, but also after they have died”: PG 62, 203. Cf. THOMAS, S. Th. 1-2, q. 87, a. 8: “If we speak of that satisfactory punishment, which one takes upon oneself voluntarily, one may bear another’s punishment, in so far as they are, in some way, one.... If, however, we speak of punishment inflicted on account of sin, inasmuch as it is penal, then each one is punished for his own sin only, because the sinful act is something personal. But if we speak of a punishment that is medicinal, in this way it does happen that one is punished for another’s sin. For it has been stated that ills sustained in bodily goods or even in the body itself, are medicinal punishments intended for the health of the soul. Wherefore there is no reason why one should not have suchlike punishments inflicted on one for another’s sin, either by God or by man.” 18 Cf. LEO XIII, Encyclical Mirae Caritatis: “For the Communion of Saints is nothing other... than the mutual sharing of help, expiation, prayers and benefits among the faithful who, whether they are already in possession of their heavenly fatherland or are detained in Purgatory or are still living as pilgrims upon earth, are united and form one commonwealth, whose head is Christ, whose form is charity”: Acts of Leo XIII 22 (1902) 129 (DS 3363). 19 Cf. 1 Cor 12: 12-13: “For as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, many as they are, form one body, so also is it with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” Cf. PIUS XII, Encyclical Mystici Corporis: “In a certain sense [Christ] so lives in the Church that it is as it were another Christ. The doctor of the Gentiles in his letter to the Corinthians affirms this when, without further qualification, he calls the Church ‘Christ’ (cf. Acts 9: 4; 22: 7; 26: 14). Indeed, if we are to believe Gregory of Nyssa, the Church is often called ‘Christ’ by the Apostle (cf. The Life of Moses: PG 44, 385); and you are conversant, Venerable Brother, with that phrase of Augustine: ‘Christ preaches Christ’ (cf. Sermons 354, 1; PL 39 1563)” (AAS 35 [1943] 218). Cf. THOMAS, S. Th. 3, q. 48, a. 2 ad 1, and q. 49, a. 1. 20 Cf. CLEMENT VI, Jubilee Bull Unigenitus Dei Filius: “The only-begotten Son of God... acquired a treasure for the Church militant... This treasure... he bequeathed to the faithful, to be dispensed for their salvation by the blessed Peter, the keeper of the key of heaven, and by his successors, the vicars of Christ on earth... The riches of this treasure, as all acknowledge, are still further increased by the merits of the Blessed Mother of God and by the merits of all the elect from the first just man to the last...” (DS 1025, 1026, 1027). Cf. SIXTUS IV, Encyclical Romani Pontificis: “We, to whom the fullness of power has been given from on high, desirous of helping and assisting the souls in Purgatory from the treasury of the universal Church, which is made up of the merits of Christ and of his Saints and which has been entrusted to Us...” (DS 1406). Cf. LEO X, Decree Cum postquam to the papal legate Cajetan de Vio: “...to dispense the treasure of the merits of Jesus Christ and of the Saints...” (DS 1448); cf. DS 1467 and 2641. 21 Cf. Heb 7: 23-25, 9: 11-28. 22 SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Nature of the Church Lumen Gentium, no. 49 (AAS 57 [1965] 54-55). 23 Cf. Jas 5: 16: “Confess, therefore, your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be saved. For the unceasing prayer of a just man is of great avail.” Cf. 1 Jn 5: 16: “He who knows his brother is committing a sin that is not unto death, let him ask and life shall be given to him who does not commit a sin unto death.” 24 Cf. CLEMENT OF ROME, To the Corinthians 56, 1: “Let us also therefore pray for those who are in sin of any kind, that they may be granted the self-mastery and humility to submit, not to us, but to the divine will. For thus the commendation of them to God and the Saints, which is accompanied by mercy, will be fruitful for them and perfect”: Funk, The Apostolic Fathers 1, 171. Cf. The Martyrdom of St. Polycarp 8, 1: “But when at last he finished his prayer, in which he made mention of all who at one time or other had been associated with him and who included the small and the great, the famous and the unknown, and the whole Catholic Church throughout the world...”: Funk, The Apostolic Fathers 1, 321, 323. 25 Cf. SOZOMENUS, History of the Church 7, 16: In public penance, after the celebration of Mass, the penitents in the Church of Rome “lamenting and weeping cast themselves prone on the ground. then the Bishop with tears in his eyes comes toward them and prostrates likewise on the ground, the whole assembly of the faithful at the same time weeping and confessing their sins. The Bishop, thereupon, is the first to rise, bids the others to rise also, says an appropriate prayer for the sinners doing penance, and dismisses them”: PG 67, 1462. 26 Cf. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM, Catechesis 23 (mystag. 5) 9; 10: “We then pray also for our deceased holy fathers and bishops, and in general for all among us who departed this life, believing as we do that those souls, for whom prayer is offered, while the sacred and most venerable victim lies beforeus, will be most greatly helped.” After illustrating this by the example of the wreath woven for the emperor that he may grant amnesty to those in exile, the holy Doctor concludes his discourse, saying: “In the same way sinners, do not merely weave a wreath, but we present to God Christ victimized for our sins, striving to obtain from his mercy favor and propitiation both for them and for ourselves”: PG 33, 1115, 1118. Cf. AUGUSTINE, Confessions 9, 12, 32: PL 32, 777; and 9, 11, 27: PL 32, 775; Sermons 172, 2: PL 38, 936; Care to be shown for the Dead 1, 3; PL 40, 593. 27 Cf. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, Lib. What rich man shall be saved 42: (On the conversion of the young thief by St. John the Apostle) “From then on he spared no effort until—now by frequent prayers to God, now by joining with the young man in protracted fast, now by persuasive and winning words —he succeeded in converting him to the Chruch with firm constancy...”: CGS 17, pp. 189-190; PG 9, 28 Cf. TERTULLIAN, To the Martyrs 1, 6: “Some, not having this peace in the church, were wont to ask for it from the martyrs in prison”: CCL 1, p. 3; PL 1, 695. Cf. CYPRIAN, Epistle 18 (alias: 12) 1: “I think we should come to the aid of our brethren who have received certificates from the martyrs, so that..., having received the imposition of hands unto repentance, they may come to the Lord with the peace, which in their letters to us the martyrs have desired to be given to them”: CSEL 32, pp. 523-524; PL 4, 265; cf. Epistle 19 [alias: 13], 2, CSEL 32, p, 525; PL 4, 267. Cf. EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA, History of the Church 1, 6, 42 CGS Eus. 2, 2, 610; PG 20, 614- 29 Cf. AMBROSE, On Penance 1, 15: “for he is cleansed by certain works of the whole people and is washed in the tears of the people, who is redeemed from sin by the prayers and weeping of the people and is cleansed in the inner man. For to his Church, which merited the coming of the Lord Jesus in order that all might be redeemed by one, Christ gave the power to redeem one by means of all”: PL 16, 511. 30 Cf. TERTULLIAN, On Penance 10 5-6: “The body cannot rejoice when one of its members suffers, but the whole body must needs suffer with it and help to cure it. The Church is in both one and the other; the Church, however, is Christ. When therefore you cast yourself at the knees of your brothers, it is Christ whom you touch, it is Christ whom you implore. In like manner, when they shed tears for you, it is Christ who sorrows, Christ who supplicates the Father. And what the son requestsis always easily obtained”: CCL 1, p. 337; PL 1, 1356. Cf. AUGUSTINE, Exposition on Ps 85, 1: CCL 39, p. 1176-1177; PL 37, 1082. 31 Cf. Acts 20: 28. Also cf. COUNCIL OF TRENT, Session 23, Decr. On the Sacrament of Orders, ch. 4 (DS 1768); FIRST VATICAN COUNCIL, Session 4, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Pastor Aeternus, ch. 3 (DS 3061); SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, no. 20 (AAS 57 [1965] 23). Cf. IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH, To the Church of Smyrna 8, 1: “Apart from the Bishop, let no one perform any of the functions that pertain to the Church...” Funk, The Apostolic Fathers 1, p. 283. 32 Cf. FIRST COUNCIL OF NICEA, can. 12: “those who by their reverence, tears, patience and good works show that in their conduct and disposition they have really been converted can, after having spent the required period of time as ‘hearers’ be admitted to join the faithful in prayer, saving the right of the Bishop to treat them with greater leniency...”: Mansi, SS. Conciliorum collectio 2, 674. Cf. COUNCIL OF NEOCAESAREA, can. 3, loc. cit. 540. Cf. INNOCENT I, Epistle 25, 7, 10: PL 20, 559. Cf. LEO THE GREAT, Epistle 159, 6: PL 54, 1138. Cf. BASIL THE GREAT, Epistle 217 (canonica 3) 74: “Yet if any of those who have fallen into the above-mentioned sins should show himself earnest in doing penance, he who by God’s mercy has been given the power to loose and to bind will not be deserving of censure if, because of the extraordinary penance already performed by the sinner, he should exercise clemency and shorten the time of the penance. For, what is narrated in the Scriptures teaches us that those who give themselves with greater intensity to penance quickly receive the mercy of God”: PG 32, 803. Cf. AMBROSE, On Penance 1, 15 (see above, in note 29). 33 Cf. VINCENT OF LERINS, Commonitorium primum 23: PL 50, 667-668. 34 Cf. COUNCIL OF CLAREMONT, can. 2: “If anyone, moved solely by devotion to the exclusion of any desire for renown or riches, shall set out to liberate the Church of God in Jerusalem, that journey shall be accounted as satisfaction for every penance”: Mansi, SS. Conciliorum collectio 20, 816. 35 Cf. BONIFACE VIII, Bull Antiquorum habet: “We have it on the trustworthy testimony of very early writers, that liberal remissions and indulgences for sins were granted to those who visited the venerable basilica of the Prince of the Apostles in Rome. We therefore,... holding these remissions and indulgences to be singly and collectively valid and pleasing, confirm and approve them by virtueof the Apostolic authority... Trusting in the mercy of Almighty God and in the merits and authority of the same Apostles and after consultation with our brothers, we by virtues of the fullness of the Apostolic authority do now for this centennial year and will in the future for each recurring centennial year grant, not only a full and more abundant, but the fullest pardon of sins to those who, truly repentant and having confessed their sins, devoutly visit these basilicas...” (DS 868). 36 CLEMENT VI, Jubilee Bull Unigenitus Dei Filius (DS 1025, 1026, 1027). 37 Cf. LEO X, Decree Cum postquam: “We have considered it our duty to make clear to you, that the Church of Rome, which all others are obliged to follow as their Mother, has traditionally taught, that the Roman Pontiff, as the successor of Peter the Bearer of the Keys and as the Vicar of Christ Jesus on earth, can for a reasonable cause grant from the superabundance of the merits of Christ and the Saints indulgences in favor of those of the faithful who, whether in this life or in purgatory, are members of Christ, joined to him in charity; this he can do by virtue of the power of the keys, the power namely to open the kingdom of heaven by freeing the faithful from impediments that bar them from it (from the impediment of guilt for their actual sins by the Sacrament of Penance and from the impediment of temporal punishment due in divine justice for these sins by ecclesiastical indulgence). It is also the tradition of the Church that, in granting by Apostolic authority an indulgence whether for the living or the dead, the Roman Pontiff dispenses the treasury of the merits of Christ and the Saints and that it was his wont to grant an indulgence (for the living) after the manner of an absolution and (for the dead) to transfer it in the form of a suffrage. Therefore all, both living and dead, who truly gain an indulgence, are freed from as much of the temporal punishment due in divine justice for their sins, as is granted by the indulgence acquired” (DS 1447-1448). 38 Cf. PAUL VI, Letter Sacrosancta Portiunculae: “An indulgence, which the Church grants to the penitent, is a manifestation of that marvelous Communion of Saints, which by the single bond of the charity of Christ mystically unites the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and the company of the faithful, whether triumphant in heaven or detained in purgatory or still living as pilgrims upon earth. For an indulgence, given by the intervention of the Church, lessens or entirely remits the punishment, by which a person is in a certain sense prevented from attaining a closer union with God. The repentant, therefore, will find in this unique form of ecclesial charity an ever available help in putting off the old man and putting on the new, ‘who is being renewed unto perfect knowledge according to the image of his Creator’ (Col 3: 10)” (AAS 58 [1966] 663-634). 39 Cf. PAUL VI, cited Letter: “As for those of the faithful who are repentant and strive to attain to this ‘metanoia,’ the Church comes to their help, for the reason that, having sinned, they now aspire tothat holiness, with which they were clothed in Baptism. By grants of indulgences, she enfolds these her children in a maternal embrace, helping and sustaining them in their weakness and frailty. An indulgence, therefore, is not some easy way, by which we can escape the necessity of doing penance for sin. It is rather a support, which each of the faithful, humbly conscious of his weakness, finds in the mystical Body of Christ, ‘collaborating in its entirety by charity, example and prayers to effect his conversion’ (Dogmatic constitution on the Church, no. 11)” (AAS 58 [1966] 632). 40 CLEMENT VI, Jubilee Bull Unigenitus Dei Filius (DS 1026). CLEMENT VI, Letter Super quibusdam (DS 1059). MARTIN V, Bull Inter cunctas (DS 1266). SIXTUS IV, Bull Salvator noster (DS 1398). Sixtus IV, Encyclical Romani Pontificis provida: “Desiring to counteract by Our Briefs... these scandals and errors, We have written to... prelates to notify the faithful that the plenary indulgence for the souls in purgatory was granted by Us after the manner of a suffrage, not in order that the faithful might be deterred by this indulgence from performing pious and good works, but in order that the indulgence might be of salutary benefit to the souls (in purgatory) after the manner of a suffrage and profit them, just as would devout prayers and pious alms said and offered for the welfare of these souls... It was not that We intended to say, nor do We now intend to say or wish to imply, that an indulgence is of no more benefit or value than alms or prayers or that alms and prayers are of equal benefit or value as an indulgence after the manner of suffrage; for, We know that there is a great difference between alms and prayers on the one hand and an indulgence after the manner of a suffrage on the other; but We said that an indulgence (after the manner of a suffrage) avails (the souls in purgatory) just as (‘perinde ac si’) do prayers and alms, that is, ‘in the same manner.’ And because prayers and alms have a suffrage-value when performed for the souls in purgatory, We, to whom the fullness of power has been given by God, desiring to assist the souls in purgatory with suffrages from the treasury of the universal Church—a treasury made up of the merits of Christ and the Saints and committed to Us— have granted the above-mentioned indulgence...” (DS 1405-1406). LEO X, Bull Exsurge Domine (DS 1467-1472). PIUS VI, Constitution Auctorem fidei, proposition 40: “The proposition is false, rash, injurious to the merits of Christ, and long since condemned in article 19 of Luther, which asserts, ‘that according to its precise meaning an indulgence is nothing more than the remission of part of that penance to which a sinner is obliged according to the stipulations of the canons,’ as though an indulgence, apart from the mere remission of a canonical penalty, does not also effect the remission of the temporal punishment due the divine justice for actual sins” (DS 2640). Ibid., proposition 41: “Likewise false, rash injurious to the merits of Christ and the Saints, and long since condemned inarticle 17 of Luther is the statement subjoined to the above proposition, ‘that the scholastics, puffed up by their subtleties, introduced an erroneous understanding of the treasury of the merits of Christ and the Saints, and in place of the clear notion of absolution from a canonical penalty substituted the confused and false notion of applying these merits,’ as though the treasurers of the Church, on which the Pope draws in granting indulgences, were not the merits of Christ and the Saints” (DS 2641). Ibid., proposition 42: “Likewise false, rash offensive to pious ears, injurious to the Roman Pontiffs and to the practice and understanding of the universal Church, leading to the condemned heretical error of Peter of Osma, and condemned also in article 22 of Luther is the statement added to the above proposition, ‘that it is still more to be regretted that it was decided to transfer this fanciful application (of merits) to the departed’” (DS 2642). PIUS XI, Proclamation of the Extraordinary Holy Year Quod nuper: “We grant and impart mercifully in the Lord the fullest remission of the entire debt of punishment which they owe in atonement for their sins, provided they have first obtained the remission and pardon of the sins themselves” (AAS 25 [1933]8). PIUS XII, Proclamation of the Universal Jubilee Jubilaeum maximum: “To all the faithful who in the course of this year of atonement, having duly received the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion, devoutly visit the Basilicas and recite... prayers..., we grant and impart mercifully in the Lord the fullest remission of the entire debt of punishment which they owe in expiation for their sins” (AAS 41 [1949] 258-259). 41 Cf. FOURTH LATERAN COUNCIL, ch. 62 (DS 819). 42 Cf. COUNCIL OF TRENT, Decr. On Indulgences (DS 1835). 43 Cf. ibid. 44 Jer 2: 19. 45 Cf. Eph 5: 27. 46 Eph 4: 13. 47 Cf. THOMAS, Commentary on the fourth book of the Sentences, dist. 20, q. I, a. 3, q. la 2, ad 2 (S. Th. Suppl., q. 25, a. 2, ad 2): “although such indulgences are of great value for the remission of temporal punishment, still other works of satisfaction are more meritorious from the standpoint of the essential reward; this is infinitely better than the remission of temporal punishment. **”Norms*** **N. 1** – An indulgence is the remission before God of the temporal punishment due sins already forgiven as far as their guilt is concerned, which the follower of Christ with the proper dispositions and under certain determined conditions acquires through the intervention of the Church which, as minister of the Redemption, authoritatively dispenses and applies the treasury of the satisfaction won by Christ and the saints. **N. 2** – An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due sin. **N. 3** – Partial as well as plenary indulgences can always be applied to the dead by way of suffrage. **N. 4** – A partial indulgence will henceforth be designated only with the words “partial indulgence” without any determination of days or years. **N. 5** – The faithful who at least with a contrite heart perform an action to which a partial indulgence is attached obtain, in addition to the remission of temporal punishment acquired by the action itself, an equal remission of punishment through the intervention of the Church. **N. 6** – A plenary indulgence can be acquired only once a day, except for the provisions contained in N18 for those who are on the point of death. A partial indulgence can be acquired more than once a day, unless there is an explicit indication to the contrary. **N. 7** – To acquire a plenary indulgence it is necessary to perform the work to which the indulgence is attached and to fulfill three conditions: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion and prayer for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. It is further required that all attachment to sin, even to venial sin, be absent. If this disposition is in any way less than complete, or if the prescribed three conditions are not fulfilled, the indulgence will be only partial, except for the provisions contained in N11 for those who are “impeded.” **N. 8** – The three conditions may be fulfilled several days before or after the performance of the prescribed work; nevertheless it is fitting that Communion be received and the prayers for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff be said the same day the work is performed. **N. 9** – A single sacramental confession suffices for gaining several plenary indulgences, but Communion must be received and prayers for the Supreme Pontiff’s intentions recited for the gaining of eachplenary indulgence. **N. 10** – The condition of praying for the Supreme Pontiff’s intentions is fully satisfied by reciting one “Our Father” and one “Hail Mary”; nevertheless the individual faithful are free to recite any other prayer according to their own piety and devotion toward the Supreme Pontiff. **N. 11** – While there is no change in the faculty granted by canon 935 of the Code of Canon Law to confessors to commute for those who are “impeded” either the prescribed work itself or the required conditions [for the acquisition of indulgences], local Ordinaries can grant to the faithful over whom they exercise authority in accordance with the law, and who live in places where it is impossible or at least very difficult for them to receive the sacraments of confession and Communion, permission to acquire a plenary indulgence without confession and Communion provided they are sorry for their sins and have the intention of receiving these sacraments as soon as possible. **N. 12** – The division of indulgences into “personal,” “real” and “local” is abolished so as to make it clearer that indulgences are attached to the actions of the faithful even though at times they may be linked with some object or place. **N. 13** – The Enchiridion Indulgentiarium (collection of indulgenced prayers and works) is to be revised with a view to attaching indulgences only to the most important prayers and works of piety, charity and penance. **N. 14** – The lists and summaries of indulgences special to religious orders, congregations, societies of those living in community without vows, secular institutes and the pious associations of faithful are to be revised as soon as possible in such a way that plenary indulgences may be acquired only on particular days established by the Holy See acting on the recommendation of the Superior General, or in the case of pious associations, of the local Ordinary. **N. 15** – A plenary indulgence applicable only to the dead can be acquired in all churches and public oratories—and in semipublic oratories by those who have the right to use them—on November 2. In addition, a plenary indulgence can be acquired twice a year in parish churches: on the feast of the church’s titular saint and on August 2, when the “Portiuncula” occurs, or on some other more opportune day determined by the Ordinary. All the indulgences mentioned above can be acquired either on the days established or—with the consent of the Ordinary—on the preceding or the following Sunday. Other indulgences attached to churches and oratories are to be revised as soon as possible. **N. 16** – The work prescribed for acquiring a plenary indulgence connected with a church or oratory consists in a devout visit and the recitation of an “Our Father” and “Creed.” **N. 17** – The faithful who use with devotion an object of piety (crucifix, cross, rosary, scapular or medal) properly blessed by any priest, can acquire a partial indulgence. But if this object of piety is blessed by the Supreme Pontiff or any bishop, the faithful who use it devoutly can also acquire a plenary indulgence on the feast of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, provided they also make a profession of faith using any legitimate formula. **N. 18** – To the faithful in danger of death who cannot be assisted by a priest to bring them the sacraments and impart the apostolic blessing with its attendant plenary indulgence (according to canon 468 § 2 of the Code of Canon Law) Holy Mother Church nevertheless grants a plenary indulgence to be acquired at the point of death, provided they are properly disposed and have been in the habit of reciting some prayers during their lifetime. To use a crucifix or cross in connection with the acquisition of this plenary indulgence is a laudable practice. This plenary indulgence at the point of death can be acquired by the faithful even if they have already obtained another plenary indulgence on the same day. **N. 19** – The norms established regarding plenary indulgences, particularly those referred to in N16, apply also to what up to now have been known as the “toties quoties” (“as often as”) plenary indulgences. **N. 20** – Holy Mother Church, extremely solicitous for the faithful departed, has decided that suffrages can be applied to them to the widest possible extent at any Sacrifice of the Mass whatsoever, abolishing all special privileges in this regard. These new norms regulating the acquisition of indulgences will go into effect three months from the date of publication of this constitution in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis. Indulgences attached to the use of religious objects which are not mentioned above cease three months after the date of publication of this constitution in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis. The revisions mentioned in N14 and N15 must be submitted to the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary within a year. Two years after the date of this constitution, indulgences which have not been confirmed will become null and void. We will that these statutes and prescriptions of ours be established now and remain in force for the future notwithstanding, if it is necessary so to state, the constitutions and apostolic directives published by our predecessors or any other prescriptions even if they might be worthy of specialmention or should otherwise require partial repeal. Given at Rome at St. Peter’s on January 1, the octave of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, 1967, the fourth year of Our Pontificate. POPE PAUL VI ____________ * This set of norms is part of Pope Paul VI’s apostolic constitution Indulgentiarum doctrina and is provided for historical study only. The norms currently in effect for indulgences begin on pp. 11-20 of this book. # Source Manual Of Indulgences Norms And Grants Apostolic Penitentiary. Translated Into English From The Fourth Edition 1999 Of _Enchiridion Indulgentiarum Normae Et Concessiones_ United States Conference Of Catholic Bishops Washington DC --- ![[maps/bibliography#^biblio-ei]]