Year of St. Paul offers indulgences
By Bishop Joseph N. Latino
We are now well into the church’s Year of St. Paul, marking the 2000th anniversary of the Apostle’s birth. During this jubilee year, Catholics around the world are making pilgrimages to holy sites where St. Paul traveled to spread the Gospel. As part of this jubilee, the Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary announced a plenary indulgence could be obtained by the faithful for making such a pilgrimage.
Conditions for obtaining a plenary indulgence are: participation in the sacrament of penance during or within a few days of the pilgrimage; reception of Holy Communion; prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father; a spirit of detachment from inclination to sin; and a desire to join in a jubilee celebration in honor of St. Paul.
Therefore, the faithful who are properly disposed and who adhere to the conditions attached may receive this indulgence.
For the Year of St. Paul in the Diocese of Jackson, a plenary indulgence may be obtained by making a pilgrimage to: St. Paul Parish in Vicksburg; St. Paul Parish in Flowood; the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson; St. Mary Basilica in Natchez; St. James Parish in Tupelo; Christ the King Parish in Southaven; or Our Lady of Victories Parish in Cleveland on any of the following dates: Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul (Jan. 25, 2009), the Shipwreck of St. Paul (Feb. 10, 2009), the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (June 19, 2009), or the Vigil/Solemnity of SS. Peter and Paul (June 28-29, 2009).
In the Catholic Church there is a long standing, approved and clearly defined tradition of praying for and receiving indulgences. We believe the church, as the minister of the Redemption, authoritatively dispenses and applies the treasury of the graces won by Christ and the saints to the faithful.
According to the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” (#1471), an indulgence is “the remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sin whose guilt has already been forgiven.”
An indulgence can be partial – remove part of the temporal punishment due – or plenary – remove all the temporal punishment due (CCC 1471). A plenary indulgence is a special gift offered by God through the church to help us attain purity of heart and holiness of life.
The church believes and teaches that although the forgiveness of sin restores union with God and includes complete forgiveness from eternal punishment due to sin, the temporal punishment due to sin remains.
The doctrine and practice of indulgences in the church are closely linked to the effects of the sacrament of penance. To fully understand the true meaning and value of indulgences, one should first understand the sacrament of penance or reconciliation.
Forgiveness of personal sins committed after the sacrament of baptism is received normally through the sacrament of penance, or what we popularly call confession or reconciliation.
We believe Jesus gave this power to the church when he said: “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 20:22-23)
Sin affects the individual, the church and the whole world. The consequence of grave sin is the loss of union with God and the loss of eternal life. The consequence of venial sin although it does not separate one from complete union with God, it indicates a contrary commitment to total union with God and an unhealthy attachment to someone or something less than God.
Regardless of the seriousness of sin, however, whether mortal or venial, the ordinary means of forgiveness for Catholics is the worthy reception of the sacrament of penance.
Moreover, since we believe all who have been forgiven and have died in God’s grace, although assured of eternal life after death, experience a time of purgation, then it is in the context of the Catholic Church’s belief and teaching concerning the souls in purgatory and their temporal punishment that the church’s belief and teaching concerning indulgences and the mercy of God also can be found and understood.
Purgatory is that time between death and eternal life when a final purification from the sins committed in life occurs. It is not vengeance imposed by God, but rather the desire and need of the souls of the just to achieve complete forgiveness by repairing the harm caused by personal sin. We, the living, are able to offer prayers, works of charity and self-sacrifice to God on behalf of the souls in purgatory.
During this month of November, the church in a special way has been devoted to praying for the souls in purgatory. In our prayers, works of charity and sacrifice we are able to offer these actions to God for those souls in the hope that God will hear our petitions on their behalf and that God will have mercy on them and on us.
In addition to any special intentions an individual may bring on the pilgrimage, I ask that prayers for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life for our diocese be offered as well.
Any member of the faithful prevented from making a pilgrimage by illness or another legitimate and important cause, may, always in a spirit of detachment from any inclination to sin and with the intention of fulfilling the conditions as soon as possible, obtain the plenary indulgence, as long as they spiritually join in one of the jubilee celebrations in honor of St Paul.
