FAQ
What is a Indulgence?
The Catholic Church defines Indulgences as such:
“An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints."
How do I do an Indulgence?
This depends on which of the two types of indulgences you want to do. If you aim for a Plenary (whole) indulgence you must consider: *1 work (various), *1 state of the heart (detached from sin), and *3 conditions (confession, communion, papal prayers). If you aim for a Partial indulgence you must consider: *1 work (various) and *1 state of the heart (contrite), both being less intense.
Who can I gain an indulgence for?
You may gain an indulgence for yourself or for a departed soul in purgatory. It is often asked if we can direct our indulgences to a loved one in purgatory, and the Church has said nothing against doing so. However, it's important to note that fixating on a specific soul may not be very productive; partly because it may led us away from entrusting out indulgence to Christ's will, and partly because we do not know if our loved ones have moved on to heaven (meaning they don't need an indulgence at all)
Is it possible that I do the plenary indulgence requirements differently?
OR
What if I’m incapable of doing this particular indulgence?
Depending on the indulgence and your own capacity to complete it, it may be possible to receive a sort-of dispensation from your priest for what is required or how it needs to be done.
However, in the manner that this question was originally asked, I feel it is important to remind and recommend; that if a particular 'work' or 'grant' doesn't work for you, that you might want to consider a different one. there are more then 30 works that we may do, after all.
How do I know if my indulgence worked?
Unless God grants us some divine vision or revelation, we do not know if our indulgences are truly granted or the specific details of how our indulgences are applied. For this we must be comfortable trusting Christ entirely. Trusting that he is making these indulgences possible and that he is honoring them as He sees fit.
Must I do all 8 days of the Indulgence in Nov.
The All Souls Octave in November is one of the most popular indulgences, and so there are many questions around it.
For this indulgence you do not need to do all 8 days. That is, these day are not reliant on if you do the indulgence the day before or after. Each day is its own separate occasion.
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