Articles of Devotion and Where to Find Them

Table of Content

• Grant 14

• Identifying Objects

• Identifying Blessings

• Identifying Days

• What is “Prayerful Use” (and where to pray)

• Where to find Items

• Blessed Item Etiquette

  
  

Have you ever wondered about indulgenced articles of devotion, or where to acquire one? Maybe you haven’t considered this, but since you have now been asked this question (so I know it is on your mind) I would like to give you some answers!

• Grant 14

This comes from Grant 14 (“Use of Articles of Devotion”), found in the Manuel of Indulgence. The Manuel states:

§1 A plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful who, on the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul [*June 29th], make prayerful use of an article of devotion, as defined by Norm 15 [*a crucifix or cross, rosary, scapular, or medal], that has been blessed by the Supreme Pontiff or by any bishop, provided the faithful also make a Profession of Faith using any legitimate formula.

§2 A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who devoutly use such articles of devotion properly blessed by either a priest or a deacon.

• Identifying Objects

So, our first step is identifying what objects can be indulgenced. In the past various items could be indulgenced, even soils and oils. Today the list has been limited to only 5 items (found in Norm 15) That is: rosaries, a crucifix or cross, scapular, or medal. Now these terms are fairly broad. For example, I would personally say that a ‘rosary’ object would not include all ‘chaplet beads’ (that is to say prayer beads or other chaplet item that are not created to be used for a Marian rosary). However a rosary object that is created to be used for a Marian rosary, perhaps an item that has the traditional 15-decades, or it is a minimalist item that lonely has half a decade of beads for the rosary, are both presumably allowed for this indulgence. A ‘cross’ could be made out of metal or maybe out of paper. As far as I can tell, these objects could come in a variety of shapes and forms, just so long as they reasonably fit within one of these 5 these categories.

• Identifying Blessings

The second step is to know the details of the blessings. According to this grant, there are 4 ecclesial leaders whose blessings allow for indulgences, and only 2 of these leaders allow for a plenary indulgence. For the plenary indulgence only items blessed by Bishops and Popes are applicable. For the partial indulgence, any Priest or Deacon-blessed item is applicable. Note that Bishops and Popes are also priests, therefore even though it is not explicitly stated, items blessed by Bishops and Popes presumably offer partial indulgences when not used on the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul.

A few presumptive notes as well: If you have an item that is, let us say, blessed by both a bishop and a priest, it should be applicable for the plenary indulgence due to the bishop’s blessing. Also, just for speculation, I would believe that if a priest eventually becomes a bishop, that that item would need to be blessed again by that man in his new office or another Bishop (that is to say that the blessing is understood to be the result of a specific time/event, and does not elevate with that man’s position)

• Identifying Days

The third step is to know what days and details offer which indulgences. Partial indulgences may be gained any day of the year, multiple times a day. This means that any appropriate object, blessed by any appropriate authority, can offer one or more partial indulgences on any day. There’s only one set of circumstances that elevate this grant to offer a plenary indulgence. Firstly, we have stated that any of these 5-listed object are applicable for a plenary indulgence. Secondly, we have also stated that only items that are blessed by a Bishop or Pope are applicable. Thirdly, adding new information, a plenary indulgence is only offered on the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. That is to say ‘their feast day.’ This solemnity is set on June 29^th, but if for any reason this feast is legitimately transferred to another date, then according to Norm 13 the plenary indulgence is transferred to that new legal date as well. Regardless though, this plenary indulgence can only be done on this single day of the year.

• What is “Prayerful Use”

The fourth step is address what is meant by “Prayerful Use.” Honestly, this is very general. This could mean literally any prayer, so long as it is a “prayer”. (I’m thinking of ‘invocations’ vs. prayers, where invocations are usually very short addresses aimed towards God/heaven. A prayer would not need to be structured, but it would need to be more than an invocation). Safely, I would say that a minimum of an Our Father or Hail Mary or even Glory Be would be sufficient as “prayerful”. “Use” would likely entail a certain amount of conscious interaction with the object. Having the object in your hand as you pray is a simple way to ‘use’ a holy object. Other things that come to my mind are wearing the object, touching the object, kissing the object, genuflecting before the object, or even gazing at the object if it’s stationary or at a distance. Any of these would be ways that these items could be ‘used’ and offer edification.

Above, at the beginning of the article, I also asked in parenthesis *(and where to pray). The answer to this is anywhere. There is no criteria of needing to be in a specific location, so don’t feel like you must be in a church or anywhere special to gain this indulgence. Although it would be appropriate to be somewhere reverent, it is not necessary.

• Where to find Items

The fifth and last step for us to address is where to find items that would apply this indulgence. So where are some of the best places to look?

1. “Create” your own object: The most straight forward way to obtain an article of devotion is to obtain an appropriate article and have it blessed directly. You may approach any deacon, priest, bishop, or the pope and have them bless an of the listed items, either through specific means (they handle your particular item) or through general means (the leader gives a general blessing to items present within a facility/service).

2. Search through your own gifts/items: It is entirely possible that you already have acquired or have been gifted a blessed item, especially if you have gone through the usually celebrated sacraments of baptism, communion, and confirmation. You also may have inherited blessed items from family members. Grandma and Grandpa often have lived a lot of life, and if they have since passed, and were even semi-devout Catholics it is likely that they obtained a blessed item in their many years of life which could have fallen into your care.

3. Borrow an item: There is absolutely not rule that you have to be the owner of the blessed article of devotion. Like I said above, Grandma and Grandpa have lived a lot of life, and have likely accumulated some blessed items. Or perhaps you have a friend who once pilgrimed to Rome and they have a Pope-blessed item, or they have a Bishop-blessed item. You may freely ask any blessed-item owner to borrow their article for the sake of gaining a partial or the plenary indulgence (even if it is only for the moments necessary to prayerfully use it)

4. Identify publicly-accessible blessed items: Some churches have blessed rosaries available for the public. Very likely, there is a bishop-blessed cross or crucifix hanging somewhere in your parish or other accessible place. I believe that my priest just blessed a large crucifix at our local cemetery. You should be able to ask around to see if there are any items like this that are available. Your priest or parish office should certainly know, and whatever item you find should work for gaining an indulgence (partial or plenary depending on the leader who blessed the item). It would especially be convenient to discover any Bishop or Pope blessed public items since they are usually harder to come by, and then you could let others, who are also interested in gaining indulgences, know too!

5. “Request” a blessed item: If you can’t approach an appropriate leader (the Pope or Bishop, or you are bed-bound and need help even approaching a priest or deacon) you could have someone take an item for you to be blessed, or request a blessed item to be sent to you (this assumes no money exchanged). Two examples come to my mind: firstly, if you know of someone pilgrimage to Rome and planning to receive the Pope’s general blessing (applicable upon items) you may be able to send an item with your friend to be blessed. Second example; where I am at, there is a program that you may send a request to a group of priests for a free blessed medal to be sent to you in the mail.

6. “Commission” a blessed item: You may order an item that will be blessed or you may carefully use money to obtain a blessed item. This route needs to be strategic in order to guarantee that we do not fall into the sin of “simony” (the act of selling/buying spiritual things or favors). However, it can be done! Two more examples come to my mind: The Vatican gift shop sells items, then once the monetary transaction is complete they present the item to the Pope (through a generally blessing service) before it is shipped to its new owner. This ‘transaction’ is approved since the blessing was not sold, just the item before the blessing. For my second example, it is just my speculation, but I believe that it would be okay if someone wished to gift to you or send to you their own blessed item, that you could put in some money must if there were necessary repairs or mailing/transportation services that need to be paid for. If you have any questions about this though, I would recommend asking your priest.

• Blessed Item Etiquette

Now, for some additional information, I believe that it is important to go over some etiquette that comes with blessed items (of any kind). The first thing to note is that any item you want blessed, please make sure you are alright with treating it as blessed. Blessed items should not be treated like casual items since they are ‘set apart’ once blessed. This doesn’t mean that you have to overly revere the item, but do treat it differently than non-blessed items of a similar kind.

Regarding items loosing their offer of indulgence, Norm 16 states this: §2. An indulgence attached to the use of an article of devotion ceases only if the article is destroyed or sold. Again, if you have any questions about monetary transactions surrounding an already blessed item, I would ask a priest. As for “destroyed” items, there are many ways for an item to be destroy. A certain amount of obliteration would certainly be ‘destroyed,’ but also an item that is broken may be considered ‘destroyed’ too. It may be up to you if an item is beyond your ability or desire to repair, and you certainly may discard it(broken or not). The approved way to discard any blessed item is to burn or bury that item. (You do not need to do this for spiritual, yet non-blessed items.) In some churches there are programs where you can give your item over to your church for proper repair or disposal. Lastly, in the norm, it states destruction, but not burial as a way for the indulgence/blessingto be taken away. Just a fun thought, but in theory, an archeologist could dig up your discarded indulgenced item and, even if broken, it could/would still offer an indulgence. This isn’t a promotion to obliterate, its just a fun thought.

Regarding Pope/Bishop blessed items vs. Priest/Deacon blessed items: Items that are eligible for partial indulgences should be easier to obtain than plenary indulgence items, but only because priests and deacons are more abundant and available. So even as you approach priests and deacons for their blessings, keep an eye out for opportunities to acquire Pope/Bishop blessed items too. Items do not need to be blessed multiple times, since all blessings stem from Christ and flow through his Church, but for this instance (as is edifying) it is important to have this special interaction of item and blessing with the higher leaders for the sake of gaining a plenary indulgence.

Regarding the chaplet/rosary dilemma that I noted above, even though it is true that non-Marian-rosary (chaplet) items do not apply as an indulgence object, it still could be possible that attaching an applicable item, like a blessed medal to ‘chaplet beads,’ would offer an indulgence. Not through the beaded item, but by the prayerful use of the medal attached. And this could apply to any thing (ex: statues, chains/beads, necklaces, personal devotion items, etc.) You could also prays like secific chaplet prayers for your ‘prayerful use’ of that attached indulgenced item.

Regarding items that you don’t know if they have been blessed (namely inherited items or gifted items), unfortunately there’s no notable features of a blessed item vs. a non-blessed item. But if you can recall what has been told to you regarding that item or who the original gift-giver is than you may be able to acquire the details of if an item is blessed. If in doubt, you can always have the item re-blessed.

There may be more notes of etiquette, but for now this will be where we stop. I hope this has been helpful. Indulgences can be a confusing topic so please feel free to leave your thoughts and questions (here or on the CII social media page). I hope to address all I can so that we can come to know this hidden gem of the Catholic Faith.