As we start to learn about Indulgences and Indulgence works it’s easy to see that, although some indulgences are harder to gain, others are quite easy. In fact some of the works that have been Granted an indulgence might be works that we have made a habit of doing before we ever knew what an indulgence was. Like reading scripture or praying the rosary in the same manner that an indulgence Grant describes.
So it begs the question, have I been gaining indulgences all along? Unfortunately the answer is NO. In the second part of Norm 17 (N17) it says:
N17… §2. To gain an indulgence, one must have at least the general intention of doing so and must carry out the enjoined works at the stated time and in due fashion, according to the sense of the grant.
Certainly one might be able to argue that the habits they’ve developed might follow the guidelines of a Grant, but in order to actually gain the indulgence one must have a general intention to gain that indulgence.
So let’s say, for example, one has only heard about an indulgences this year. Even though that person may have a long standing habit of praying the rosary, none of those past rosaries would grant them the opportunity of an indulgence because that person was not trying to gain an indulgence. They didn’t even know what an indulgence was until now, or that what they were doing was qualifiable. This doesn't mean that the past rosaries prayed were useless. In truth rosaries are very edifying, charitable, and produce their own fruits that might include some remission of temporal punishment natural. However, on its own, the act does not inherently carry the promise of an indulgence if that person is not striving to gain an indulgence.
Now, if you’ve heard of indulgences before, but only sort of causally participated because your church or a loved one told you to, you probably have gained an indulgence to some extent, though maybe not a Plenary indulgence if that is what was offered. You don’t have to fully know what an indulgence is to gain one, only that you can and you tried. But simply because Plenary indulgences are often very specific, if you attempted to gain one of these without knowing the conditions it’s likely that you may have left the work or conditions unsatisfied, resulting in a partial indulgence instead of the Plenary that was proposed.
So, now that we do know about indulgences, what are some ways that we can express a general intention to gain them? Certainly, if you are attempting to do anything specific for a Partial or Plenary indulgence, that would cover the general intention. But some indulgences, broadly covered by the four (4) general Grants come so naturally to us. How do we cover a general intention to gain an indulgence when we are simply moving about our day?
Don’t forget that, just like we might pray at the beginning our our day for guidance, or grace, or protection, we can also pray that we might be able to gain indulgences throughout our day. One short little prayer that I’ve come across is prayed like this: “I wish to gain all the indulgences attached to the prayers I shall say and the good works I shall perform this day." Perhaps you might find it helpful to add this prayer or craft your own short prayer into your day. Certainly it couldn’t get any easier to satisfy this general intention to gain an indulgence than by saying one short sentence once every day.
I hope this has been helpful. Indulgences can be a confusing topic so please feel free to leave your thoughts and questions. I hope to address all I can so that we can come to know this hidden gem of our Catholic faith.
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