March 21-22 - Traditional Indulgence of the day!
- catholicindulgence
- Mar 21
- 5 min read
We are evaluating old indulgences that have been approve on todays date of:
March
21 & 22
List of Traditional materials we will be looking at today, and the current/withstanding grants that they satisfy (directly or indirectly).
168. The Holy Hour
Notwithstanding
462. Litany (of St. Joesph) with Versicles and Prayers
partial indulgence… Grant 22
687. The Litany of the Saints
partial indulgence… Grant 22
766. An invocation to be recited by those who do mantel or physical labor
partial indulgence… General Grant 1
NOTE:
Every prayer may be eligible for a partial indulgence, if applied correctly, under Grant 15.
Every invocation may be eligible for a partial indulgence, if applied correctly, under ‘General Grant ’ 1
Every practice may be eligible for a partial indulgence, if it is applied correctly, under one of the ‘General Grant’s 2, 3, or 4
Some spelling errors may be present.
Abbreviations that are found at the end of an indulgence prayer/practice (like S. P. Ap., and S. C. Ind.,) are, in essence, a specific ecclesiastical approval for a particular indulgence.
Traditional indulgences are ordered by their last date of approval.
The full written outline of the requirements for a partial or plenary indulgence, found at the end of an indulgence prayer/practice, may be omitted if not all of the information is unique or notable. (You will see three dots when there is a break in text …)
CHAPTER III. ‘GOD THE SON’ – Art. IV. - “JESUS IN THE BLESSED SACRAMENT - IX. Pious Practices
168. The Holy Hour - The faithful, who take part for an entire hour in the public exercise known as the "Holy Hour," in any church, public or semi-public oratory (if they may lawfully make use of the latter), in order to venerate the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ, and to worship and meditate upon the burning love whereby He was led to institute the Holy Eucharist, may gain: A plenary indulgence, provided that they atone for their sins in sacramental confession, receive Holy Communion and pray for the intentions of the Sovereign Pontiff.
Those, who being at least contrite, perform this pious exercise, whether publicly or privately, may gain: An indulgence of 10 years (Secr. Mem., Feb. 14, 1815 and Apr. 6, 1816; S. C. Ind., June 18, 1876; S. P. Ap., Mar. 21, 1933).
A Holy Hour is defined as ‘a devotion in which we spend one hour in prayer and/or meditation.’ Often this holy hour is done during Eucharistic Adoration. Spending time in adoration (whether or not the Eucharist is exposed or reserved) offers an indulgence as well as activities that have us mediate and make The Way of the Cross (Stations of the Cross). One may also make their monthly recollection in a church (guided or unguided).
With all of this said though, simply going to a church, or public or semi-public oratory is Notwithstanding as it is. These other things may be done during the time of a Holy Hour, but the does not offer an indulgence in and of itself.
CHAPTER VII. “THE SAINTS” - Art. II. “IN HONOR OF SAINT JOSEPH, SPOUCE OF THE B. V. M.” - III. The Litany
462. LITANY OF ST. JOSEPH … (Due to the length of litanies, this litany will have an external link, found below)...
An indulgence of 5 years. A plenary indulgence on the usual conditions, if this litany together with its versicle and response, and the prayer are recited daily for a month (S. Cong. of Rites, March 18, 1909, exhib. March 19, 1909; S. P. Ap., March 21, 1935)
This litany can be found printed, not only in the traditional book: the ‘Raccolta’, but also in the current book: ‘Manuel of Indulgences’ (find "NOVENAS, LITANIES, AND THE LITTLE OFFICES" in the table of contents). If you do follow this link, you will see that this litany is granted a partial indulgence under Grant 22. This grant states that litanies must be “approved”, and this one is.
The specific reference in the 'Manuel of Indulgences' is as follows: A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who devoutly recite approved litanies (e.g., of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and of the Saints);
CHAPTER IX. “FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS” – Art. VII. “MISCELLANEOUS DEVOTIONS” – XXI. THE LITANY OF THE SAINTS
687. a) The faithful who on the feast of St. Mark the Evangelist or on the Rogation days devoutly assist at the sacred ceremony proper to these days in churches or in public oratories are granted: An indulgence of 10 years; A plenary indulgence if they have obtained the forgiveness of their sins, received Holy Communion and prayed for the intentions of the Holy Father.
b) Those, however, who on the aforementioned days when the sacred function mentioned above does not take place, recite the Litany of the Saints, are granted: An indulgence of 7 years.
c) Those who on the other days of the year piously recite the same Litany are granted: An indulgence of 5 years; A plenary indulgence on the usual conditions, if they recite the same Litany daily for an entire month (S. P. Ap., July 10, 1935, and March 21, 1941)
This litany can be found printed in the current book: ‘Manuel of Indulgences’ (find "NOVENAS, LITANIES, AND THE LITTLE OFFICES" in the table of contents). If you do follow this link, you will see that this litany is granted a partial indulgence under Grant 22. This grant states that litanies must be “approved”, and this one is.
The rest of this grant, about assisting in the events of specific days, is not covered by a specific indulgence (that is, there’s not specific indulgence category addressing the ceremonies of the feast of St. Mark the Evangelist or on the Rogation days). Of course, some actions may be done along side General Grants, like grant 4 about witnessing one’s faith to others. But otherwise this traditional indulgence best translates to the current indulgence for Litanies
The specific reference in the 'Manuel of Indulgences' is as follows: A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who devoutly recite approved litanies (e.g., of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and of the Saints);
CHAPTER IX. “FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS” – PART II. “IN FAVOR OF CERTAIN GROUPS OF PERSONS” – VIII. AN INVOCATION TO BE RECITED BY THOSE WHO DO MENTAL OR PHYSICAL LABOR
766. The faithful, as often as they raise their mind to God by reciting some invocation in the midst of their duties or work, are granted: An indulgence of 300 days (S. P. Ap., Mar. 22, 1941).
This traditional indulgence is almost word for word with General Grant 1, which states: A partial indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful who, while carrying out their duties and enduring the hardships of life, raise their minds in humble trust to God and make, at least mentally, some pious invocation. Therefore, this indulgence is still in effect today.
This concluded the Traditional Indulgences
Every prayer/practice that we evaluated today is taken from the last approved publication of the Raccolta. The Raccolta was once the official book/document/list of approved Indulgences. In its last publication there were 780+ individualized prayers/practices that were approved for gaining indulgences.
In 1967 indulgence practices were revised so that indulgences are now, today, granted more in the style of “category” of prayers/practices rather than individually. This leaves me with the question: how do the indulgenced prayers/practices from the Raccolta (traditional indulgence) line up with the indulgences of today? That question is what this “study” seeks to answer.
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