May 21 - Traditional Indulgence of the day!

We are evaluating old indulgences that have been approve on todays date of: 

May

21

List of Traditional materials we will be looking at today, and the current/withstanding grants that they satisfy (directly or indirectly).

• 115. Jesus, the very thought of Thee

  • partial indulgence… Grant 15

• 174. A Pious Exercise of Reparation

  • partial indulgence… Grant 22

  
  

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.

  
  

CHAPTER III. ‘GOD THE SON’ – Art. II. ‘IN HONOR OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS’ – III. Hymns

115. [Iesu, dulcis memoria] Jesus, the very thought of Thee With sweetness fills the breast!

Yet sweeter far Thy face to see And in Thy presence rest.

No voice can sing, no heart can frame, Nor can the memory find,

A sweeter sound than Jesus name, The Saviour of mankind.

O hope of every contrite heart! O joy of all the meek!

To those who fall, how kind Thou art! How good to those who seek!

But what to those who find? Ah! this Nor tongue nor pen can show—

The love of Jesus, what it is, None but His loved ones know.

Jesus! our only hope be Thou, As Thou our prize shalt be;

In Thee be all our glory now, And through eternity. Amen.

(Roman Breviary, tr. E. Caswall).

An indulgence of 5 years. A plenary indulgence once a month on the usual conditions, for the daily and devout recitation of this hymn (S. C. Ind., June 13, 1815; S. P. Ap., May 21, 1935).

Every prayer may be eligible for a partial indulgence, under Grant 15. The specific reference in the 'Manuel of Indulgences' is as follows: A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who for their personal edification devoutly spend time in mental prayer.

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CHAPTER III. ‘GOD THE SON’ – Art. IV. - “JESUS IN THE BLESSED SACRAMENT” - IX. Pious Practices

174. A Pious Exercise of Reparation - The faithful who spend some time in meditation or devout prayers on any one of the nine days that they have chosen, to make reparation for the injuries offered by men to the Blessed Sacrament, may gain: An indulgence of 7 years. Moreover, those who assist at Mass during this devout exercise may, on each occasion, obtain: An indulgence of 10 years.

At the end of the novena they may gain: A plenary indulgence on the usual conditions (Pius X, Rescript in his own hand, Nov. 15 1907, exhib., Nov. 19, 1907; Benedict XV, Rescript in his own hand, Nov. 25, 1916, exhib., Dec, 30, 1916; S. P. Ap., May 21, 1933)

This devout practice would fall under Grant 22, for novenas. For an indulgence, novenas need to be said “publicly,” which is generally understood that a parish or diocese or the Church at large set-up/approves a novena to be said by the laity. You cannot do it only on your own or in a group that is not sets/approved by a current ecclesiastic authority. Novenas like these, known as ‘private’ novenas, are notwithstanding for an indulgence.

The specific reference in the 'Manuel of Indulgences' is as follows: A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who devoutly assist at public novenas.

This concludes 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.