September 14-15 - Traditional Indulgence of the day!

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

September

14 & 15

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

• 210. Assist us, O Lord

  • partial indulgence… Grant 15

• 171. The Feast and the Octave of Corpus Christi

  • plenary/partial indulgence… Grant 7

• 393. O Heart of Mary

  • partial indulgence… Grant 17

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. V. “JESUS CRUCIFIED” – IX. Prayers

210. Assist us, O Lord our God; and defend us evermore by the might of Thy holy Cross, in whose honor Thou makest us to rejoice. Through Christ our Lord. Amen (Roman Missal). An indulgence of 5 years. A plenary indulgence once a month on the usual conditions, when it has been recited daily with devout dispositions (S. P. Ap., Sept. 14, 1934).

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

171. The Feast and the Octave of Corpus Christi - The faithful, who visit the Blessed Sacrament, as explained above (n. 148), on the Feast of Corpus Christi and during the Octave, may obtain: A plenary indulgence on each day, on condition of confession and Communion (S. P. Ap., June 16, 1933 and Sept. 15, 1949).

NOTE. — With respect to the solemn Eucharistic procession which is usually held on the Feast of Corpus Christi, or during the Octave, consult n. 150

As mentioned above, (n. 148) may be found in the Traditional Indulgence Article for ‘March 20.’ In summery it says: “The faithful who devoutly visit the Blessed Sacrament ..., and recite Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be, five times in order to return due thanks for the institution of the Holy Eucharist, and one Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be for the intentions of the Sovereign Pontiff, are granted…”

Regardless of this information, much of this indulgence is unnecessary in today’s Grant 7. This current indulgence allows that one may gain a plenary indulgence simply by dedicating a half an hour in Adoration, regardless of prayers said or how the Eucharist is positioned (exposed or reserved).

It is interesting to note that, as mentioned above, adoration likely may be done even while processing a solemn Eucharistic procession. I will make a note also that, under Grant 7, processions on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ are specifically mentioned as having a plenary indulgence attached to them.

The specific reference in the 'Manuel of Indulgences' is as follows: A plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful who visit the Blessed Sacrament for adoration lasting at least a half hour; A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who visit the Blessed Sacrament for adoration;

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CHAPTER V. “THE MOST BLESSED VIRGIN MARY” – Art. IV. “THE MOST PURE HEART OF MARY” – V. A Prayer

393. O Heart of Mary, Mother of God, and our Mother; Heart most worthy of love, in which the adorable Trinity is ever well-pleased, worthy of the veneration and love of all the Angels and of all men; Heart most like to the Heart of Jesus, of which thou art the perfect image; Heart, full of goodness, ever compassionate toward our miseries; deign to melt our icy hearts and grant that they may be wholly changed into the likeness of the Heart of Jesus, our divine Saviour. Pour into them the love of thy virtues, enkindle in them that divine fire with which thou thyself dost ever burn. In thee let Holy Church find a safe shelter; protect her and be her dearest refuge, her tower of strength, impregnable against every assault of her enemies. Be thou the way which leads to Jesus, and the channel, through which we receive all the graces needful for our salvation. Be our refuge in time of trouble, our solace in the midst of trial, our strength against temptation, our haven in persecution, our present help in every danger, and especially at the hour of death, when all hell shall let loose against us its legions to snatch away our souls, at that dread moment, that hour so full of fear, whereon our eternity depends. Ah, then most tender Virgin, make us to feel the sweetness of thy motherly heart, and the might of thine intercession with Jesus, and open to us a safe refuge in that very fountain of mercy, whence we may come to praise Him with thee in paradise, world without end. Amen. An indulgence of 500 days. A plenary indulgence on the usual conditions, provided that this prayer be devoutly recited every day for a month. (S. C. Ind., Aug. 18, 1807 and Feb. 1, 1816; S. P. Ap., Sept. 15, 1934).

This prayer is granted a partial indulgence under Grant 17, because it has been “approved” at least once. The specific reference in the 'Manuel of Indulgences' is as follows: A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who devoutly address the Blessed Virgin Mary with some approved prayer

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.