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Plenary Indulgence? DEAR FATHER KERPER Artist: Ary From the merely human standpoint, we think of Scheffer, 1846, Painting of punishment as “settling scores.” We punish wrongdoers by Augustine of restricting their freedom, requiring some unpleasant work, or Hippo and his mother Monica even causing pain or death. Such punishments are motivated of Hippo primarily by the desire to restore justice – or to avenge misdeeds and deter other crimes. By contrast, God’s punishments always emerge from his merciful love. As such, God’s penalties act as “medicine” to heal the self-inflicted wounds caused by personal sins, specifically the destruction of our friendship with God. While these mysterious healing acts originate in God, they also involve Mary and all the saints. God draws them into his “healing project” through their union with the Body of Christ, which includes all baptized people, living and dead. This What is a “organic unity” allows the goodness of each saint to benefit others. To put it another way, the “holy excess” of some saints gets transferred to people whose sins have made them PLENARY “deficient,” specifically by pulling them away from God and toward inferior goods or evil. God’s punishments somehow “corrects” the sinner’s disastrous turning away from God. INDULGENCE? Here’s an example. Imagine, say, a high school freshman who wants to become an engineer. He definitely needs to learn calculus. While in ninth grade he takes advanced algebra, plays video games during class, never pays attention, ear Father Kerper: When Pope and fails the course. If he wants to learn calculus and have Francis announced the Jubilee Year of any hope of becoming an engineer, he must retake algebra during summer. In one sense, summer school is a painful Mercy, I suddenly started to hear a lot punishment for playing video games in class. But it also Dabout indulgences. I thought such things had eventually “heals” the student’s mind, which had become been abolished years ago. Isn’t this superstition wounded by self-imposed ignorance of algebra. At first a mechanical type of spirituality? And is it true glance, summer school appears to be a cruel punishment; but it’s really an act of mercy because it restores to the student that indulgences can be passed on to dead the possibility of reaching the goal of an engineering degree. people? Please explain. Divine punishment does the same thing: it heals and returns the sinner to heaven’s road. Let’s begin with the word “indulgence,” the English form of God’s healing, as mentioned earlier, involves the “transfer” the Latin word “indulgentia.” The Latin word can mean an act of spiritual goods within the Body of Christ, the Communion of kindness, tenderness, forbearance and even the expression of Saints. How so? Theologians have offered various of fondness for another person. In “church Latin,” it primarily explanations, but perhaps the well-known story of St. means putting aside a just punishment caused by sinful acts. Augustine (354-430) and St. Monica works best. Indulgences, when properly understood, simply reflect the In his youth, St. Augustine lived wildly, fathered an Mercy of God, who constantly bestows “indulgences” on human illegitimate son, and fell in with some brilliant people who beings. During the Year of the Mercy, Pope Francis has linked vehemently rejected Christian faith. By any measure, St. special indulgences to specific things and acts, such as visiting a Augustine suffered from a massive deficiency of holiness. St. Holy Door, practicing works of mercy, and so forth. Monica, his mother, clearly had “excess holiness” manifested Now, to get to a proper understanding of indulgences, by her infinite patience with her son, constant prayer, and we must grasp the relationship between forgiveness and resilient faith. Whereas St. Augustine prayed little and punishment. behaved badly, St. Monica’s fervent prayer and goodness God, of course, graciously forgives all sins, even the worst. We tipped the scales toward her son and fostered his spiritual experience this divine mercy preeminently in the sacrament of healing and eventual conversion. St. Monica, then, truly – and penance, which firmly assures us that our sins are truly gone. willingly – transferred her “spiritual goods” to her son. What However, forgiveness does not necessarily free us from happened to St. Monica and St. Augustine can happen to punishment. Some, of course, will quickly object: Where’s anyone. The same principle applies. the mercy? Why does God want to punish sin? Isn’t this a Now let’s move into the “technical” area of indulgences. contradiction? As early as the third century, the Church allowed sinners to 10 | PARABLE | MARCH/APRIL16 | CATHOLICNH.ORG seek the intercessory prayers of people on the verge of being martyred. Sinners believed that their prayerful association with heroic martyrs could remove or at least reduce the just punishments for their sins. Christians highly valued these 䈀攀挀愀甀猀攀 攀搀甀挀愀琀椀漀渀 椀猀 愀渀 椀渀瘀攀猀琀洀攀渀琀⸀ prayers because they came from men and women who had given their lives and had surely gone to Heaven! The “holy excess” of martyrs was indisputable and freely transferable. By the 12th century, indulgences had become more common and increasingly regulated. Sad to say, these practices became widely misunderstood, distorted and subject to abuse, especially by linking them with monetary exchange. In 1967, Pope Blessed Paul VI strongly reaffirmed the Church’s ancient teaching about indulgences, which flows from the doctrine of the communion of saints. Moreover, the Holy Father greatly simplified the system, dividing indulgences into just two types: plenary and partial. Plenary comes from the Latin word plena, which means “full.” A plenary indulgence, then, frees a person from all punishment due to sin. In medical terms, it would be akin to a total healing of cancer, with the reversal of all the disease’s consequences. In spiritual terms, a person granted 䠀攀氀瀀椀渀最 一攀眀 䠀愀洀瀀猀栀椀爀攀 猀琀甀搀攀渀琀猀 a plenary indulgence would immediately enter into God’s presence after dying, with all the wounds of sin healed. As 瀀氀愀渀 愀渀搀 瀀愀礀 昀漀爀 栀椀最栀攀爀 攀搀甀挀愀琀椀漀渀 an example, think of the Good Thief. Jesus said to him, “I 猀椀渀挀攀 ㄀㤀㘀㈀⸀ assure you, this day you will be with me in paradise.” A partial indulgence frees a person from some punishment due to sin. In the old system, which Paul VI modified, prayers and deeds were carefully calibrated according to difficulty, length, antiquity and so forth. This excessive 倀爀椀瘀愀琀攀 匀琀甀搀攀渀琀 䰀漀愀渀猀 complexity, which emerged in the Middle Ages, sometimes ☀ 䰀漀愀渀 䌀漀渀猀漀氀椀搀愀琀椀漀渀 promoted “spiritual accounting” which was not really traditional. The reformed system has restored pure, sincere, 䔀䐀瘀攀猀琀椀渀唀글 椀猀 一攀眀 䠀愀洀瀀猀栀椀爀攀ᤠ猀 渀漀渀瀀爀漀昀椀琀 and simple prayer to its proper place. 猀琀甀搀攀渀琀 氀漀愀渀 瀀爀漀最爀愀洀⸀ 圀椀琀栀 稀攀爀漀 愀瀀瀀氀椀挀愀琀椀漀渀 As to the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis has formally attached a 昀攀攀猀 愀渀搀 挀漀洀瀀攀琀椀琀椀瘀攀 爀愀琀攀猀Ⰰ 椀琀 椀猀 琀栀攀 愀昀昀漀爀搀愀戀氀攀 plenary indulgence to the act of visiting a Holy Door. This is not 挀栀漀椀挀攀 昀漀爀 栀椀最栀攀爀 攀搀甀挀愀琀椀漀渀 昀甀渀搀椀渀最 愀渀搀 superstition. Rather, the Holy Father affirmed this old tradition 猀琀甀搀攀渀琀 氀漀愀渀 爀攀昀椀渀愀渀挀椀渀最⸀ 䔀䐀瘀攀猀琀椀渀唀 瀀爀漀甀搀氀礀 for two reasons: first, it provides a tangible focal point – a holy 猀甀瀀瀀漀爀琀猀 猀琀愀琀攀眀椀搀攀 挀漀氀氀攀最攀 愀挀挀攀猀猀 愀渀搀 location – for prayer and the experience of personal conversion; and second, 猀挀栀漀氀愀爀猀栀椀瀀 瀀爀漀最爀愀洀猀⸀ it highlights how every baptized Catholic can act as an agent of divine mercy by praying for others, including the dead. Indulgences, when understood in an authentic and balanced manner, should inflame our hearts with an even greater love for the divine mercy, whose 䘀漀爀 洀漀爀攀 椀渀昀漀爀洀愀琀椀漀渀 愀戀漀甀琀 漀甀爀 氀漀愀渀 瀀爀漀最爀愀洀猀 mysterious ways eagerly 愀渀搀 䴀漀渀琀栀氀礀 匀挀栀漀氀愀爀猀栀椀瀀 䜀椀瘀攀愀眀愀礀Ⰰ 瘀椀猀椀琀 draw people into His eternal 眀眀眀⸀䔀䐀瘀攀猀琀椀渀唀⸀挀漀洀 embrace. 䄀 瀀爀漀最爀愀洀 漀昀 吀栀攀 一䠀䠀䔀䄀䘀 一攀琀眀漀爀欀 伀爀最愀渀椀稀愀琀椀漀渀猀 Father Michael Kerper is the pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Nashua, NH. CATHOLICNH.ORG | MARCH/APRIL16 | PARABLE | 11.
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