Is It Possible to Gain a Plenary Indulgence by Praying the Rosary Or in Fulfilling the First Saturdays?
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Is it possible to gain a plenary indulgence by praying the Rosary or in fulfilling the First Saturdays? The following is an excellent explanation of what one must do to gain indulgences. It is taken from The Gift of an Indulgence by the Apostolic Penitentiary and based on the Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, Fourth Edition, July 1999 (for more information cf. Manual of Indulgences, 2006, USCCB). 1. This is how an indulgence is defined in the Code of Canon Law (can. 992) and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 1471): "An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints". 2. In general, the gaining of indulgences requires certain prescribed conditions (below, nn. 3, 4), and the performance of certain prescribed works. 3. To gain indulgences, whether plenary or partial, it is necessary that the faithful be in the state of grace at least at the time the indulgenced work is completed. 4. A plenary indulgence can be gained only once a day. In order to obtain it, the faithful must, in addition to being in the state of grace: — have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin; — have sacramentally confessed their sins; — receive the Holy Eucharist (it is certainly better to receive Jesus while participating in Holy Mass, but for the indulgence only Holy Communion is required); — pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. 5. It is appropriate, but not necessary, that the sacramental Confession and especially Holy Communion and the prayer for the Pope's intentions take place on the same day that the indulgenced work is performed; but it is sufficient that these sacred rites and prayers be carried out within several days (about 20) before or after the indulgenced act. Prayer for the Pope's intentions is left to the choice of the faithful, but an "Our Father" and a "Hail Mary" are suggested. One sacramental Confession suffices for several plenary indulgences, but a separate Holy Communion and a separate prayer for the Holy Father's intentions are required for each plenary indulgence. 6. For the sake of those legitimately impeded, confessors can commute both the work prescribed and the conditions required (except, obviously, detachment from even venial sin). 7. Indulgences can always be applied either to oneself or to the souls of the deceased, but they cannot be applied to other persons living on earth. [The Gift of the Indulgence, Apostolic Penitentiary, 29 January, 2000, www.vatican.va]. The complete detachment from sin necessary to gain a plenary indulgence and mentioned in n. 4 is expressed in different words by the act of contrition below which says, “I detest all my sins…” This should be taken to mean all venial as well as mortal sin. This detachment from sin is not a feeling but simply an act of the will. My God, I am deeply sorry in my heart for having offended You, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell. But most of all because they offend You my God Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of Your grace to sin no more, to do penance, and to avoid the occasions of sin. Amen (Reconciliation: A Short Guide, www.USCCB.org). The Communal First Saturdays and indulgences We can see that the Communal First Saturdays offers a wonderful opportunity to gain a plenary indulgence either for oneself or for the souls in Purgatory. As we have seen, the Communal First Saturdays include the Rosary. To gain a plenary indulgence, one may say the Rosary “in a church or oratory” alone or with others as one of the prescribed works. One could also say the Rosary anywhere “with members of the family, in a religious Community, or in a pious association” (cf. Manual of Indulgences, 2006). The Rosary is said within a group of people and in a church as part of the Communal First Saturdays. This Rosary certainly qualifies as one of the prescribed works for a plenary indulgence while the other conditions are included in the Communal First Saturdays, such as Confession, reception of Holy Communion, and prayers for the Holy Father. The act of contrition found above may be used to remind one to detest consciously all sin, mortal and venial. Other ways of gaining plenary indulgences Other works that may gain a plenary indulgence every day are a half hour of reading or listening to the Scripture, a half hour of adoration of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist whether in the tabernacle or exposed, or making the Stations of the Cross in an approved manner. Each of these works must include all the other conditions mentioned in n. 4 in the quotation above. One may fulfill the half hour of Scripture outside of a church and alone. It could be said that the Communal First Saturdays includes the essence of all of these other ways of gaining a plenary indulgence, at least in part. Some may even fulfill the 15 minute meditation for the First Saturdays with the Stations of the Cross as a meditation on the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, especially because one meditates on the Carrying of the Cross and the Crucifixion of Jesus. However, if one only did the Stations of the Cross for the meditation on the First Saturdays each month, one would never meditate on the other mysteries of the Rosary. This does not seem to be what Our Lady had in mind. Rather, the lectio divina offers us the opportunity to meditate on the possible 20 mysteries of the Rosary, at least over a period of several or more First Saturdays. When we do this privately, we have the option of extending the meditation to 30 minutes so that we can gain the plenary indulgence for Bible reading. This would be helpful when we can only say the Rosary alone and outside of a church or chapel. As we can conclude from above, saying the Rosary alone and outside of a church or chapel would not qualify for a plenary indulgence, whereas the 30 minute Scripture reading/meditation can be done alone and outside of a church or chapel to qualify for a plenary indulgence. Also, during the Communal First Saturdays, the 15 minutes spent in meditation after Mass is ordinarily spent in the presence of the Holy Eucharist. This would only require another 15 minutes to qualify as one of the works specified to gain a plenary indulgence. However, this would not be necessary to gain a plenary indulgence if the Rosary was already said in the church. There are also other ways of gaining a plenary indulgence on special days and occasions, such as Divine Mercy Sunday (cf. Manual of Indulgences, 2006). One may gain only one plenary indulgence per day except on the day of one’s death, one may then gain two plenary indulgences (cf. Manual of Indulgences, 12.2,4). In addition to the other conditions, one would need to go to Confession within about 20 days before or after the prescribed work in order to be assured of the possibility of gaining a plenary indulgence every day (cf. n. 5). So, by going to Confession once a month for the First Saturdays, one is able to gain a plenary indulgence every day, provided one fulfills the other conditions daily. Church esteem for the practices of the First Saturdays As can be seen, the Church is already giving special encouragement to the kinds of practices contained in the Communal First Saturdays by granting plenary indulgences for them as a way of motivating people to practice these particular devotions as well as the conditions. This shows us that the Church holds such works in high esteem. By including some of these devotions and practices in a single devotion, the First Saturdays offers a devotion of even greater efficacy. At the same time, one is able to fulfill the requirements for the plenary indulgence. Yet one may be able to fulfill the First Saturdays without gaining the plenary indulgence or vice versa. It is important to note that one may gain a partial indulgence for any good work throughout the day by any prayer or good work done with that intention. Charity toward neighbor In any case, the gaining of plenary indulgences or even partial ones can be an excellent way to practice charity and mercy toward one’s neighbors, namely, those in Purgatory. One need only make the intention to apply the indulgence to oneself or those in Purgatory. One can be sure that the person released from Purgatory will intercede on one’s behalf from Heaven. It is important to note that one who is totally consecrated to Jesus through Our Lady according to the de Montfort way, has already given the indulgence to her so that she may apply it in the best possible way. St. John Paul II supports this devotion of total consecration: “I would like to recall among the many witnesses and teachers of this [Marian] spirituality, the figure of St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, who proposes consecration to Christ through the hands of Mary, as an effective means for Christians to live faithfully their baptismal commitments” (Mother of the Redeemer, n.