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What is an indulgence? 

FALL 2021

ACCORDING TO THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, an indulgence is “a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven” (CCC 1471). This remission is brought about by the performance of some work or act prescribed by the Church.

Simply put, indulgences reduce or eliminate the time in Purgatory decreed by divine justice to pay the debt caused by personal sin. A person can gain an indulgence either for themselves or the faithful departed, provided they fulfill all the requirements – namely, intention to receive the indulgence, performance of the prescribed work or act, and freedom from attachment to sin.

The key to understanding indulgences is to learn just what is meant by “temporal punishment due to sin.” 

In our earthly criminal courts, guilt or innocence in a crime is decided by a judge and jury, and guilt is punished but not forgiven. When it comes to sin, however, the determination of guilt lies in the conscience of the sinner. For Catholics, the burden of guilt can be absolved by a priest in the sacrament of reconciliation; but even after forgiveness, there remains a debt of justice, a “temporal punishment.” This debt will be paid in Purgatory if it is not remitted in this life by acts of penance or through indulgences granted by the Church.

Indulgences, then, have nothing to do with guilt or innocence, but only punishment for sins committed. In this sense they relate somewhat to the sentencing phase of a court case. Guilt has already been determined and now it is up to the judge to impart a penalty. But indulgences go beyond the mere hope of a merciful sentence: God, the just judge, requires satisfaction for sin – but in His mercy, through indulgences, He has provided a positive way to pay the debt of justice.

Indulgences draw their efficacy from the infinite mercy of God as well as the suffering of His faithful people on earth. These sufferings and good works make for a treasury of grace that we, the faithful, can draw upon for the grace of personal conversion from sin as well as relief from punishment. Through an indulgence, we can avail ourselves of this treasury much as a homeowner draws upon an insurance policy, tapping into that spiritual fund to help settle a debt we could not repay in this life and would necessarily spend a long time settling in the next.

Although in the past indulgences have been misrepresented as a means to buy forgiveness or exempt someone from divine justice, nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, indulgences are acts of divine mercy, entrusted by God to His Church, upon which the faithful can draw to ease their own burdens or those of their departed.
 

Rev. Mark G. Vaillancourt, PhD
President/Principal
Kennedy Catholic Preparatory School