Indulgence

In the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, an indulgence (Latin: indulgentia, from *dulgeō, 'persist') is 'a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins'. It may reduce the 'temporal punishment for sin' after death (as opposed to the eternal punishment merited by mortal sin), in the state or process of purification called Purgatory.GodRelations with:Above all, a most clear distinction must be made between indulgences for the living and those for the dead. In the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, an indulgence (Latin: indulgentia, from *dulgeō, 'persist') is 'a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins'. It may reduce the 'temporal punishment for sin' after death (as opposed to the eternal punishment merited by mortal sin), in the state or process of purification called Purgatory. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes an indulgence as '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 all of the saints'. The recipient of an indulgence must perform an action to receive it. This is most often the saying (once, or many times) of a specified prayer, but may also include the visiting of a particular place, or the performance of specific good works. Indulgences were introduced to allow for the remission of the severe penances of the early Church and granted at the intercession of Christians awaiting martyrdom or at least imprisoned for the faith. They draw on the treasury of merit accumulated by Christ's superabundantly meritorious sacrifice on the cross and the virtues and penances of the saints. They are granted for specific good works and prayers in proportion to the devotion with which those good works are performed or prayers recited. By the late Middle Ages, the abuse of indulgences, mainly through commercialization, had become a serious problem which the Church recognized but was unable to restrain effectively. Indulgences were, from the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, a target of attacks by Martin Luther and all other Protestant theologians. Eventually the Catholic Counter-Reformation curbed the excesses, but indulgences continue to play a role in modern Catholic religious life. Reforms in the 20th century largely abolished the quantification of indulgences, which had been expressed in terms of days or years. These days or years were meant to represent the equivalent of time spent in penance, although it was widely taken to mean time spent in Purgatory. The reforms also greatly reduced the number of indulgences granted for visiting particular churches and other locations. 'When a person sins, he acquires certain liabilities: the liability of guilt and the liability of punishment.' A mortal sin (one that is grave, or serious, in nature and is committed knowingly and freely) is equivalent to refusing friendship with God and communion with the only source of eternal life. The loss of eternal life with God, and the eternal death of hell that is the effect of this rejection, is called the 'eternal punishment' of sin. The Sacrament of Penance removes the guilt and the liability of eternal punishment related to mortal sin. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.' The forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment of sin remains. An example of this can be seen in 2 Samuel 12 when after David repents of his sin, the prophet Nathan tells him that he is forgiven but, 'Thus says the Lord God of Israel:...Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah to be your wife.' In addition to this eternal punishment due to mortal sin, every sin, including venial sin, is a turning away from God through what the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls an unhealthy attachment to creatures, an attachment that must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called purgatory. 'The process of sanctification and interior renewal requires not only forgiveness from the guilt (culpa) of sin, but also purification from the harmful effects or wounds of sin.' This purification process gives rise to 'temporal punishment', because, not involving a total rejection of God, it is not eternal and can be expiated. 'While patiently bearing sufferings and trials of all kinds and, when the day comes, serenely facing death, the Christian must strive to accept this temporal punishment of sin as a grace. He should strive by works of mercy and charity, as well as by prayer and the various practices of penance, to put off completely the 'old man' and to put on the 'new man.'