LESSON 20 - Satisfaction of Work - Indulgences
From THE SUPERNATURAL LIFE - Editorial Luis Vives, 1954
--
245. Satisfaction: Satisfaction, as an act of the penitent, has for its object to compensate or repair in something the offense done to God. It can be sacramental or private.
--
Sacramental satisfaction or satisfaction of work consists in faithfully fulfilling the penance imposed by the confessor in expiation of sins and to compensate for the temporal penalties due for them.
--
Sacramental penance may be satisfactory or medicinal.
--
It is satisfactory that which the confessor imposes in order to pay to divine justice the temporal punishment that the forgiven sins deserve.
--
It is medicinal that which the confessor imposes in order to prevent new falls, to overcome the passions and to cure other spiritual illnesses.
--
Private or voluntary satisfaction is that which we impose on ourselves as a supplement to the sacramental to better assure the remission of our temporal debt.
--
246. Necessity of satisfaction: In the Sacrament of Penance, through the absolution of the confessor and the contrition of the penitent, the condign satisfaction given by Jesus Christ to His Eternal Father is applied to him, by which the guilt and eternal punishment due for mortal sin is remitted to him. But there remains the temporal penalty which, in one way or another, must be paid in this world or in the world to come.
--
For the validity of the Sacrament of Penance, the will to satisfy is essential, that is, it is necessary that the penitent accepts the penance and wants to fulfill it. This obligation is grave in the case of mortal sins. In such a case, if there is no intention to fulfill it, the confession would be null and void and, moreover, sacrilegious.
--
But it is not enough to have the will to do penance; it is necessary to do it. Without this requirement the Sacrament would not be complete. According to the cases or the matter, there is a grave or light obligation to do it: it depends on the gravity of the sins accused.
--
In case of mortal sins, one sins gravely if one does not fulfill it; but the confessed sins do not revive if when receiving the penance one had the intention of fulfilling it, even if the penitent forgets it afterwards.
[that is: the confession was valid but now he has a new mortal sin by not fulfilling the penance]
--
The foundation of this necessity is in the obligation that there is - as we have said - to satisfy God for the temporal punishment that remains after He forgives mortal sins and remits the eternal punishment that they deserved.
--
247. How and when penance is to be done: Penance must be done in the manner prescribed by the confessor; when he says nothing, it is left to the penitent's discretion and fervor. Of course, it is convenient to fulfill it as soon as possible, for one's own interest and in order not to forget it. If he were to wait for some time and fulfill it after sinning again mortally, he would fulfill the obligation but without fruit.
Whenever the case requires it, the obligation to make restitution and to repair the harm done to a neighbor in his goods, person, or reputation must be fulfilled.
--
248. Effects of satisfaction: The effect of sacramental satisfaction is to obtain for us the total or partial remission of the temporal penalties merited by the sins forgiven in regard to guilt.
--
Sacramental satisfaction works in two ways:
a) Ex opere operato, that is, by the sanctifying virtue proper to the Sacrament, of applying to us the infinite merits of Jesus Christ, to redeem us from the temporal penalties of sins to be satisfied in this life or in purgatory.
b) Ex opere operantis, that is, according to the penitent's dispositions of fervor, contrition and love.
--
249. Ways of satisfaction: Four different ways we have to pay to God the temporal debts which we still owe him after he has forgiven us our sins.
--
The most excellent of all, and the most efficacious, is the faithful and fervent fulfillment of the penance imposed by the confessor.
--
Voluntarily we can offer to God:
--
1º. the good works that we do in the grace of God, especially prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and other penances and mortifications.
2º. the labors and painful accidents of life, such as sickness, humiliations, and other hardships that God sends us to test and purify us;
3º The indulgences granted by the Church, an efficacious means of satisfaction in this life and also to relieve the deceased who are expiating their punishment in purgatory.
--
[if we gain indulgences in this world: good, but if there remain things to purge in this world and we die without mortal sins but without having made reparation with good works or indulgences, in purgatory they are paid 10 times more.]
--
The trials, humiliations, illnesses and other penalties of life that God sends us, accepted willingly, can serve as an early purgatory, or alleviate it greatly.
--
Indulgences - Indulgence is the total or partial remission of the temporal punishment merited by actual sins forgiven, remission granted before God and outside the Sacrament of Penance, by the competent ecclesiastical authority, through the application of the "Treasury of the Church".
--
As for the redemption of temporal punishment, indulgences are a substitution of the ancient canonical penalties. If for a prayer or a good deed, for example, 100 days or 3 years of indulgence are granted, this means that the Church forgives as much time of public penance as she imposed on sinners in the most fervent centuries. But we do not know how much this indulgence is worth before God, nor, therefore, how much temporal punishment it forgives us.
--
251. The foundation of indulgences is the dogma of the Communion of Saints. By virtue of this dogma all the faithful share in the spiritual goods which the Mystical Body of Christ has at its disposal. All these communicable goods together constitute the Treasury of the Church, of which she is the depository.
--
The existence of the Treasury of the Church is a dogma of faith, defined by the Council of Trent. It is made up, first and foremost, of the infinite merits of Jesus Christ sufficient to satisfy the sins of a thousand worlds, because His actions were of infinite value. Secondly, all the merits of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for she had nothing to expiate. Thirdly, the merits of the Saints who exceeded their own debts; those of the holy sacrifice of the Mass and of the Sacraments, and those of the prayers, unapplied suffrages, and satisfactory good works of all the faithful which are continually being added.
--
In the spiritual realm, something similar happens to what happens - through charity or beneficence - in the human realm. Among men there are those who lend themselves to pay the debts of others who are insolvent, the Church also draws from her treasury and puts into our hands whatever we wish to pay our debts to God. The more we take advantage of her gifts and offerings, in the form of indulgences, the better for us and for the deceased to whom we apply them.
--
252. Power to grant indulgences.- Indulgences can be granted by the Church and by her alone. She can grant them, since she received this power from Jesus Christ, when the Savior said to St. Peter and the Apostles: Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Matthew 18:18).
--
She alone can grant them, since she is the sole depository of the accumulation of merits of the Mystical Body of Christ, the keys of which are in the hands of the ecclesiastical Hierarchy. From there she draws for the good of the living and by way of absolution for the remission of temporal punishment; and in favor of the deceased by way of suffrages for the same purpose, because ecclesiastical authority has no jurisdiction over the dead, and God disposes of these suffrages according to His infinite wisdom and justice, but we do not know how.
--
From the beginning the Church already made use of this power. St. Paul writing to the Corinthians says to them, referring to a public sinner: "For your sake I forgive him in the presence of Christ" (2nd Cor., II, 10).
--
253. Kinds of Indulgences: Indulgences can be plenary or partial.
Plenary indulgences are those which, according to the intention of the grantor, pardon all the temporal punishment due for sins, and whoever dies as soon as he has gained one of them enters heaven without passing through purgatory.
Partial indulgences forgive only part of the punishment. But it can happen that a fervent soul gains as much or more indulgence with a partial indulgence than a lukewarm one with a work to which a plenary indulgence is annexed; for to gain a plenary indulgence in its entirety it is necessary to be animated by great fervor of charity, general contrition, and a spirit of true penance.
By reason of the subject, the indulgence can be for the living or for the deceased (Note: indulgences can only be gained for ourselves or for a deceased person).
By reason of the mode, it will be personal, if granted directly to persons; it will be local, if it can only be gained in a certain place (church, altar, etc.) and real, if attached to a portable thing (medal, scapular, rosary, etc.).
--
254. Conditions for gaining indulgences: On the part of the one who grants them, it is necessary that he have competent authority. His Holiness the Pope has it for the whole world and, by his delegation and confirmation, the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary, and in each diocese or archdiocese, the respective ordinary prelate. The jurisdiction of the metropolitan extends to the entire ecclesiastical province. Cardinals may grant 200 days, for each work; archbishops 100 days and bishops 50 days.
--
On the part of the subject who wishes to gain them, it is necessary:
1. that he be baptized and not excommunicated, in order that he may have a share in the communion of Saints.
2. That he be a subject of the one who grants them, unless the latter determines otherwise.
3. That he be in the grace of God, at least at the completion of the prescribed works.
4. That he practices all the works commanded, at the time, place and in the manner prescribed; if he omits a notable part of the work or works, he will not earn it.
5. That he intends to win them. The habitual intention of gaining the indulgences granted for the prayers or works practiced during the day is sufficient for this purpose.
--
--
255.- Special requirements: In order to obtain plenary indulgences, four special requirements are usually demanded, which are known as ordinary or customary conditions; these are: confession, communion and visit to a public or semi-public church or oratory, and prayer for the intentions of the Pope.
--
With regard to confession, if nothing else is said, that which has been made on one of the eight days preceding that of the indulgence, or that which is made during the octave following, is sufficient.
Communion can be made the day before or during the octave.
The visit can be made from the preceding noon until midnight at the end of the designated day.
The condition of praying for the pope's intentions is fulfilled by reciting an Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be, or another prayer of one's choice, unless a specific prayer is indicated.
256. Principal plenary indulgences: These are the following:
1. The solemn indulgence of the Jubilee or Holy Year, which the Popes grant every twenty-five years or on the occasion of some exceptional event or anniversary, such as that of the Redemption of the world by Jesus Christ.
2. The public and solemn Papal Blessing given by the Bishops three times a year.
3. The indulgence of the privileged altar for each Mass celebrated there, applicable to a living or deceased person.
4. That of the Way of the Cross, each time it is made, and, in addition, another if communion has been received on that day.
5. That of the Holy Rosary, each time it is prayed before the Blessed Sacrament, exposed or reserved (note: that is, with the Tabernacle closed. I had read that if one prays the Rosary anywhere with another person, one also gains a plenary indulgence, but one would have to find out more info).
6. That of the Portiuncula, "toties quoties", and others like it on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel; All Souls' Day, the last day of the month of the Sacred Heart, etc.
7. Those of the blue scapular and other scapulars (note: the one we must wear is the brown one, given by Our Lady of Mount Carmel).
8. Some that can be earned every day that we receive communion, praying some prayers that are included in the devotionals. Ordinarily they are prayed after Communion, but they can be prayed at any time of the day.
9. The indulgence in the article of death, which today, practically every Christian who is assisted by a priest can gain.
--
257.The educating power of confession: His Holiness Pius XII expounds the great need to intensify the practice of the Sacrament of Penance as a means of educating the distorted consciences of our times, for the experience of many centuries teaches that there is no more effective means for them than confession.
--
It also recalls the duty of restoring the virtue of penance itself to its normal function. This is entrusted in a special way to the clergy, to parents and to educators.
--
The sense of sin, in a world that has lost its notion, and the need for penance must be the starting point for a re-education of consciences that have lost the idea of a moral order that is broken at every step and that must be re-established.