Page 40 - Nurturing the Nurturer 2018 Flip Page Program

4. A partial indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful, who in the particular
circumstances of daily life, voluntarily give explicit witness to their faith before others.

This grant encourages the faithful to profess their
faith openly before others, for the glory of God
and the building up of the Church.

Matthew 10:32 So everyone who
acknowledges me before men, I also will
acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven;

The numerous specific ways of obtaining indulgences include:
•Visiting certain holy places or pilgrimage sites,
•Practicing mental prayer (Christian meditation)
•The heartfelt recitation of certain prayers (like the Creed and the Angelus)
•Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for at least half an hour
•The devout reading of the Bible for at least half an hour
•Devoutly praying the Stations of the Cross
•Visiting a cemetery to pray for the dead during the week of All Souls’ Day

These last four in red can obtain a plenary indulgence when they are accompanied by:
•Complete interior detachment from sin
•The reception of Holy Communion
•A prayer for the pope’s intentions
•Confession within 20 days

There are many other ways as well, all of them listed in the official Handbook of
Indulgences, Norms, and Grants.

In Conclusion

Indulgences flow from the kindness & mercy of God, who meets the repentant sinner, with
effective remedies, in his efforts to live up to his responsibility (to do his part) to heal the
wounds caused by his sins. This urges him on to a more fervent charity (love of God and
others) and causes him to grow in this love and be further conformed to the Image of Christ,
his Lord.

Indulgences help the Christian who is duly disposed to permeate every part of his life –
prayer, works, joys, sorrows and sufferings; hopes, dreams, desires, and even faults and
failures – with the spirit of the Gospel and to direct everything he does each day to the glory
of God. Indulgences underscore the importance of living a Christian life day in and day out
while protecting the Christian from compartmentalizing his life of faith and relegating his
religious practice to only one hour a week on Sunday.

Indulgences aid in the integration of the Catholic Faith with real life and prevent that
pernicious opposition between professional and social activity on the one hand and religious
life on the other.

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