Page 124     

                                                                                                                                                                    `                                                                                   

Indulgences

An indulgence is the remission before God of the temporal punishment due for sins which have
already been forgiven as
far as their guilt is concerned. Indulgences are granted by God through the Catholic Church which
as minister of the Redemption, dispenses and applies the treasury of the satisfaction won by
Christ and the saints.
Though the guilt of sin and the eternal punishment it may have merited are remitted by sacramental
absolution, measurable punishment before or after death is still required in order to satisfy God's
justice, even for sins already forgiven.

To extent we
fail to atone sufficiently for our sins during our lifetimes on earth, we will suffer for a given
"time" in Purgatory. An indulgence cancels or lessens this non eternal punishment.
In order to gain indulgence, one must be baptized, not excommunicated, and in the state of grace
at least at the completion of the prescribed work. In order to gain indulgences, one must have at
least a general intention of gaining them. If at the beginning of the day we make an intention to
gain all the indulgences we can that day, we do not have to make this intention
each time we perform a work to which an indulgence is attached. An indulgence may be gained for
oneself or may be offered for souls in Purgatory, but may not be applied to another living person.
A plenary indulgence remits all the punishment due for sin
and makes possible immediate entrance into Heaven after death.

The New Norms

To gain a plenary indulgence, it is necessary to perform the work to which the indulgence is
attached and to fulfill three conditions: sacramental Confession, Eucharistic Communion, and
prayer for the intentions of the Pope. (The recitation of one Our Father and one Hail Mary fully
suffices, though we are free to say any other prayer we desire.) It is further required that all
attachment to sin, even venial sin, be absent. If the latter disposition is in any way less than
complete or if the three prescribed conditions not fulfilled, the indulgence will be only partial.
The three conditions may be fulfilled several days before or

                                                                                                                                                                    `