In the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, an indulgence (Latin: indulgentia , from * dulge? >, "endure") is "a way of reducing the number of punishments one has to endure for sin." This can reduce "temporary punishment for sin" after death (as opposed to the eternal punishment worthy of mortal sin), in a state or purification process called Purgatory.
The Catholic Church Catechism describes indulgence as "forgiveness before God from a temporary punishment for a sin whose fault is forgiven, for which the devoted Christians who are dumped should benefit under certain conditions determined by the actions of the Church , as the minister of redemption, divides and applies with the treasury authority of Christ's satisfaction and saints. "
The recipient of the indulgence must take action to accept it. This is most often the maxim (once, or many times) of a particular prayer, but may also include a certain place visit, or a certain good work performance.
Indulgence was introduced to enable the early Church's early pardon of forgiveness and was given to the intercession of Christians waiting for martyrdom or at least imprisoned for faith. They take advantage of the treasury of reward which is collected by the sacrifice of a very virtuous Christ on the cross and the virtues and repentance of saints. They are awarded for good works and certain prayers in proportion to the devotion by which good deeds are done or prayer is read.
In the late Middle Ages, the misuse of indulgences, especially through commercialization, has been a serious issue that the Church recognized but could not resist effectively. Indulgence is, from the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, the target of attack by Martin Luther and all other Protestant theologians. Finally the Counter-Reformation of Catholics curbs 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 have been expressed in days or years. These days or years are meant to represent the equivalent of the time spent in penance, although it is widely regarded as the time spent in Purgatory. This reform also greatly reduced the number of indulgences given to visit certain churches and other locations.
Video Indulgence
Catholic Teaching
"When a person sins, he gets certain obligations: guilty responsibility and penalty obligations." The deadly sin (serious, or serious, in its nature and done consciously and freely) is equivalent to denying friendship with God and fellowship with the only source of eternal life. The loss of eternal life with God, and the eternal death of hell which is the result of this rejection, is called the "eternal punishment" of sin. The Sacrament of Penance removes the guilt and the obligation of eternal punishment associated with mortal sin. "Though your sins are as red, they will be white as snow, even though they are red like red they will be like wool."
The forgiveness of sins and the restoration of fellowship with God requires forgiveness from the eternal punishment of sin, but the temporary punishment for sin remains. This example can be seen in 2 Samuel 12 when after David repented of his sin, the prophet Nathan told him that he was forgiven but, "This is what the Lord God of Israel says:... Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you have hated me and have taken Urah's wife to be your wife. "
In addition to this eternal punishment for mortal sins, every sin, including a minor sin, is to turn away from God through what the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls an unhealthy attachment to the creature, the attachment to be purified here on earth, or after death in the so-called state purgatory. "The process of sanctification and interior renewal requires not only the forgiveness of sin (culpa sin), but also the purification of harmful effects or the wounds of sin." This purification process leads to "temporary punishment", because, not involving total rejection of God, it is not eternal and can be eliminated.
"While patiently enduring the sufferings and trials of all kinds and, when that day comes, calmly facing death, Christians must endeavor to receive the temporal punishment of this sin as a gift: He must struggle with works of mercy and charity, and by prayer and various penance practices, to fully suspend the 'old man' and wear the 'new man'.
The temporal punishment that follows sin is thus experienced either during the life on earth or in purgatory. In this life, as well as by the patient's acceptance of suffering and temptation, the necessary cleansing of attachment to beings may, at least in part, be achieved by turning to God in prayer and atonement and with works of mercy and charity. Indulgences (from the Latin verb indulgere meaning forgiving, being gentle) are help to achieve this purification.
Indulgence does not forgive the guilt of sin, nor does it provide the release of eternal damnation associated with unforgiving mortal sin. The Catholic Church teaches that the indulgence only relieves the temporary punishment resulting from the influence of sin (the effect of rejecting God as a source of goodness), and that a person is still required to have his great sins released, usually through the sacrament of Confession, to receive salvation. Similarly, self-satisfaction is not a permission to commit sin, future forgiveness of sins, or a guarantee of salvation for oneself or for others. Usually, the forgiveness of mortal sin is obtained through Confession (also known as the sacrament of atonement or reconciliation).
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church , "The 'treasury of the Church' is of infinite value, which can never be exhausted, which has the superiority of Christ before God, offered so that all men can be delivered from sin and attain fellowship with the Father.â € | In Christ, the Redeemer himself, the satisfaction and benefits of His Redemption exist and find its power.â € | This treasury includes the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary, They are truly great, unexpected, and even pure in their value before the Lord. In the treasury, too, is the prayer and the good deeds of all the saints, all who follow in the footsteps of Christ God and by His grace have made their lives holy and carrying out missions in the unity of the Mystical Body. "
Based on the understanding of the Church of the binding power or loss given by Christ, it applies to them under his jurisdiction the benefits of these services in consideration of the prayer or other godly acts performed by the faithful. In the opening for individual Christians, his treasury, "The Church does not want to just help these Christians, but also to drive them to the work of devotion, atonement, and charity".
Disposition required for indulgence
Indulgence is not a purchase of forgiveness that secures the safety of the buyer or releases another's soul from Purgatory. Sin is simply forgiven ( i.e. , the effect is completely eliminated) when complete repair in the form of sacramental confession is made and the conditions determined are followed. After strict change is done internally to not commit sin again, and the serious execution of the penance is given, the release of punishment in the spiritual sense consequently follows.
An indulgence may be plenary (eliminating all temporary "punishments" necessary to cleanse the soul from attachment to anything but God) or partly (only accept part of temporary "punishment", ie cleansing, for sin).
To obtain plenary indulgence, after performing charitable work or praying for aspirations or prayers for which pleasure is granted, one must meet the stipulated conditions:
- A complete and whole-hearted release of all kinds of sins, even mild sins,
- Make a valid sacramental acknowledgment,
- Receive Holy Communion in a state of grace
- Pray for the purpose of the Pope.
The minimum condition for partial satisfaction is to regret it: in this condition, a Catholic doing the work or reciting the intended prayer is given, through the Church, the pardon of a temporary penalty equal to that which the man himself owns the act.
Because those who have died in a state of grace (with all mortal sin being forgiven) are members of the communion of the saints, the living (members of the Militant Church) can help those who purify of their sins unfinished at death through prayer but also with get an indulgence on their behalf. Since the Church has no jurisdiction over the dead, indulgences can be obtained only for them per modum suffragii, ie by intercession. This is sometimes called impetrasi , which Aquinas describes "... not founded on God's justice, but on His goodness."
This Discipline
With the apostolic constitution Indulgentiarum doctrina on January 1, 1967, Pope Paul VI, responding to suggestions made at the Second Vatican Council, substantially revising the practical application of traditional doctrine.
He affirms that the purpose of the Church is not only to help faithful people do satisfaction because of their sins, but especially to bring them to a greater spirit of charity. For this purpose he decides that some indulgences, previously granted as equivalent to a number of days, months, quarantines (forty days) or canonical redemption years, are only supplements, and at the same level, the remission that they have indulgenced acts already gained by charity and regret with what they do.
Elimination of classification by year and day makes it clearer than ever that repentance and faith is needed not only for the forgiveness of eternal punishment for mortal sin but also for the forgiveness of temporary punishment for sin. In Indulgentiarum doctrina Pope Paul VI writes that indulgences can not be obtained without a change of view and genuine union with God.
On the same bull, Pope Paul ordered that the official list of activated prayers and works, called Raccolta , be revised "in order to attach indulgences only to the most important prayers and works piety, charity and penance ". The Raccolta is replaced by Enchiridion Indulgentiarum . While a number of allowable prayers and good deeds have been removed from the list, it now includes a new general grant of partial indulgence applicable to various acts of prayer, indicating that the prayers are indeed on the list as worthy worship by divine inspiration or beauty or is being used extensively only examples of people where the first of these general grants apply: "Giving the mind to God with low trust while doing the task and enduring hardships, and adding, at least mentally, some pious prayers. " In this way, the Enchiridion Indulgentiarum , regardless of its smaller size, classifies as a much larger amount of force than a prayer rather than being treated as such in Raccolta . Actions for which indulgences are given
There are four general grants of pleasure, which are intended to encourage the faithful to inculcate the Christian spirit into their daily life actions and to strive for the perfection of charity. This indulgence is partial, and therefore their value depends on the spirit that the person uses to perform the recommended action:
- Awaken the mind to God with low trust while doing the task and endure hardships of life, and adds, at least mentally, some godly prayers.
- Devote yourself or someone's mercy with the spirit of faith to serve the needy brothers and sisters.
- Free abstain in the spirit of repentance from something legitimate and pleasant.
- Freely give open testimony to one's faith before others in certain circumstances in everyday life.
Among certain grants, which, on closer inspection, will be seen to be included in one or more of the four general grants, especially the first, Enchiridion Indulgentiarum draws particular attention to four activities where full indulgence can be obtained course, albeit only once a day:
- Seriously read or listen to the Scriptures for at least half an hour.
- Adoration of Jesus in the Eucharist for at least half an hour.
- Pious practice from Stations of the Cross.
- Rosary or Akathis in a church or speech, or in a family, religious community, association of the faithful and, in general, when some are gathered for an honorable purpose.
Plenary indulgences can also be obtained on several occasions, which are not everyday occurrences. They include but are not limited to: Receive, even on radio or television, the blessing given by Pope Urbi et Orbi (to Rome and the world) or what the bishop permits to be given three times a year for his diocesan community.
Special Indulgences are also given on occasions that have a certain spiritual meaning such as the jubilee year or the 100th anniversary of the birthday or similar of events such as the appearance of the Virgin Mary of Lourdes
Prayer specifically mentioned in the Enchiridion Indulgentiarum does not come from the Latin Church tradition alone, but also from the Eastern Catholic Church traditions, such as Akathistos, Paraklesis, Night Prayer Prayer for the Faithful Departure (Byzantine), Thanksgiving (Armenian), Temple Prayer and Lakhu Mara (Kasdim), Prayer Forgiveness and Prayers for the Glory of God's Mother Mary (Coptic), Prayer for the Forgiveness of Sin i> (Ethiopia), Prayer for the Church , and Praying Altar of the Altar (Maronite), and Intercession for the Faithful Departure (Syria).
What matters is the plenary indulgence inherent in the Apostolic Blessing that a priest must give when administering the sacrament to someone who is in danger of death, and who, if no priest is available, the Church gives to the truly disposed Christian at that time. death, provided that the person is accustomed to saying some prayers during his lifetime. In this case, it is the Church itself that redeems the three conditions normally required for a complete plenum: sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer for the purpose of the Pope.
Maps Indulgence
History
Initial and medieval belief
In the early church, especially from the third century, ecclesiastical authorities permit a confessor or a Christian who awaits martyrdom to mediate other Christians to shorten other canonical redemptions. During the Decian persecution, many Christians obtained a signed statement (libelli) stating that they had sacrificed to the Roman gods to avoid persecution or property confiscation. When this lapse was to be once again accepted into the Christian community, several lapsies presented the two libelluses purported to bear the signatures of some martyrs or confessors who were held, possessed of spiritual prestige. to reaffirm Christian individuals. Bishop Siprian of Carthage insisted that none were acknowledged without sincere repentance.
Council of Epaone in 517 witnesses with the emergence of a practice of replacing heavy canonical conventions with new light redemption: the 29th canon was reduced to two years of apostasy of apostasy to undergo as they returned to the Church, but required them to fast day in three for two years , to come to the church and take their place at the gate of the penitent, and go with the katekumen. Anyone who objected to the new arrangement was to observe a much longer period of penitentiary.
The sixth century saw progress in Ireland from Repentance, a handbook for confessions confessing to redemption of sin. Penitential of Cummean advises a priest to consider in applying penance, strengths and weaknesses of the penitent. Some penalties can be changed by payment or replacement. It is customary to exchange payments with less demanding jobs, such as prayer, charity, fasting and even payment of a fixed amount of money depending on various types of violations (tariff piloting). While sanctions in early penitentials, such as those of Gildas, especially the act of shutting down or in some cases of excommunication, the inclusion of fine in the compilations then comes from secular law.
In the 10th century, some penitensions were not replaced but only diminished in relation to pious donations, pilgrimages, and similar meritorious works. Then, in the 11th and 12th centuries, the recognition of the value of these works began to be associated not so much with canonical redemption but with the temporary forgiveness of sin. A certain form of change of redemption was made during the Crusades when the confessor asked the penitent to go on the Crusade in lieu of other penance. The earliest record of the plenary indulgence was the declaration of Pope Urban II in the Council of Clermont (1095) that he sent all the penance done by the crusaders who confessed their sins in the Sacrament of Penance, considers participation in the crusade equivalent to complete penance.
Theologians view the mercy of God, the value of Church prayer, and the virtues of the saints as the basis upon which indulgences can be given. Around 1230 Dominic Hugh of St-Cher proposed the idea of ​​"treasury" at the disposal of the Church, which consists of the infinite merits of Christ and the infinite abundance of the rewards of the saints, a thesis demonstrated by great scholastics such as Albertus. Magnus and Thomas Aquinas and remains the basis for the theological explanation of indulgences.
Indulgences are intended to offer temporary pardon for a sin equivalent to that one can obtain by means of canonical redemption for a certain period of time. When Purgatory became more prominent in Christian thought, the idea developed that term indulgence associated with the pardon of time in Purgatory. Indeed, many Medieval Middle Ages were for terms that transcended human age, reflecting this belief. For several centuries it has been argued by theologians whether penance or purgatory is the currency of the indulgences given, and the church does not solve this problem definitively, for example avoiding doing so at the Council of Trent. The modern view of the church is that it is a penance.
Late medieval abuse
Indulgences became increasingly popular in the Middle Ages as a reward for displaying piety and doing good deeds, though, doctrinally speaking, the Church declares that pleasure only applies to temporary punishment for the forgiven sin in the Confession of Confession. The faithful ask that the indulgence be given to say their favorite prayer, perform the act of devotion, attend places of worship, and go on a pilgrimage; confraternities want indulgences to perform and procession; associations demanded that their meetings be rewarded with indulgences. Good deeds include donations of money for good cause, and the money collected is used for many valid reasons, both religious and civil; building projects funded by indulgences including churches, hospitals, leper colonies, schools, roads, and bridges.
However, in the growth of the later Middle Ages there were many violations. The greedy commissioner seeks to extract the maximum amount of money for each indulgence. Professional "pardoners" ( quaestores in Latin) - sent to raise funds for a particular project - practicing unlimited indulgence sales. Many of them quaestores beyond the official Church doctrine, whether in greed or foolish zeal, and promises such reward the salvation of eternal damnation in exchange for money. With the permission of the Church, indulgences are also a way for the Catholic rulers to fund costly projects, such as the Crusades and cathedrals, by keeping most of the money earned from indulgences on their land. There is a tendency to falsify documents stating that indulgences have been granted. Indulgences grow tremendously large, in terms of longevity and extent of forgiveness.
The Fourth Lateran Council (1215) suppresses several offenses relating to indulgence, spelling, for example, that only one year of pleasure will be given to the church's consecration and no more than 40-days indulgence for other opportunities. The council also stated that "Catholics who have carried the cross for the annihilation of heresies will enjoy the pleasures and privileges given to those who go to defend the Holy Land."
Soon these boundaries were widely surpassed. False documents are circulated with indulgences that transcend all boundaries: indulgences of hundreds or even thousands of years. In 1392, more than a century before Martin Luther published 95 Theses, Pope Boniface IX wrote to Bishop Ferrara condemning the practice of certain members of the religious order who falsely claimed that they were authorized by the pope to forgive all sins, and earned money from simple-minded people by promising them eternal happiness in this world and eternal glory in the future. The "Butter Tower" of Rouen Cathedral gets its nickname because the money to build it was raised by the sale of indulgences allowing the use of butter during Lent.
An engraving by Israhel van Meckenem of Saint Gregory's Mass contains a "bootlegged" indulgence of 20,000 years; one of the copies of this plate (not illustrated, but also from the 1490s) was changed later to increase it to 45,000 years. Indulgences are applied each time a certain collection of prayers - in this case seven each Credo, Our Father, and Hail Mary - are read in front of the picture. The shadow of St. Gregory's Mass has been primarily associated with the great indulgence since the jubilee of 1350 in Rome, when it is at least widely believed that 14,000 years of pleasure has been given to pray in the presence of Imago Pietatis ( "Man of Sorrows"), a popular pilgrimage destination in the basilica of Santa Croce at Gerusalemme in Rome. Protestant Reform
The embarrassing behavior of "forgiving" is a direct event of the Protestant Reformation. In 1517, Pope Leo X offered an indulgence for those who gave alms to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The aggressive marketing practice of Johann Tetzel in promoting this cause provoked Martin Luther to write his Ninety-Five Theses, condemning what he saw as buying and selling safety. In Thesis 28 Luther objected to the words attributed to Tetzel: "Immediately after the coin in the ring of the chest, the soul of the purgatory springs". The Ninety-Five Theses not only condemned such transactions temporarily but denied the right of the Pope to grant pardon on behalf of God in the first place: the only guaranteed thing of indulgence, Luther said, was an increase in profits and greed, as the pardon of the Church was within God's own power.
This quoted proverb simply does not represent the official Catholic doctrine of indulgence, but rather, more a reflection of Tetzel's capacity to exaggerate. But if Tetzel exaggerates this matter with respect to the indulgence of the dead, his teaching of indulgence for life is pure. The German Catholic historian from the Papacy, Ludwig von Pastor explains:
Above all, the most obvious distinction must be made between indulgences for life and people for the dead
Regarding indulgences for the living, Tetzel always teaches pure doctrine. The claim that he puts forward the indulgence as not only the temporary forgiveness of sins, but as his forgiveness is equally unfounded by other charges against him, that he sells forgiveness of sins for money, without even any mention of remorse and confession, or that, for payment, he freed from possible sins in the future. His teaching is, in fact, very definite, and quite in harmony with Church theology, as it is and is, that the indulgence "applies only to temporary punishment for sins who have repented of and confess"....
The case is very different from the indulgence for the dead. With regard to these matters there is no doubt that Tetzel did so, in accordance with what he regarded as his authoritative instruction, proclaimed as a Christian doctrine that there is nothing but the money offerings necessary to obtain pleasure for the dead, without any question of regret or recognition.. He also teaches, in accordance with the opinion he holds, that pleasure can be applied to a certain soul with an effect that never fails. Starting from this assumption, there is no doubt that his doctrine is almost from a drastic proverb:
The Papal Bull of indulgence does not impose any sanctions on this proposition. It was a vague scholastic opinion, rejected by the Sorbonne in 1482, and again in 1518, and certainly not the doctrine of the Church, thus incorrectly proposed as dogmatic truth. The first among the theologians of the Roman court, Cardinal Cajetan, was the enemy of all that waste, and stated emphatically that, even if theologians and preachers taught such an opinion, no faith needed to be given to them. "The preacher," he said, "speaks in the name of the Church only as long as they proclaim the doctrine of Christ and his Church, but if, for their own purposes, they teach that nothing they know, and that only their own imagination, accepted as a spokesperson for the Church.No one should be surprised if such a fall into error. "
- "As soon as the money in the coffin rings, the soul of purgatory springs up."
Although Luther did not deny the Pope's right to grant a pardon for the redemption imposed by the Church, he asserted that preachers claiming indulgence liberating those who obtained it from all the penalties and giving them salvation is a mistake, in accordance with Catholic theology.
Trent Council
On July 16, 1562, the Council of Trent pressed the office of quaestores and ordered a collection of alms for two canon members of this chapter, who received no reward for their work; it also reserves the publication of indulgences to the diocesan bishop. Then on December 4, 1563, in its last session, the Council addressed the question of indulgence directly, declaring that they were "most beneficial to Christians," stating that "all evil gains to obtain them are completely abolished," and instruct bishops to be on guard over any violations concerning them.
A few years later, in 1567, Pope Pius V canceled all grant indulgences involving fees or other financial transactions.
After the Council of Trent, Clement VIII established a cardinal commission to deal with indulgences in accordance with the Council's mind. It continued its work during Paul V's papacy and published various bulls and decisions on this issue. But only Clement IX established the genuine Congregation of Indulgences (and Relic) with the Brief of 6 July 1669. In motu proprio on January 28, 1904, Pius X joined the Congregation of Indulgences with the Rite, but with the restructuring of the Roman Curia in 1908 all things about indulgences were commissioned The Holy Inquisition. In motu proprio on March 25, 1915, Benedict XV transferred the Holy Inquisition Section to Indulgence to the Apostolic Penitentiary, but retained the responsibility of the Holy Inquisition for matters relating to the doctrine of indulgence.
Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Churches believe that one can be delivered from sin by the Sacred Mystery of Confession. Due to differences in salvation theology, indulgences for the temporary forgiveness of sins do not exist in Eastern Orthodoxy, but until the twentieth century existed in some places of the practice of absolution certificates (synchorochartia ??????? -/i>).
While some of these certificates are associated with decree-raising leaders for the living or the dead, some serious ecclesiastical punishments, including excommunication, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, with the consent of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, have a sole privilege, since the cost of defending the Holy Places and paying much of the taxes levied on them, distributing the documents in large numbers to the pilgrims or sending them elsewhere, sometimes with blank spaces for the recipient's name, life or death, the individual or the whole family, for whom the prayer will be read.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch from Jerusalem Dositheos Notaras (1641-1707) writes: "It is a well established and established ancient tradition, known to all, that the most Holy Ancestors awarded the absolute certificate ( ???????? - synchorochartion ) to faithful people... they have given them early on and still do it. "
An unknown and unverified source of Russian Orthodox says that this certificate was used among Greek Orthodoxes until the middle of the twentieth century, and is a "certificate released from sin, which can be obtained by anyone, often for a certain amount of money." Forgiveness is given by writing -this paper, according to Christos Yannaras, has nothing to do with the participation of the faithful in the Penitential Mystery, nor in the Eucharistic Mystery. "
See also
- Pardon Asisi
- Excess
Note
References
- Lea, Henry Charles, Araticular Recognition and Indulgence History in the Latin Church , 1896, Lea Bros., Philadelphia, Online at archive.org
- Parshall, Peter, at David Landau & amp; Peter Parshall, The Renaissance Print , Yale, 1996, ISBNÃ, 0-300-06883-2
- Shestack, Alan; 15th century carvings from Northern Europe ; 1967, National Art Gallery, Washington (Catalog), LOC 67-29080
Further reading
- Holy Apostolic Prison (Vatican); Enchiridion of Indulgences: Norms and Grants , trans. by William T. Barry of Rev. Both Ed. from Enchiridion indulgentiarum ... with English Supplements; 1969, Catholic Book Publishing Co. N.B. : "Originally published by Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1968." No ISBN
- Peters, Edward. The Modern Guide to Indulgences: Rediscovering The Teachings Frequently Interpreted , Hillenbrand Books, Mundelein, Illinois, 2008 ISBN 978-1-59525-024-7
External links
- the sale of Indulgence in the Middle Ages (Confessional Lutheran perspective)
- Pope Paul VI: The Apostolic Constitution Indulgentiarum Doctrina where the Holy Indulgence Revision was enacted, January 1, 1967
- The Code of Canon Law (1983) on Indulgence
- Enchiridion Indulgentiarum , 4th ed., 1999 (Latin) (English translation: Indulgence Manual , published by the United States Catholic Bishops Conference, ISBN 1-57455 - 474-3)
- English translation of Enchiridion Indulgentiarum , 3rd edition (1986)
- Pope John Paul II: General Hearing speaks of indulgence, 29 September 1999
- Catechism of the Catholic Church : "Indulgence"
- Ã, Kent, W. (1913). "Indulgences". In Herbermann, Charles. Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- Enrico dal Covolo: The Origin of the History of Indulgence
- Paul S. Czarnota: Indulgence
- Myths about Indulgences
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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