VIII. Satisfaction) Purgatory) and Indulgences

We believe we can make satisfaction to God, through His grace, and I purpose to explain this so as to leave no doubt on the minds of our adversaries on this subject

The Catholic Church teaches that Jesus Christ, being God and Man, was worthy by His own Infinite dignity to offer to Almighty God a full and sufficient satisfaction for our sins, but having more than satisfied Divine justice, it was competent to Him to apply this infinite satisfaction in two ways, either by granting us an entire remission, and abolishing without exception every kind of suffering, or by changing greater into lesser, i. e., eternal for temporal punishments.

As the first of these means is the most in accordance with His goodness and love, He vouchsafes it to us in Baptism ; but we believe that He applies the second, in the remission He holds out to us for postbaptismal sin ; and since He seems forced to it, so to speak, by our ingratitude, who have abused His first gifts, is it for us to complain if He has given us temporal trials in lieu of eternal pains ? Far from believing that Jesus Christ has not fully satisfied God's justice for us, we hold, on the contrary, that having paid an Infinite price for our salvation, He has gained an absolute right over us, and He grants us pardon, on what terms, and under what conditions, and with what limitations, He sees best for us.

We could not dispute the all-sufficiency of our Saviour's merits without gross ingratitude, because in obtaining pardon for Adam's sin, He does not exonerate us from all its consequences, leaving us still liable to death and so many bodily and spiritual infirmities which this sin brought upon us. It is enough that He has paid, once for all, the ransom which will free us fully, one day, from all the ills with which we are beset. We should receive, humbly and thankfully, every part of this blessing, considering the means by which He works out our pardon according to the rules His wisdom has framed, for our improvement, and the clearer perception on our part of His mercy and justice.

Neither should we be surprised if He, who so freely bestowed the grace of regeneration on us at Baptism, should be more strict with us after we have violated our baptismal promises. For it is not only just but very beneficial for us, that God in remitting to us original sin and eternal punishment does yet exact some temporal punishment, which reminds us of our duty and prevents us from abusing His mercy by presuming too much on the security He offers. It was, then, to satisfy this obligation that certain works of suffering and trial were appointed for us to undergo in a spirit of humility and penitence, and it was the necessity of performing these works which urged the early Church to impose on her penitents those punishments we term Canonical.

When, then, she directs sinners to undertake some painful or difficult task, and they submit to it humbly, — this she calls Satisfaction ; and when on account of the fervour of penitents or the performance of certain good works she had imposed, she relaxes in something of what was prescribed, — this she calls Indulgence. The Council of Trent does not deem any thing else necessary to be believed concerning indulgences, except that "the power to grant them has been given to the Church by Jesus Christ, and that the custom is most beneficial ;" to which it adds, "it ought to be retained, with moderation, lest ecclesiastical discipline should become weakened by too great a facility;" which proves that granting indulgences was a matter of discipline.

Those who depart out of this life full of grace and love, but still indebted for the sufferings which Divine justice has reserved to them, suffer for them in the next. And this is the reason why from the earliest ages the Church has offered prayers, alms, and sacrifices for the faithful departed who were in communion with her, believing that they receive comfort and aid thereby. The Council of Trent bids us believe this much on the subject of souls in purgatory, not defining in what their sufferings consist, or in any way diving into such matters, but rather demanding great circumspection, where so little is revealed, and blaming those who pronounce as certain, what must at present be vague and undetermined. Such is the holy and innocent doctrine the Catholic Church teaches, of Satisfactions — which is imputed to us as a great offence. If after this explanation Protestants still accuse us of not doing justice to the satisfaction of Jesus Christ, we will once more repeat, that our Blessed Lord has paid for us the full and entire ransom for our redemption, and that we believe nothing to be wanting to it, because it is an infinite ransom ; and that these pains and sufferings which we speak of as reserved to us, do not in the least proceed from any want of perfection in His Infinite Satisfaction, but from a certain law of discipline He has framed for us, restraining us by a wholesome fear. If they again accuse us of teaching that we can of ourselves produce works which shall satisfy divine justice in part even, for our sins, we deny with confidence the assertion, and refer them simply to what we have stated. The summary of which is, that our salvation is God's own work of mercy and love : what we do by His grace is not less His work than what He does alone for us, and what we give Him back is not less His than what He gives us. To which I add, that what we call Satisfaction is, according to the ancient Church, only the application of the satisfaction made for us by Jesus Christ. This consideration ought to have its weight with those who are displeased, when we say that God so delights in Christian unity and the communion of His faithful, that He often receives the satisfaction we offer one for the other. It seems as if these persons do not realize how closely united we are to God, and how we take part with Him in all that concerns us ; nor do they see how He proves His love for His blessed Son, in the consideration He shows for His faithful ones ; but those surely who have read and observed how frequently God Himself has inspired His children with the desire of self-mortification, not on account of their own sins, but those of a whole nation, will not be surprised to hear me say that He is pleased to allow this humble sacrifice to have some weight in the scale of Justice, where punishments were already prepared for His people — which shows us that, satisfied by some, He permits Himself to be appeased towards others,* and thus He honors His Son in His Members, that blessed company who form His mystical Body.