Course 2, Chapter 42: Of union with our Lord, the new Adam, by Communion. — Indulgence — The Jubilee

Q What are indulgences?

A. An indulgence is the remission of the temporal punishment due to sin; and which the church grants us through the merits of Jesus Christ and the saints, apart from the sacrament of penance.

1. Has the church power to grant indulgences?

Jesus Christ gave the church power to grant indulgences when he said to his apostles: Whatsoever i/on shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in hearen; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven. These words give to the church the power to forgive sins; and consequently the power to remit the temporal punishment due to sin.

2. Has the church always exercised this power?

The church has always exercised this power. St. Pa,ul used it in the case of the scandalous Christian,

in consideration of the faithful of Corinth. In times of persecution, the church often abridged the penance of sinners at the instance of the confessors and the martyrs. God himself has pardoned us on account of the merits of our Lord; so that all Christianity is but a great indulgence.

3. What is the source of indulgences?

The source of indulgences are the superabundant merits of our Lord, of the Virgin Mary and the saints.

4. What is necessary to gain indulgences?

In order to gain indulgences, we must, 1st, perform the works or prayers prescribed by the sovereign pontiff, according to his intention; it is sufficient, if the last of the acts prescribed be performed in a state of grace; 2d, in order to gain a plenary indulgence it is necessary to detest every sin, without exception, even venial sins.

5. What do you mean by plenary indulgence?

By plenary indulgence is meant the full remis sion of all the canonical punishments which the church formerly imposed upon every kind of sin.

6. What is meant by an indulgence of seven years, of forty days, &c.?

By an indulgence of seven years, and forty days, &c., is meant the remission of the penance of seven years, &c., formerly imposed by the church upon public penitents.

7. Does a plenary indulgence remit all the pains of purgatory?

We are free to believe so; but the church has not define:! it. It is sufficient for us to know that he who gains an indulgence obtains a remission of the pains of purgatory proportioned to his fervor.

8. What is the jubilee?

The great jubilee is that which is granted every twenty-fifth year. It commences at Rome on the eve of Christmas, where it lasts one year, and then extends to the whole of Christendom.

226 CATECHISM OF PERSEVERANCE.