Indulgences

[Mari Therese]

Could someone please explain to me what a partial/full indulgence is? What are they applied to?

I keep looking for an answer to this question but some of the stuff that I have read seems so technical and wordy.

Thanks Dudes,

MT

[Thy Geekdom Come]

Short answer: our becoming saved is a process of becoming more and more holy and just through the grace of God, with which we cooperate. Heaven is that state of being in which we are perfectly holy and able to know, love, and serve God perfectly. We die with some attachment to sin still on us, like stains on our souls, and so we would not be able to enjoy heaven perfectly, so God cleanses us even after death by removing our attachment to sin so that we can see Him as He is and be like Him (1 John 3:2). That's purgatory.

We can do things here and now, in this life, which open us up more to grace. We do these things at God's prompting, not our own, and God's grace guides us through it all. Some of these things are officially recognized by the Church, for instance, assuming we do them with real love in our hearts (and not just for attention, etc.), the spiritual and corporal works of mercy open us up to God's grace.

Indulgences are specially recognized spiritual devotions that the Church recognizes and attributes a certain amount of grace to, so that when we do these things (assuming that we have the right disposition), we are made open to the grace of God. The Church has the authority of Christ, and therefore the authority to dispense grace in a certain way.

When a person gains an indulgence, their participation with grace through that indulgence opens that person's soul up to God more and more, thus decreasing the need for purgatory after death. Essentially, indulgences are a specially recognized way to draw closer to God in this life so that we can be with Him "sooner" after death.

Partial indulgences are smaller and generally require less devotion; plenary indulgences, if done with the proper reverence and love of God, can remove the need for purgatory entirely, unless the person sins again.

I hope this helps.

God bless,

Micah