Lest we forget, in this brief period after All Saint’s and All Souls Holy Church has designated various ways to obtain plenary indulgences under the usual conditions. The Enchiridion Indulgentiarum 29 says
§ 1. A plenary indulgence, applicable only to souls detained in Purgatory, is granted to the faithful who
1° each day, from the first of November to the octave, will have devoutly visited a cemetery and, even only in the mind, will have prayed for the dead;
….
§ 2. A partial indulgence, applicable only to souls detained in Purgatory, is granted to the faithful who,
1° will have devoutly visited a cemetery and, even only in the mind, will have prayed for the dead;
2° will have devoutly recited Laudes or Vespers of the Office of the Dead, or (will have devoutly recited) the invocation “Requiem aeternam”.
Here is the aforementioned prayer that gains the indulgence:
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. Amen.
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Is it possible to gain more than one such indulgence in a day? A plenary and a partial indulgence?
The person for whom we pray need not be in the cemetery we visit?
Let us sing:
Requiem aeternam (Gabriel Faure)
Might I mention my: A Modern Guide to Indulgences, Foreword by Abp. Timothy M. Dolan, (Hillenbrand Books, Liturgy Training Publications, 2008) 115 pp, ISBN: 978-1-59525-024-7.
Our diocese in Canada actually mentions that there are plenary indulgences but regrettably defers to the USCCB website for details. Of course the USCCB website leaves out 20% of the information but to it’s credit does have a link to the VIS website which DOES carry the bulk of the decree. Your best bet is to read the decree on the Vatican Website so you can get the whole thing.
Hopefully our bishops office will issue some clarifications soon, otherwise the Year of Faith will end up being the 9 MONTHS of Faith.
Chris Garton-Zavesky says:
5 November 2012 at 9:14 am
The person for whom we pray need not be in the cemetery we visit?
Correct.
I am given to understand (meaning that I read it someplace last week and acted upon it) that praying in a church on All Souls Day would grant one a plenary indulgence; I did not know a form for assigning it to some soul in purgatory who otherwise has no one to pray for him, so I just sort of said at the beginning that this was my intention, then prayed a prayer for the dead and the chaplet for the dead. Will I have done any good for anyone other than myself?
@dep:
There’s no way to really know this side of heaven, but God hears our prayers and knows our minds. He is omnipotent, He can sort out the ‘missing name’ if He wants. And on that latter part, I think faith wouldn’t be misplaced. It might sound a tad frivolous, but I’d say the following applies here: “God created accountants, but that doesn’t mean He is one.”
Anyhow, maybe some-one here has a prayer formula for that situation, the issue must have come up before in the last 2 millenia.
For reference, here are some general remarks on “the usual conditions” from the Apostolic Penitentiary’s website’s Gift of the Indulgence (Jan. 29, 2000).
dep- I will occasionally pray for the “soul in purgatory who most needs it, or the soul who has no one to pray for them”. As for my relatives who have died, who knows if they are still in purgatory, so I pray for relatives even if they died fifty years ago.I seem to remember reading that one of the saints said that if we pray for a soul who is no longer in purgatory, God applies the prayer to another soul. God is beyond generous, and I’m sure that no prayer goes to waste.
I do have a question, though. I often will offer my communions for the souls in purgatory. Is this permitted?
Am I right in understanding “each day” here to mean that from Nov 1-Nov 8, each day the faithful can gain an plenary indulgence by visiting a cemetery? Or does it mean that you have to go each day from Nov 1-Nov 8 to get one indulgence?
Dep- If the conditions for a plenary indulgence are not met the indulgence is partial – so yes you did something good for a soul in purgatory. To meet the conditions no special prayer of intention is needed – wha is needed is the desire to fulfill the indulgence for that intention.
Chantgirl- yes offering the benefits of your communion (or your Mass) is permitted and considered by many Saints to be a great work of mercy. God does not divide the Grace; Grace is only limited by the disposition of the person to whom it goes by their ability to receive it.
I find that very few Catholics know that one can gain a Plenary Indulgence “every day” under the usual conditions for things as simple as praying a rosary in Church, spending half an hour reading Scripture and many more. Those that do, don’t want to be bothered with regular Confession. Of course, there is that little item called “detatchment from sin” which is somewhat worrisome but there are always partial indulgences, if we fail in that department. I give mine to our Blessed Mother to distribute where needed. Hope that is OK.