My Plenaries

Holy Year of Hope; Pilgrimages; Indulgences

Yesterday I got my 2nd plenary indulgence for this Holy Year of Pilgrimage in Hope. But who's counting? Actually, I am. I want to get plenty of plenaries, but not too many. I don't want to go crazy about this. How many are enough? I would say at least 5 but not over 20. That's just one man's opinion. We can differ on this. I understand we can only obtain one per day. Since the Holy Year runs from Dec. 24, 2024 to Jan. 6, 2025 one could not exceed 377 (I presume one would not be obtained today, Holy Saturday, the great sabbath day of rest). 

Spiritual realities should not be overly numbered. But we are ourselves material and numbers structure our reality: 3 persons in 1 God; 7 sacraments; 10 commandments. A holy hour is 60 minutes; not 57 or 67. 40 days of lent; 50 of Easter. You get the idea. Numbers bring to our finite intellects a finite logic and order. God in his infinite condescension adapts heavenly realities to our finite, earthly, mathematical intellects.

I always liked spiritual bouquets. As a child, for mothers/fathers day I might offer:  500 Hail Marys, 50 Our Fathers, 5 masses, 5,000 aspirations. This meant more to my parents than any other conceivable gesture. The Philippinos keep this tradition. An otherwise holy and sage but sarcastic, now deceased, Irish descent priest used to refer to our more devote parishioners from the Philippines: "Here comes 10,000 Hail Marys!"

For sure, such numbering can be abused in a mechanical manner. At the very start of his pontificate, Pope Francis condemned the error of claiming spiritual efficacy through our human efforts. Unfortunately, he used as an example a spiritual bouquet he had must received (no doubt from Philippino Catholics) detailing large numbers of prayers. His comments were the first sign that we had a problem in our new Holy Father: it was the ingratitude yes; the public shaming yes; but also the lack of appreciation for a simple, possibly misused, but childlike, innocent, trusting gesture of faith.

Let's bring back spiritual bouquets!

 Indulgences: Underrated!

While we all learned in history that Dominican Friar Tetzel triggered the Protestant Reformation in his fundraising efforts for the construction of St. Peter's in Rome by exchanging indulgences for donations, we also know that any sale of spiritual goods is the sin of simony. The Church has never condoned such. 

Indulgences are an exercise of our communion in the Mystical Body, the intimacy between us on earth (Church Militant), those in heaven (Church Triumphant), and souls in purgatory (Church Suffering.) By a symmetric, orderly spiritual accounting system, God's mercy and justice are both manifested: and we get to participate directly in it.  Two key concepts are at work: temporal punishment due to sin and merit. Both realities are incoherent, if not ridiculous to the non-supernatural imagination.

In God's justice, sins that are already absolved, in confession, still carry a debt of punishment, a temporal (but not eternal) consequence that must be paid. Imagine the deathbed conversion and confession of a lifelong hitman/adulterer/criminal. His sins are forgiven. But even he himself, when facing his Savior and recalling the evil he committed, will insist on doing reparation. Jesus words on the cross to the repentant thief suggests that he granted him absolution but also (probably plenary) indulgence.

Merit, in the supernatural sense, means that acts of goodness (charity, service, martyrdom, pardon of the enemy, suffering born patiently, prayer and fasting, etc.) carries with it an excess of "credit" which can be shared with 1hers. Analogously, for example, a wealthy man can share his riches with the poor; so the spiritual endowed can share their merit with those in need. 

And so we can imagine in purgatory an immensity of debt owed; but in heaven an infinity of merit, that of Christ himself of course, but also of Mary and the saints. That overflow in heaven seeks passage to those in need in purgatory; and that pathway is provided through the Church. She makes available, in discrete portions, the merits of heaven to be shared with the souls suffering by designating specific actions as ways of obtaining and sharing the merits: pilgrimages, prayer, sacrifices, devotions and such.

It is simple and straightforward: one does the specified act, with the correct conditions, and the indulgence is granted. The recipient can receive it for himself or share with a soul in purgatory.

This is a marvelous thing: the act is usually simple enough; it opens us to the magnanimity of heaven; and in empathy to those suffering in purgatory. It awakens an awareness of our communion with both the saints and the souls. It roots us in the enchanted Catholic universe.

Conditions for an Indulgence

1. Do the specified action, with the correct intention. In this case, the action is pilgrimage for a religious service to a Church designated by the local diocese for such.

2. Confess sins before or after the action, generally less than 20 days.

3. Pray for the intentions of the Pope. An our father/hail mary/glory be or something similar should suffice. (This is especially salutary for us critics of Pope Francis!)

4. Be free of attachment to sin.  This is the kicker: What is attachment to sin?

Did I Get the Full Plenary?

In my case, the first three are cut and dry. Our diocese of Trenton has designated six Churches for the pilgrimage indulgence: the Cathedral in Trenton, the Co-Cathedral in Freehold, and a specific Church in each of the four counties of the diocese. I already went to St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral and to Our Lady Star of the Sea, Long Branch NJ, for yesterday's Good Friday services.

But what about "attachment to sin?" Would attraction to sin qualify as attachment? If so, only the greatest saints among us would qualify. Example: a man who sleeps with his mistress a few times a month is surely attached to adultery. But what about the man who flirts with his secretary? Who lustfully imagines himself with her? Who sometimes thinks of ways he could satisfy this attraction?

Attachment can be understood as a remaining affection for the evil; a failure to truly repent; a refusal to hate the evil forcefully. Even a momentary lingering in the fascination for sin indicates, I would think some attachment. 

This line of thought leads me to consider that I may not have gotten the full plenary. But it moves me to acts of the will, renouncing the evil that I at the same time desire. In this I also acknowledge my weakness and need for God's grace to definitively renounce the sin. So, in my state of concupiscence and vulnerability, the prayer for the plenary intensifies my urgency: my sense of need but also my hope in the grace of Christ.

And so, while I may not have gotten the full plenary, I am very happy with a partial. And happy for the push to detach from sin in any form.

What I Did With My Penaries (or Partials?)

The first I gave to Fr. ("you are a priest forever") Ted McCarrick. Why? Lots of reasons. Enough for a different blog essay!

My second I gave to my friend Bob who died a month ago. Bob suffered so much in this life that I know his purgatory in the hereafter was not great. I imagine him now in heaven praying for me and mine. Thanks Bob! 

Holy Year, Hope, Indulgences

I will not be making pilgrimage to Rome for the Holy Year. (But I do hope to babysit grandchildren while my son and his wife go!) Instead, I look forward to pilgrimages to a number of designated Churches. This is not hard. It is fun to visit different Churches. I get to be the beneficiary and the dispenser of many graces! I am loving this Holy Year of Hope!