The Holy See, in response to a request from Fr General Arturo Sosa SJ, has granted a plenary indulgence to the faithful who will visit the churches and oratories of the Society of Jesus during the Ignatian Year.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines an indulgence as “a remission before God of temporal punishment for sins for which forgiveness has already been given, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints” (No. 1471).
“The Ignatian Jubilee Year can also be an opportunity to become aware that the forgiveness received in the sacrament of reconciliation, whether regularly or occasionally, is not enough to remove all unhealthy attachments; a more specific process of purification, drawing on the communion of saints, can help in moving forward in this direction. It is up to each person to see what will help him or her to progress on the path of holiness,” says Fr Benoît Malvaux SJ, General Procurator of the Society of Jesus.
To obtain a plenary indulgence, the faithful needs to go to a specific place (in the case of the Ignatian Jubilee Year, to a church or oratory of the Society of Jesus), in order to experience the sacrament of reconciliation, to receive communion during a Eucharist, and to pray for the Pope’s intentions.
“For those who are ill or unable to move about, it is possible to experience the same process while remaining at home,” says Fr Malvaux, “praying, for example, in front of an image of St Ignatius. The spirit in which to live this process will be to offer to the Lord the desire to free oneself more and more from unhealthy attachments, that prevent one from living fully the values of the Gospel; further, we entrust ourselves to the intercession of the living and the dead, in the communion of saints.” [Society of Jesus]
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