tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post113129654786975911..comments2024-03-25T06:39:42.081-04:00Comments on Bonfire of the Vanities: Grace, Devotions, Indulgences etc.Fr Martin Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-1131373106671930802005-11-07T09:18:00.000-05:002005-11-07T09:18:00.000-05:00abu:Thank you for your kind words.I'm going to ans...abu:<BR/><BR/>Thank you for your kind words.<BR/><BR/>I'm going to answer your question in a narrow sense, then more broadly.<BR/><BR/>I've never thought about whether a non-Catholic can obtain the benefits of an indulgence, but -- I suppose so.<BR/><BR/>The way an indulgence works is this: the Church encourages a particular prayer, or activity, and sets certain conditions. If met, then there it is.<BR/><BR/>There are actually two types of indulgences -- partial and plenary. All that means is the distinction between an "assist" to someone experiencing purification (yourself or another), and completion of all of it (hence, "plenary"--which means full). <BR/><BR/>Pretty much anyone and everyone gains "partial"--just ask: "May __ and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace."<BR/><BR/>To be candid, the difficulty you face is that a plenary indulgence usually calls for receiving holy communion, and I cannot attest for the validity of Anglican communion.<BR/><BR/>I think the issue of you being in communion with Rome is very important; but you didn't ask me about that. The issue you did ask me about -- obtaining indulgences -- is of far less weight.<BR/><BR/>As I said, everything we can gain, through the specific devotions traditionally associated with indulgences, can be gained without them -- simply by asking.<BR/><BR/>I have no problem fostering these devotions, or assisting folks pursuing them -- but I stress that the mercy and grace to which they point is not limited to them!Fr Martin Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-1131372248923225472005-11-07T09:04:00.000-05:002005-11-07T09:04:00.000-05:00Benedicite!Someone make this man a cardinal! Does...Benedicite!<BR/><BR/>Someone make this man a cardinal! <BR/><BR/>Does this mean that I, as an Anglican (and an anglocatholic one at that), may receive indulgences by praying the Our Father as penance for my sins?<BR/><BR/>Greetings from the Middle East. Pray for the light of the Gospel to shine here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-1131361959241703312005-11-07T06:12:00.000-05:002005-11-07T06:12:00.000-05:00Thank you for a very interesting and enlightening ...Thank you for a very interesting and enlightening article.<BR/>Regarding the Abraham story, that's a devotion I'm not particularily attracted to.<BR/>It reminds me of when I read the story from a children's Bible to my then 4 year old son. After I finished, he asked about two million "Why... " questions and finally said "Why did God ask Isaac's father and not his mother to kill him?". My reply was "Because God knew that his mother wouldn't do it".<BR/>I aprreciate your explanation of the story, I never thought about it that way before.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-1131326689873851832005-11-06T20:24:00.000-05:002005-11-06T20:24:00.000-05:00banshee:To your point, I'd cite a famous episode f...banshee:<BR/><BR/>To your point, I'd cite a famous episode from Sacred Scripture, which I think is broadly misunderstood: Abraham leading his son Isaac up the mountain for a sacrifice.<BR/><BR/>Many read the story as saying <I>God</I> wanted Abraham to do this; and while I understand why they say that, I think what's happening is that God accedes to the test which <I>Abraham</I> intends, rather than God imposing it on them. That's why God intervenes, and stops him -- once Abraham demonstrates his faith in action.<BR/><BR/>Why go through the exercise? Obviously not for God to know (even if that's how the human author tells the story)--because God knows what will happen before it happens. Rather, it only makes sense so <I>Abraham</I> can know.Fr Martin Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-1131325241250283812005-11-06T20:00:00.000-05:002005-11-06T20:00:00.000-05:00I think that being able to do something also helps...I think that being able to <I>do</I> something also helps one to be able to better trust in God's grace. You can tie yourself up in knots for years about whether you love God enough, whether you've repented enough, what the fate is of somebody you love who died.... Being able to do something -- to go to Confession, say, or to try to get a plenary indulgence for someone who's died -- lets you let go. There is now a definite line; you have done all you can do on that particular subject, and the rest is up to God.Bansheehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12594214770417497135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-1131299216202018252005-11-06T12:46:00.000-05:002005-11-06T12:46:00.000-05:00dilexit:Thanks for your comments, and for visiting...dilexit:<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your comments, and for visiting.<BR/><BR/>I'm not trying to be flip, but...I wouldn't try too hard to think it through.<BR/><BR/>It seems to me, for example, that one who devotes his or her life to assisting souls facing final purification will not have much of his or her own to worry about.<BR/><BR/>And as to "purity of intent," I recall a passage from C.S. Lewis's <I>Screwtape Letters,</I> where the senior tempter, Wormwood, advised his apprentice, Screwtape, that if he can't keep his assignee from praying, then try to turn the man's focus from God to himself.Fr Martin Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14168956.post-1131298675619446992005-11-06T12:37:00.000-05:002005-11-06T12:37:00.000-05:00Thank-you for this great article. It was very hel...Thank-you for this great article. It was very helpful.<BR/><BR/>Just one question I've been wondering about... you can offer indulgences for others, so is it selfish to retain them for yourself? Would it be more pleasing to God to offer your indulges up for others, but then where does it leave you? It just has been something I've been pondering...<BR/><BR/>As a further note, purity of intent is very important when it comes to indulgences. If your intent is not absolutely pure when it comes to a plenary indulgences you receive a partial indulgence (am I correct?).DPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13195133313571297243noreply@blogger.com