What phrase is the best description of an indulgence?

Answer 1

a document that frees a catholic fromgods punishment for a sin

Answer 2

An indulgence is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven. The indulgence is granted by the Catholic Church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution. It does not 'forgive' sins as some believe but does shorten any time we might other wise spend in Purgatory for sins we have committed and already confessed. Indulgence is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment for sins after the sinner confesses and receives absolution.

Answer 3

the act or practice of indulging; gratification of desire. the state of being indulgent. 3. indulgent allowance or tolerance. 4. a catering to someone's mood or whim; humoring: The sick man demanded indulgence as his due. 5. something indulged in: Her favorite indulgence was candy. 6. Roman Catholic Church. a partial remission of the temporal punishment, esp. purgatorial atonement, that is still due for a sin or sins after absolution. Compare plenary indulgence. 7. English and Scottish History. (in the reigns of Charles II and James II) a grant by the king to Protestant dissenters and Roman Catholics freeing them from certain penalties imposed, by legislation, because of their religion. 8. Commerce. an extension, through favor, of time for payment or performance.

Answer 4

the action or fact of indulging.

"indulgence in self-pity"

synonyms: satisfaction, gratification, fulfillment, satiation, appeasement; More accommodation;

slaking, quenching

"the indulgence of all his desires"

self-gratification, self-indulgence, overindulgence, intemperance, immoderation, excess, excessiveness, lack of restraint, extravagance, decadence;

raresybaritism

"excessive indulgence contributed to his ill health"

pampering, coddling, mollycoddling, spoiling, cosseting, babying;

informalpity party

"his mother's indulgence made him ungovernable"

antonyms: denial, withholding, moderation, restraint, strictness

a thing that is indulged in; a luxury.

plural noun: indulgences

"Claire collects shoes-it is her indulgence"

synonyms: extravagance, luxury, treat, nonessential, extra, frill

Answer 5

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Catholic AnswerIndulgences: "The remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins forgiven as far as their guilt is concerned, which the follower of Christ with the proper dispositions and under certain determined conditions acquires through the intervention of the Church, which, as minister of the redemption, authoritatively dispenses and applies the treasury of the satisfaction won by Christ and the saints." (Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Constitution on Indulgences.

Please note, however, that indulgences were NEVER sold. Indulgences are, as noted above, under certain determined conditions. These conditions usually fall under the works of mercy, or works of penance; the later always included prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Due to the hysterics by Martin Luther, you can no longer get an indulgence for almsgiving, although you can still get them for the other works - all of the them are listed in the Handbook of Indulgences (see link below).

To understand indulgences you must first understand sin and its consequences.

Let me try to explain. When one sins, one damages the Body of Christ, as, by our Baptism, we are all members of the Body of Christ, and everything we do, for good or ill, affects everyone.

Say you are in the street in your neighborhood playing softball. You hit one and it goes flying across the street and through Mrs. Neighbor's front window. You put the bat down, walk across the street, knock on the door, and apologize to Mrs. Neighbor. She forgives you, since you were nice, and owned up to your fault. Up until now we have the basic scenario of someone going into confession and confessing their sins. But wait, notice that in my example, the window is still broken. You have to go home and confess to your father and mother that you broke the window, they, in turn, take your allowance for the next several years and pay to have the window fixed. The broken window is the example of how we damage the Body of Christ. The allowance that you have to fork over for the next several years is your penance. Now, an indulgence is based on the fact that when Jesus was a man living on the earth, his mother, and the other saints down through the centuries, have done more good works than they need to do their penances (in the case of Our Blessed Lord, and His mother, they had no need of penances, so all their good works are surplus), so, the Church, through Her power of the keys, can apply the merits of those good works to your penance. So in the example above, the indulgence is your parents fixing the window for you, and you are still going to get your allowance. You might have to fork over some of it to help, but they are not going to impoverish you for the next several years.

That is what an indulgence is: it is the application of the good works of the saints to make up for your penances. Please note that they are only applicable to someone in a state of grace who has already been forgiven. They have NOTHING to do with the remission of sin. Without prior remission of sin, there can be no indulgence.

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Indulgences were the same thing that they are today. An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven. They are only obtainable by a person who is in a state of grace, who prays for the Holy Father's Intentions, does the necessary work, and receives Holy Communion. They are still very much in force. They may only be applied to the souls in purgatory by way of intercession. In other words, the Church on earth has no authority over the souls in puragtory as such, but may apply indulgences earned by the faithful in the way of asking God to forgive some of the punishment due them by way of intercession.

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from The Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, English translation 1994

1471 "An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, 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." (Paul VI, apostolic constitution, Indulgentiarum doctrina, Norm 1.)

1472

To understand this doctrine and practice of the church, it is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence.Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the "eternal punishment" of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the "temporal punishment" of sin. These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in way a way that no punishment would remain. (Cf. Council of Trent {1551} Denzinger-Schömetzer, Enchiridion Symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus {1965} 1712-1713; {1563}: 1820)

Answer 6

Indulgences: "The remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins forgiven as far as their guilt is concerned, which the follower of Christ with the proper dispositions and under certain determined conditions acquires through the intervention of the Church, which, as minister of the redemption, authoritatively dispenses and applies the treasury of the satisfaction won by Christ and the saints." (Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Constitution on Indulgences.)

To understand indulgences you must first understand sin and its consequences.
Let me try to explain. When one sins, one damages the Body of Christ, as, by our Baptism, we are all members of the Body of Christ, and everything we do, for good or ill, affects everyone.

Say you are in the street in your neighborhood playing softball. You hit one and it goes flying across the street and through Mrs. Neighbor’s front window. You put the bat down, walk across the street, knock on the door, and apologize to Mrs. Neighbor. She forgives you, since you were nice, and owned up to your fault. Up until now we have the basic scenario of someone going into confession and confessing their sins. But wait, notice that in my example, the window is still broken. You have to go home and confess to your father and mother that you broke the window, they, in turn, take your allowance for the next several years and pay to have the window fixed. The broken window is the example of how we damage the Body of Christ. The allowance that you have to fork over for the next several years is your penance. Now, an indulgence is based on the fact that when Jesus was a man living on the earth, his mother, and the other saints down through the centuries, have done more good works than they need to do their penances (in the case of Our Blessed Lord, and His mother, they had no need of penances, so all their good works are surplus), so, the Church, through Her power of the keys, can apply the merits of those good works to your penance. So in the example above, the indulgence is your parents fixing the window for you, and you are still going to get your allowance. You might have to fork over some of it to help, but they are not going to impoverish you for the next several years.

That is what an indulgence is: it is the application of the good works of the saints to make up for your penances. Please note that they are only applicable to someone in a state of grace who has already been forgiven. They have NOTHING to do with the remission of sin. Without prior remission of sin, there can be no indulgence.

Answer 7

Just a guess... It is opposite to Italian "dulce", sweet.