As you know, we recently were blessed to attend and film the ordinations in the Archdiocese of Newark at the amazing Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Thirteen young men were ordained to the priesthood last weekend. TEN of them come from other countries—three are from Colombia, two are from Nigeria, and one comes from each of the following nations: Italy, Ecuador, South Korea, the Dominican Republic and Hungary. Isn’t that fantastic?! I just love it.
If you aren’t already praying for priests, and for an increase in priestly (and other religious) vocations, the Holy father just gave us some awesome encouragement to do so:
All truly penitent Christian faithful who, in church or oratory, devotedly attend Holy Mass and offer prayers to Jesus Christ, supreme and eternal Priest, for the priests of the Church, or perform any good work to sanctify and mold them to His Heart, are granted a Plenary Indulgence, on the condition that they have expiated their sins through Sacramental Confession and prayed in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. This may be done on the opening and closing days of the Year of Priests, on the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean Marie Vianney, on the first Thursday of the month, or on any other day established by the ordinaries of particular places for the good of the faithful.
The elderly, the sick and all those who for any legitimate reason are unable to leave their homes, may still obtain a plenary indulgence if, with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin and with the intention of observing, as soon as they can, the usual three conditions, “on the days concerned, they pray for the sanctification of priests and offer their sickness and suffering to God through Mary, Queen of the Apostles.”
Additionally, a partial indulgence will be offered to the faithful each time they pray five “Our Father,” “Hail Mary” and “Glory Be,” or any other duly approved prayer “in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to ask that priests maintain purity and sanctity of life.”
(emphasis mine)
So, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the concept of Indulgences, check out this page.I know the NYTimes recently came out with an article about indulgences, but for Heaven’s sake, don’t rely on the NYTimes to tell you what the Church believes. It’s best to go to the source. New Advent is thorough and reliable. Of course, the Catholic Catechism is the absolute best place to go: go here, and find “Indulgences” (Part Two, Section Two, Article 4, X. 1471) (Page 370 in the first and second editions of the printed Catechism).
What is an indulgence?
“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.”
“An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin.” The faithful can gain indulgences for themselves or apply them to the dead.
The punishments of sin
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 such a way that no punishment would remain.
1473 The forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment of sin remains. While patiently bearing sufferings and trials of all kinds and, when the day comes, serenely facing death, the Christian must strive to accept this temporal punishment of sin as a grace. He should strive by works of mercy and charity, as well as by prayer and the various practices of penance, to put off completely the “old man” and to put on the “new man.”
(footnotes removed)
Ok, so what do you have to do first in order to get an indulgence?
- Go to confession: you must be free from the guilt of mortal sin, so it goes without saying (but, heck, I’ll say it anyway) that if you go to confession, you actually have to confess all your sins
- Intend to obtain the indulgence: so when you say the prayer or do the act required for obtaining the indulgence, you actually have to intend to do it for the indulgence. I usually just say, mentally, to Jesus, “Jesus, this is for the indulgence.” I suppose that would suffice.
- Say a prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father–I usually say an Our Father and a Hail Mary
As we work on the show, I am now completely convinced that there is nothing stronger in the whole world than the power of prayer. God does some amazing things, and I think He just wants us to ask Him to do some more. And when we do, He always wows us. Let’s pray for priests–that the men whom He is calling hear His call, and that they remain faithful to His word once they are ordained.