Tied to the penalties of Purgatory are the indulgences granted by the Church in such a way that by using the infinite merits of Christ added to those of his Mother and Saints, they can grant the necessary compensation to free us from said penalties as if we had carried them out ourselves .
Remember that any fault that has not been repaired on earth must be repaired in Purgatory but on earth it is only where we can win both for ourselves and for the souls of the deceased, once in Purgatory we can only serve the sentence or wait May someone on earth generously pay for us.
And it is a supreme act of charity to ease the sorrows of souls. Indulgences are a way of increasing our poor merits thanks to our belonging to the mystical body of Christ and to the communion of Saints.
Indulgences can be earned for both one and suffrage for a soul in purgatory and are divided into plenary and partial.
Where does Purgatory come from
Indulgences remit or forgive guilt, once again we emphasize, indulgence DOES NOT FORGIVE SINS, for that you have to resort to the sacrament of CONFESSION or RECONCILIATION, what forgives indulgence is the guilt or debt created by sin especially with the brother,
as the parable says in Matthew 18, 21-35:
21. Then Peter, drawing near to him, said: “Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Even seven times?”
22. Jesus said to him: “I do not say to you, even seven times, but even seventy times seven times.
23. Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a man who was king, who wanted to take account of his servants.
24. And when he had begun taking account, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
25. But since he did not have any way to repay it, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children, and all that he had, in order to repay it.
26. But that servant, falling prostrate, begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay it all to you.’
27. Then the lord of that servant, being moved with pity, released him, and he forgave his debt.
28. But when that servant departed, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him one hundred denarius. And taking hold of him, he choked him, saying: ‘Repay what you owe.’
29. And his fellow servant, falling prostrate, petitioned him, saying: ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay it all to you.’
30. But he was not willing. Instead, he went out and had him sent to prison, until he would repay the debt.
31. Now his fellow servants, seeing what was done, were greatly saddened, and they went and reported to their lord all that was done.
32. Then his lord called him, and he said to him: ‘You wicked servant, I forgave you all your debt, because you pleaded with me.
33. Therefore, should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I also had compassion on you?’
34. And his lord, being angry, handed him over to the torturers, until he repaid the entire debt.
35. So, too, shall my heavenly Father do to you, if each one of you will not forgive his brother from your hearts.
Or in the parable of Matthew 5, 23-26:
23. Therefore, if you offer your gift at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you,
24. leave your gift there, before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to your brother, and then you may approach and offer your gift.
25. Be reconciled with your adversary quickly, while you are still on the way with him, lest perhaps the adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you will be thrown in prison.
26. Amen I say to you, that you shall not go forth from there, until you have repaid the last quarter.
So in both cases you end up in jail until you pay the last penny, in both cases you talk about forgiving each other if you don’t want to end up in jail, only that the first one we take the place of the offended and in the second case that of the offender.
And the penalty is the prison that you do not get out of until you pay the last penny, so it is a penalty that you do not serve in hell because you never get out of there. We call that place purgatory because it serves to clean itself.
It is also noteworthy that if the offended does not forgive you, you go to prison, that is why God promises the offended that if he is able to forgive his offender, he will forgive him for the debt that he owes to him, on the contrary, if not We do the keep and collect that debt.
Let us note the disproportion between the debt that we have with God and the debt that a brother has with us for offending us, take the account that each talent was equivalent to 6,000 drachmas. That is, the 100 of the debt of the friend in the first parable were nothing compared to the debt to the King, that shows us how much God is willing to forgive us if we behave like Him in our willingness to forgive.
Also note that both the King’s debtor and the servant’s debtor asked for forgiveness. Which brings us to the second parable.
These debts must be settled while we are in life, because after death comes the judgment and we are charged for everything. So start by saying if you are going to make an offering and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave the offering and settle with your brother.
In other words, go and ask for forgiveness if you have offended him and better if he has offended you, forgive him.
The interesting thing is that we can pay that debt of those who are already incarcerated in Purgatory by repairing the offenses they committed and in that the indulgences that are a plus or an extra to our acts of reparation granted by the Church enter.
Plenary Indulgences
Plenary indulgences remit or forgive all guilt up to the moment of winning if it is for ourselves or all the debt of a soul in purgatory (as long as God provides) if we use them in suffrage.
If you want to know the acts and occasions to gain a plenary indulgence look here.
You can also download the Releasing Souls from Purgatory application that will help you along with other prayers advising you of the times and days to earn them.
Partial Indulgences
Partial indulgences remit or forgive guilt in proportion to the act of redress or sacrifice made, both for oneself and for a soul in purgatory in the form of suffrage.
For the same to the merit or act that is normally earned, the church adds another more equivalent to it, so in practice the merit is double what was practiced.
If you want to know the acts and occasions to gain a partial indulgence look here.
You can also download the Releasing Souls from Purgatory application that will help you along with other prayers advising you of the times and days to earn them.
NORMS
n. 1—An indulgence is the remission before God of the temporal punishment due sins already 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.
n. 2—An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due sin.
n. 3—Partial as well as plenary indulgences can always be applied to the dead by way of suffrage.
n. 4—A partial indulgence will henceforth be designated only with the words “partial indulgence” without any determination of days or years.
n. 5—The faithful who at least with a contrite heart perform an action to which a partial indulgence is attached obtain, in addition to the remission of temporal punishment acquired by the action itself, an equal remission of punishment through the intervention of the Church.
n. 6—A plenary indulgence can be acquired only once a day, except for the provisions contained in n. 18 for those who are on the point of death. A partial indulgence can be acquired more than once a day, unless there is an explicit indication to the contrary.
n. 7—To acquire a plenary indulgence it is necessary to perform the work to which the indulgence is attached and to fulfill three conditions: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion and prayer for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. It is further required that all attachment to sin, even to venial sin, be absent.
If this disposition is in any way less than complete, or if the prescribed three conditions are not fulfilled, the indulgence will be only partial, except for the provisions contained in n.11 for those who are “impeded.”
n. 8—The three conditions may be fulfilled several days before or after the performance of the prescribed work; nevertheless it is fitting that Communion be received and the prayers for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff be said the same day the work is performed.
n. 9—A single sacramental confession suffices for gaining several plenary indulgences, but Communion must be received and prayers for the Supreme Pontiff’s intentions recited for the gaining of each plenary indulgence.
n. 10—The condition of praying for the Supreme Pontiff’s intentions is fully satisfied by reciting one “Our Father” and one “Hail Mary”; nevertheless the individual faithful are free to recite any other prayer according to their own piety and devotion toward the Supreme Pontiff.
n. 11—While there is no change in the faculty granted by canon 935 of the Code of Canon Law to confessors to commute for those who are “impeded” either the prescribed work itself or the required conditions [for the acquisition of indulgences], local Ordinaries can grant to the faithful over whom they exercise authority in accordance with the law, and who live in places where it is impossible or at least very difficult for them to receive the sacraments of confession and Communion, permission to acquire a plenary indulgence without confession and Communion provided they are sorry for their sins and have the intention of receiving these sacraments as soon as possible.
n. 12—The division of indulgences into “personal,” “real” and “local” is abolished so as to make it clearer that indulgences are attached to the actions of the faithful even though at times they may be linked with some object or place.
n. 13—The Enchiridion Indulgentiarium [collection of indulgenced prayers and works] is to be revised with a view to attaching indulgences only to the most important prayers and works of piety, charity and penance.
n. 14—The lists and summaries of indulgences special to religious orders, congregations, societies of those living in community without vows, secular institutes and the pious associations of faithful are to be revised as soon as possible in such a way that plenary indulgences may be acquired only on particular days established by the Holy See acting on the recommendation of the Superior General, or in the case of pious associations, of the local Ordinary.
n. 15—A plenary indulgence applicable only to the dead can be acquired in all churches and public oratories—and in semipublic oratories by those who have the right to use them—on November 2.
In addition, a plenary indulgence can be acquired twice a year in parish churches: on the feast of the church’s titular saint and on August 2, when the “Portiuncula” occurs, or on some other more opportune day determined by the Ordinary.
All the indulgences mentioned above can be acquired either on the days established or—with the consent of the Ordinary—on the preceding or the following Sunday.
Other indulgences attached to churches and oratories are to be revised as soon as possible.
n.16—The work prescribed for acquiring a plenary indulgence connected with a church or oratory consists in a devout visit and the recitation of an “Our Father” and “Creed.”
n.17—The faithful who use with devotion an object of piety (crucifix, cross, rosary, scapular or medal) properly blessed by any priest, can acquire a partial indulgence.
But if this object of piety is blessed by the Supreme Pontiff or any bishop, the faithful who use it devoutly can also acquire a plenary indulgence on the feast of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, provided they also make a profession of faith using any legitimate formula.
n.18—To the faithful in danger of death who cannot be assisted by a priest to bring them the sacraments and impart the apostolic blessing with its attendant plenary indulgence (according to canon 468, para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law) Holy Mother Church nevertheless grants a plenary indulgence to be acquired at the point of death, provided they are properly disposed and have been in the habit of reciting some prayers during their lifetime. To use a crucifix or cross in connection with the acquisition of this plenary indulgence is a laudable practice.
This plenary indulgence at the point of death can be acquired by the faithful even if they have already obtained another plenary indulgence on the same day.
You can also download the Releasing Souls from Purgatory application that will help you along with other prayers advising you of the times and days to earn them.