Few are saved :(

I agree but would add that we must also pray for unbelievers and the suffering souls in purgatory. I get the impression that one or two people on the forum are dismissive of those of us who are taking advantage of the indulgences attached to the Holy Doors because somehow we aren't being spiritual enough. So far, I have gained indulgences for my departed parents, siblings, some other relatives and myself. From now on, any indulgences gained will be for forgotten souls in purgatory. From a selfish point of view, I reckon the result will be an extra few saints in Heaven praying for me and I need all the prayers I can get.

I'm ever conscious of the angel at Fatima teaching the children to pray and ask pardon for those who don't believe, love and adore almighty God. The angel let the children know that prayers for other sinners can be effective. I read somewhere that a saint was allowed read the minds of people at Mass. Some were chiding Our Lord for not answering their prayers, some were asking for trivial, worldly things and none were praying for others or offering thanks to God. Even since I read that, the first prayer I say at Mass is thanks to Jesus for dying for us; then I include the intentions of everyone at Mass with my own intentions. Prayer never goes to waste even, perhaps especially, our most humble prayers. Where most of us fall down is trust that God is listening and will answer in His own way and His own time. Asking is easy, trusting we will get an answer is the hard part. I take heart from the assurance of a priest who said that he has seen too many deathbed conversions to ignore the power of prayers said by people for their fallen away relatives.

 

Dolours, I am so happy to hear you are making as many Holy Doors pilgrimages as possible.
I have worked my way through my family and their partners. I am in the 40s now; but think I know and have known so many that if I could get to make a pilgrimage every day of the year there would still be more who could have benefitted, and I would run out of days.
Have you thought of making the pilgrimage for sick or housebound people in your parish. Just think what a blessing to send them a little card with a note to say you have done this on their behalf. What a merciful joy they would feel.
God bless you in your efforts. I always remember Our Lady at Fatima telling the children, so many souls go to hell because there is no one to pray for them. The Holy Doors has to be a way of saving souls from hell. And if we make the pilgrimage for someone who is already safe, blessed Mother and Jesus will use our effort to help someone who has no one else to pray for them. That is how I feel.

 

Hey, Denise P. Aren't we all a bit whiney when the going gets tough if we are honest. Julia comes out and confesses with Michael Voris, she is a whiner. Not the same sins as Michael; but sin is sin. And am doing the 33 day preparation for Consecration 13th May God willing.

 

Hi Julia,
As far as I know indulgences only apply to ourselves or to people who are already in purgatory. In other words, we can't get indulgences for others who are still alive. People who can't manage to go through the Holy Doors can get the indulgence for themselves or suffering souls by fulfilling as many of the requirements as they can manage. Our Archbishop sent out a notice to all the churches at the beginning of the year of mercy telling us that we can get the indulgences without physically walking through the doors. We just need to get Confession, Communion, pray for the Pope's intentions and be more merciful to others. There is a Holy Door in our Pro-Cathedral and I have been through it but mostly I follow the Archbishop's advice with Confession, Communion and prayer. I struggle with the Mercy aspect but am working on it. So far, I have concentrated on dead relatives, particularly those who had no children and have nobody else to pray for them. With the current state of the faith in the West, some day we could be the souls with nobody to pray for them so I am trying to pass on this aspect of the faith to any young relatives who will listen to me in the hope that some day it will click with them.

Indulgences are an important tradition in our Church. When we were children, everyone visited the graves of dead relatives during the month of the Holy Souls and prayed for the Pope's intentions to gain indulgences. This highlighting of the benefit of indulgences is something I admire about Pope Francis. It would be such a shame to see the tradition die out.

I intend to double my efforts between now and the end of the Year of Mercy to get as many souls into Heaven as possible. I'm really not holy enough to get plenary indulgences but partial is better than nothing so I'll settle for that until I figure out how to mend my ways.

I think that there can be a bit of snobbery surrounding "spirituality", as though our ancestors who got up every morning, worked their fingers to the bone, raised as many children as God sent them and passed on the faith to the children through their example of prayer and regular Mass attendance weren't quite as close to Jesus as those who claim to hear God giving them personal messages.

Showing respect for Jesus by observing traditions is just as much an expression of love as any other, and I suspect that a lot of our ignorant, rule observing ancestors will be in Heaven before many an eloquent learned theologian.

 

Actually I don't reserve judgement - I completely accept that she connents with something that I need to connect to for the glory of God and the salvation of souls! I am not another St. Therese - lived too long, too many sins etc, etc. But I think there is a bit of a Jansenist in me that her Way could eliminate!

About 4 years before the Shepherd plucked me out of the darkness, St. Therese's relics came to Ireland - again the idea of a box of bones didn't really set me on fire, but they were coming to a church a few miles from where I lived, so I went along - pregnant and with my toddler. I remember standing by th ornante 'box' and praying some all encompassing appeal, the details of which I can't remember. But I'm fairly sure St. T took me at my word coz hereI am now! And the last time her relics came to Ireland I stayed most of the night keeping vigil, took my 4 children out of school to go to the 'departure' Mass, at which my youngest wrote a prayer asking to be a saint!

So like electricity, microwaves and jet engines -I don't know how she works, I just know she does!

 

That is the magic. A heart felt prayer...God hears. Doesn't have to be big.

May God Bless You and Your Family.

Brother al

 

Hi Dolours. I had this discussion a few times. There is a CTS leaflet at our nearest Holy Doors Shrine in which it states, 'we can make the Holy Doors pilgrimage for the living as well as the dead.'

My husband argued black is white with me over this. I showed him the CTS leaflet, and he had to agree, it is stated we can make the pilgrimage for the living as well as the dead.

I then asked two different priests based on my husbands argument, telling them what I read in the CTS leaflet, and they confirmed 'yes' we can make the pilgrimage for the living as well as the dead.

I am not going to take a chance on missing an opportunity to gain a grace in the form of an indulgence for my nearest and dearest. As well as those in an outward spiral as far as I can reach living and dead before this Year of Mercy ends.

I know I can't save souls who are not making an effort themselves. But I can gain a grace from God on their behalf, which could save their souls from hell. That is what motivates me, and I would encourage anyone else who would like to trust God. 'Give it a try.' God will never be outdone in generosity.

Our Lady of Fatima said to the children in 1917, many souls go to hell because there is no one to pray for them. I take this year as a chance to make a petition for as many living and dead as possible. Peace, and hope this is ok to share.

ps. Sorry. My priest told me all you need to do is ensure you have been to confession within 8 days of the pilgrimage. Receive Holy Communion . And say a prayer for Holy Fathers intentions. I expect he means Mass as well; but he did not say Mass, so I repeat exactly his words

 

Julia: I can't thank you enough for the information about indulgences for the living as well as the dead. Starting tomorrow, I will have a long list to work through. And yes, confession, Holy Communion and prayers for the Pope's intentions are requirements. I'm pretty sure that we are also required to be merciful to others, but that goes with being Catholic anyway. Attending Mass is not a requirement.

There used to be a general Church rule about Communion being restricted to once per day but now we can receive twice per day which means that we can get two indulgences in one day. As far as I know, we can only receive Communion twice in a day if we hear a full Mass. I'm not sure whether that means two full Masses but I think it's better to attend two Masses just to be on the safe side. Of course, we are not allowed to receive twice at the same Mass.

 

Perhaps it's also possible that these saints' statements were a result of their disposition. I'm reading this book on the spiritual exercises and the author makes a distinction between St. Augustine and St. Ignatius. St. Augustine is apparently the godfather of the "gloomy" Christian attitude:

• The sense that God is absent from the world more than he is present in it.
• The belief that our ability to perceive and respond to God is gravely impaired by sin, prone to error, and unreliable.
• Grace was bestowed sparingly and humanity was a massa damnata - mostly destined to hell.

St. Ignatius, on the other, was very different. He was an optimist and he believed that God is present in the world and bestows grace in abundance, and that we can trust our personal experiences to discover Him and His will.

Does St. Ignatius' optimism change the fact about the actual number of souls that go to hell? I don't necessarily think so, but I believe it puts into perspective other saints' views.

 

There is a balance. This is important when we have no precise data.

 

Just a quick note, mercy and merciful appear almost twice as often as just and justice do in the Bible.

 

As I understand these indulgences, the same requirements for the plenary indulgence offered during the Jubilee of Mercy, passing through the Jubilee doors where designated, are the same for any plenary indulgences. Besides the great indulgence that can be received on the Feast of Divine Mercy (with its own additional plenary indulgence granted for that day as well), this plenary indulgence is extended through this year of Mercy. One may gain the plenary indulgence as many times as one wishes, one per day, for one's self or for a soul in purgatory....not for other living persons though.

http://www.thedivinemercy.org/jubilee/thebasics/indulgence.php :

Even though we can only obtain one plenary indulgence a day, if you perform the required actions for other plenary indulgences on the same day, you can still obtain multiple partial indulgences.

To receive the Jubilee Year indulgence, you must fulfill the usual conditions, (specified below) and perform the indulgenced act: passing through a designated Holy Door during the extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy (between Dec. 8, 2015, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, and Nov. 20, 2016, the Solemnity of Christ the King) or performing one of the corporal or spiritual works of mercy.

You may receive the plenary indulgence yourself, or offer it for a person in purgatory.

To receive a plenary indulgence
To refresh everyone's memories, here are the normal conditions for receiving a plenary indulgence: (cont'd in comment below)

 

cont'd from above re: plenary indulgences for Jubilee Year of Mercy:

http://www.thedivinemercy.org/jubilee/thebasics/indulgence.php

• It is necessary that the faithful be in the state of grace at least at the time the indulgenced work is completed.
• A plenary indulgence can be gained only once a day. In order to obtain it, the faithful must, in addition to being in the state of grace:
  • have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin;
  • have sacramentally confessed their sins;
  • receive the Holy Eucharist (it is certainly better to receive it while participating in Holy Mass, but for the indulgence only Holy Communion is required); and
  • pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff.
• It is appropriate, but not necessary, that the sacramental Confession and especially Holy Communion and the prayer for the Pope's intentions take place on the same day that the indulgenced work is performed; but it is sufficient that these sacred rites and prayers be carried out within several days (about 20) before or after the indulgenced act. Prayer for the Pope's intentions is left to the choice of the faithful, but an Our Father and a Hail Mary are suggested. One sacramental Confession suffices for several plenary indulgences, but a separate Holy Communion and a separate prayer for the Holy Father's intentions are required for each plenary indulgence.
• For the sake of those legitimately impeded, confessors can commute both the work prescribed and the conditions required (except, obviously, detachment from even venial sin).
• Indulgences can always be applied either to oneself or to the souls of the deceased, but they cannot be applied to other persons living on earth.
  – Adapted from the decree on the plenary indulgence for the 2000 Jubilee Year.
  

Please see PrayForSouls.org/indulgence1 to read the Holy Father's letter on the Jubilee Year

indulgence.http://prayforsouls.org/library/articles/article.php?NID=6460&

 

Meant to underline this important requirement in the above comment that includes all the specifics for this Jubilee Year of Mercy's plenary indulgences:

Indulgences can always be applied either to oneself or to the souls of the deceased, but they cannot be applied to other persons living on earth.

 

And just as comforting as this is -- is that the most repeated phrase in the Bible is "Be not afraid!".

 

And we need all the Help we can get!

 

I prayed about this and the answer I got back was,

@padraig, THIS IS A QUESTION I DON'T LIKE FOLKS STICKING THEIR NOSES TOO MUCH INTO, TOO MUCH'

 

James Brown and Pavorriti Comment: