|
Hearts of Jesus and Mary- Divine Mercy- Decree of Indulgence
|
APOSTOLIC PENITENTIARY DECREE
Indulgences attached to devotions in honor of Divine Mercy
GIven
in Rome, at the Seat of the Apostolic Penitentiary on June 29, 2002
Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles
Luigi De Magistris
Titular Archbishop of Nova,
Major Pro-Penitentiary
Gianfranco Girotti, o.f.m. conv, Regent
"O God, your mercy knows no bounds and the treasure of your goodness
is infinite..." (Prayer after the "Te Deum" Hymn) and "O
God, you reveal your almighty power above all by showing mercy and
forgiveness..." (Prayer for the 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time),
in these prayers Holy Mother Church humbly and faithfully sings of
Divine Mercy. Indeed, God's great patience with the human race in
general and with each individual person shines out in a special way
when sins and moral failures are forgiven by Almighty God Himself
and the guilty are readmitted in a fatherlike way to his friendship,
which they deservedly lost.
Duty of honouring Divine Mercy
The faithful with deep spiritual
affection are drawn to commemorate the mysteries of divine pardon
and to celebrate them devoutly. They clearly understand the supreme
benefit, indeed the duty, that the People of God have to praise
Divine Mercy with special prayers and, at the same time, they
realize that by gratefully performing the works required and
satisfying the necessary conditions, they can obtain spiritual
benefits that derive from the Treasury of the Church. "The paschal
mystery is the culmination of this revealing and effecting of mercy,
which is able to justify man, to restore justice in the sense of
that salvific order which God willed from the beginning in man, and
through man, in the world" (Encyclical Letter
Dives in misericordia,
n. 7).
It is God's Mercy that grants supernatural sorrow and resolution to
amend
Indeed, Divine Mercy knows how to pardon even the most serious sins,
and in doing so it moves the faithful to perceive a supernatural,
not merely psychological, sorrow for their sins so that, ever with
the help of divine grace, they may make a firm resolution not to sin
any more. Such spiritual dispositions undeniably follow upon the
forgiveness of mortal sin when the faithful fruitfully receive the
sacrament of Penance or repent of their sin with an act of perfect
charity and perfect contrition, with the resolution to receive the
Sacrament of Penance as soon as they can. Indeed, Our Lord Jesus
Christ teaches us in the parable of the Prodigal Son that the sinner
must confess his misery to God saying: "Father I have sinned
against heaven and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called
your son" (Lk 15,18-19), realizing that this is a work of God, "for
[he] was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found" (Lk 15,32).
Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday
And
so with provident pastoral sensitivity and in order to impress
deeply on the souls of the faithful these precepts and teachings of
the Christian faith, the Supreme Pontiff, John Paul II, moved by the
consideration of the Father of Mercy, has willed that the Second
Sunday of Easter be dedicated to recalling with special devotion
these gifts of grace and gave this Sunday the name, "Divine Mercy
Sunday" (Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the
Sacraments, Decree Misericors et miserator, 5 May 2000).
The
Gospel of the Second Sunday of Easter narrates the wonderful things
Christ the Lord accomplished on the day of the Resurrection during
his first public appearance: "On the evening of that day, the first
day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for
fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them,
"Peace be with you'. When he said this, he showed them his hands and
his side. Then the discples were glad to see the Lord. Jesus said to
them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I
send you'. And then he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive
the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven;
if you retain the sins of any, they are retained'" (Jn 20,19-23).
Plenary Indulgence
To
ensure that the faithful would observe this day with intense
devotion, the Supreme Pontiff himself established that this Sunday
be enriched by a plenary indulgence, as will be explained below, so
that the faithful might receive in great abundance the gift of the
consolation of the Holy Spirit. In this way, they can foster a
growing love for God and for their neighbour, and after they have
obtained God's pardon, they in turn might be persuaded to show a
prompt pardon to their brothers and sisters.
Pardon of others who sin against us
Thus the faithful will more closely
conform to the spirit of the Gospel, receiving in their hearts the
renewal that the Second Vatican Council explained and introduced:
"Mindful of the words of the Lord: "By this all men will know that
you are my disciples, if you have love for one another' (Jn 13,35),
Christians can yearn for nothing more ardently than to serve the men
of this age with an ever growing generosity and success.... It is
the Father's will that we should recognize Christ our brother in the
persons of all men and love them with an effective love, in word and
in deed (Pastoral Constitution,
Gaudium et spes,
n. 93).
Three conditions for the plenary indulgence
And
so the Supreme Pontiff, motivated by an ardent desire to foster in
Christians this devotion to Divine Mercy as much as possible in the
hope of offering great spiritual fruit to the faithful, in the
Audience granted on 13 June 2002, to those Responsible for the
Apostolic Penitentiary, granted the following Indulgences:
a
plenary indulgence, granted under the usual conditions
(sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer for the
intentions of Supreme Pontiff) to the faithful who, on the Second
Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, in any church or chapel, in
a spirit that is completely detached from the affection for a sin,
even a venial sin, take part in the prayers and devotions held in
honour of Divine Mercy, or who, in the presence of the Blessed
Sacrament exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, recite the Our
Father and the Creed, adding a devout prayer to the
merciful Lord Jesus (e.g. Merciful Jesus, I trust in you!");
A
partial indulgence, granted to the faithful who, at least
with a contrite heart, pray to the merciful Lord Jesus a
legitimately approved invocation.
For those who cannot go to church or the seriously ill
In
addition, sailors working on the vast expanse of the sea; the
countless brothers and sisters, whom the disasters of war, political
events, local violence and other such causes have been driven out of
their homeland; the sick and those who nurse them, and all who for a
just cause cannot leave their homes or who carry out an activity for
the community which cannot be postponed, may obtain a plenary
indulgence on Divine Mercy Sunday, if totally detesting any sin, as
has been said before, and with the intention of fulfilling as soon
as possible the three usual conditions, will recite the Our
Father and the Creed before a devout image of Our
Merciful Lord Jesus and, in addition, pray a devout invocation to
the Merciful Lord Jesus (e.g. Merciful Jesus, I trust in you).
If
it is impossible that people do even this, on the same day they may
obtain the Plenary Indulgence if with a spiritual
intention they are united with those carrying out the prescribed
practice for obtaining the Indulgence in the usual way and offer to
the Merciful Lord a prayer and the sufferings of their illness and
the difficulties of their lives, with the resolution to accomplish
as soon as possible the three conditions prescribed to obtain the
plenary indulgence.
Duty of priests: inform parishioners, hear confessions, lead
prayers
Priests who exercise pastoral ministry, especially parish priests,
should inform the faithful in the most suitable way of the Church's
salutary provision. They should promptly and generously be willing
to hear their confessions. On Divine Mercy Sunday, after celebrating
Mass or Vespers, or during devotions in honour of Divine Mercy, with
the dignity that is in accord with the rite, they should lead the
recitation of the prayers that have been given above. Finally, since
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Mt 5,7),
when they instruct their people, priests should gently encourage the
faithful to practise works of charity or mercy as often as they can,
following the example of, and in obeying the commandment of Jesus
Christ, as is listed for the second general concession of indulgence
in the "Enchiridion Indulgentiarum".
This Decree has perpetual force, any provision to the contrary
notwithstanding.
Archbishop Luigi De Magistris,
Tit. Archbishop of Nova
Major Pro-Penitentiary
Fr Gianfranco Girotti, O.F.M. Conv.,
Regent
Return to
the Divine Mercy Page...
This page is the work of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and
Mary
