The Church has granted priests the opportunity to gain a plenary indulgence daily during the Year of Priests, and the opportunity for the laity to gain a plenary indulgence on the opening and closing days of the Year of the Priest and once a month on the first Thursdays of the month during the Year of the Priest.
For Priests:
The means to obtain the Plenary Indulgence are as follows:
(A) All truly penitent priests who, on any day, devotedly pray Lauds or Vespers before the Blessed Sacrament exposed to public adoration or in the tabernacle, and ... offer themselves with a ready and generous heart for the celebration of the Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Penance, will be granted Plenary Indulgence, which they can also apply to their deceased confreres, if in accordance with current norms they take Sacramental Confession and the Eucharist and pray in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. Priests are furthermore granted Partial Indulgence, also applicable to deceased confreres, every time they devotedly recite the prayers duly approved to lead a saintly life and to carry out the duties entrusted to them.
In a simple summary, this means that priests could obtain a plenary indulgence DAILY if:
1) Each day, they devotedly pray Lauds or Vespers before the Blessed Sacrament (either exposed or in the Tabernacle)
2) Each day, they "offer themselves with a ready and generous heart for the celebration of the Sacraments (especially the Sacrament of Penance)
3) Each day, they say the usual prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father, ie one Pater Noster (Our Father) and one Ave Maria (Hail Mary)
4) Each day, they receive Holy Communion (which would naturally follow if they are offering Mass daily)
5) Go to confession at least once a week
6) Be completely detached from all sin, even venial sin. (see Fr. Tim Finigan's post on this: "Plenary Indulgences NOT Impossible")
This would be a great way to obtain great graces for the faithful departed, especially, as recommended above, for their deceased brother priests and bishops.
I would highly encourage priests to contemplate the great graces being made available to them, and to take adavantage of this opportunity to truly carry out their priestly vocation of interceding for souls and bringing them to salvation, which is the intrisic vocation of the priest.
For the laity:
The means to obtain the Plenary Indulgence are as follows:
(B) 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 mould them to His Heart, are granted 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.
So in summary for the laity, on the opening day of the Year of Priests, the closing day of the Year of Priests, on the 150th Anniversary of the death of Saint John Vianney (August 4th, 2009), and on the first Thursday of each month (and other days if the local ordinary has established them):
1) Devotedly attend Mass and offer prayers to Christ the High Priest for the priests of the Church
or
perform any good work to sanctify and mould priests to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
2) Receive Holy Communion
3) Offer the usual prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father, ie one Pater Noster (Our Father) and one Ave Maria (Hail Mary)
4) Make a sacramental confession within a week of the day of seeking to obtain a plenary indulgence
5) Be completely detached from all sin, even venial sin. (see Fr. Tim Finigan's post on this: "Plenary Indulgences NOT Impossible")
This is also a great opportunity for the laity to offer these indulgences for the deceased priests of their diocese who are suffering the most in purgatory, as well as an opportunity to spiritually support the priests of their parish and diocese, those both living and deceased).
For the elderly and sick:
The elderly, the sick and all those who for any legitimate reason are unable to leave their homes, may still obtain 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".
So, in summary for the elderly and sick, on the opening day of the Year of Priests, the closing day of the Year of Priests, on the 150th Anniversary of the death of Saint John Vianney (August 4th, 2009), and on the first Thursday of each month (and other days if the local ordinary has established them):
1) pray for the sanctification of priests and offer their sickness and suffering to God through Mary, Queen of the Apostles"
2) Be completely detached from all sin, even venial sin. (see Fr. Tim Finigan's post on this: "Plenary Indulgences NOT Impossible")
3) Offer the usual prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father, ie one Pater Noster (Our Father) and one Ave Maria (Hail Mary)
4) If possible, receive Holy Communion, or at least have the intention to receive it as soon as possible.
5) If possible, make a sacramental confession, or at least have the intention to make it as soon as possible.
And one final reminder, even if you don't have the opportunity to obtain a plenary indulgence, you can still always obtain partial indulgences for the deceased by doing any act of devotion or prayer and offering it to God for the poor souls in Purgatory. This can be done any time and as many times as one likes. Who knows what small act may be the last thing needed to free a soul from Purgatory.
For more on partial indulgences see this link:
Partial Indulgences
Documentation for the Technical "Stuff"
“1. An indulgence is the remission in the eyes of God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose culpable element has already been taken away. The Christian faithful who are rightly disposed and observe the definite, prescribed conditions gain this remission through the effective assistance of the Church, which, as the minister of redemption, authoritatively distributes and applies the treasury of the expiatory works of Christ and the Saints.”
- Handbook of Indulgences, Norms
“23. 1. Besides the exclusion of all attachment to sin, even venial sin, the requirements for gaining a Plenary Indulgence are the performance of the indulgenced work and fulfillment of three conditions: Sacramental Confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for the Pope’s intentions.
2. Several Plenary Indulgences may be gained on the basis of a single Sacramental Confession; only one may be gained, however, on the basis of a single Eucharistic Communion and prayer for the Pope’s intentions.
3. The three conditions may be carried out several days preceding or following performance of the prescribed work. But it is more fitting that the Communion and the prayer for the Pope’s intentions take place on the day the work is performed.
4. If a person is not fully disposed or if the prescribed work and the three mentioned conditions are not fulfilled, the Indulgence will only be partial ...”
5. The condition requiring prayer for the Pope’s intentions is satisfied by reciting once the Our Father and Hail Mary for his intentions (Pater Noster and Ave Maria); nevertheless all the faithful have the option of reciting any other prayer suited to their own piety and devotion.”
- Handbook of Indulgences, Norm
RS
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