In a Jubilee Year, popes throughout the centuries have established special ways that Catholics can ask for and receive God’s mercy and forgiveness of their sins or the sins of a loved one who has died. These special graces are called “indulgences.” That word has sometimes had a negative meaning because of how the practice of granting indulgences was often abused or misused by individuals who believed one could buy or work for God’s forgiveness.
Yet God’s mercy cannot be bought or earned. God’s forgiveness is freely given and complete, with no strings attached. God indulges us, by no merit of our own, but by his love, just as a grandmother indulges her grandchildren simply because she loves them, even when they do something wrong.
In his letter titled “The Face of Mercy,” Pope Francis describes God’s indulgence and the effects of receiving God’s free gift of love during this Year of Mercy:
In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God forgives our sins, which he truly blots out; and yet sin leaves a negative effect on the way we think and act. But the mercy of God is stronger even than this. It becomes indulgence on the part of the Father who, through the Bride of Christ, his Church, reaches the pardoned sinner and frees him from every residue left by the consequences of sin, enabling him to act with charity, to grow in love rather than to fall back into sin. (#22)
The total liberty we experience through God’s indulgent love for us frees us to show that same kind of unconditional love to others. As the Pope continues in his letter, “to gain an indulgence is to experience the holiness of the Church, who bestows upon all the fruits of Christ’s redemption, so that God’s love and forgiveness may extend everywhere.”
Here are specific ways Pope Francis has established for the faithful to receive God’s indulgence during this Year of Mercy, December 8, 2015, to November 20, 2016.
Bishop McGrath has established three Holy Doors in the Diocese of San Jose. These can be found at:
the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph (San Jose), 80 S Market St, San Jose, CA 95113 the church of Our Lady of Guadalupe (San Jose), 2020 E San Antonio St, San Jose, CA 95116 the church of Our Lady of Peace (Santa Clara), 2800 Mission College Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95054
For those who are able to go to the designated Holy Doors
• With a desire for true conversion, make a pilgrimage to the Holy Door, either in Rome or at the local Cathedral or other churches designated by the local bishop once those doors are opened. Having entered through the Holy Door, celebrate the sacraments of the Eucharist or Reconciliation.
• Within those two sacraments, make a profession of faith and pray for the Holy Father and for his intentions for the good of the Church and of the entire world.
Whenever you respond to God’s gratuitous gift of mercy by doing one of these acts, you will receive the Jubilee Indulgence for yourself or for your deceased loved ones. Receiving this indulgence also commits you to live by mercy so that the fruit of God’s gift to you may flourish.