The great gift of the Jubilee

Br. MichaelDavide Semeraro

At the beginning of the Jubilee, I heard about the possibility of obtaining a plenary indulgence. What is it? Can it be obtained for everyone? C.R. The Plenary Indulgence is one of the gifts of the Jubilee. Its meaning is not easy to understand, and the practice and doctrine of indulgence have been the target of attacks by Protestant theologians since the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. As Pope Francis underlines in the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee, “we must be aware that our thoughts, our words and our omissions leave a deep mark on our hearts, like a wound that we must heal in order to transform it into a glorious scar”. The Pope then writes: “As we know from personal experience, every sin “leaves its mark”. Sin has consequences, not only outwardly in the effects of the wrong we do, but also inwardly”. The indulgence that we can obtain in the Jubilee Year is an act of faith in the power of mercy to heal the wounds of our hearts and to give us the original innocence, where grace becomes hope to be shared. There is nothing magical about this, but it is a profound mystery of…