As always, this turned out to be longer and more involved than I intended. So consider this part 1 in a series on Indulgences. And no, I haven’t forgotten about Baptism. The other day Pope Francis granted a plenary indulgence to those devoted faithful who would follow his tweets or other coverage of the World …
Tag Archives: Penance
The Work of the Reformation
I love the boldness of nineteenth century writers: The work of the Reformation was a work of division, of separation, of isolation. It was an effort to sever nations from Peter, the centre of Christian life; to rob the faithful of the bread of angels, to cast off the intercession of Mary and the Saints, …
Laid low and lifted high: On Reconciliation, and awards too!
It’s been a pretty brutal couple of weeks. I am pretty beaten up and beaten down. I haven’t had the energy or the motivation to write. I’m forcing myself even now. Because I don’t want to abandon this thing. There is a lot of negative I could be focusing on right now; but this blog …
Continue reading “Laid low and lifted high: On Reconciliation, and awards too!”
Luther and Indulgences
Yesterday, I exposited in detail the Catholic doctrine of indulgences — what the Catholic Church actually teaches. Indulgences, of course, were at the heart of Martin Luther‘s criticisms in his Ninety-Five Theses, which sparked the Protestant Reformation in 1517. Today, I will examine Luther’s criticisms, which offer a vivid window into the abusive teachings and …
Indulgences: What they mean
One of the most misunderstood doctrines in the history of the Church, by both Protestants and Catholics, is the doctrine of indulgences. The mere mention of the word to Protestants conjures ideas of the worst corruptions of the Roman Church, the heights of decadence and depravity and abuse. For it’s well known that indulgences were …
Confirmation in Penance
The way I know it’s God: when the penances Father Joe gives me are the same things God was leading me to do anyway.