At the pilgrimage church, one may take part in Mass or the Liturgy of the Hours, the rosary, the Way of the Cross or eucharistic adoration, in addition to the closing prayers. Other examples include making a significant contribution to the care of abandoned children, troubled teens, the elderly without family or foreigners needing help. One may also devote personal free time to efforts that benefit the community in some way. The prescriptions for gaining the Jubilee Indulgence take into account the situations of those who may be unable to leave their homes. The cloistered Religious may visit the chapels within their houses and participate, when available, in the sacraments and offer the designated prayers.
Indulgences can be an extremely powerful and life-giving experience.
As one concentrates on gaining an indulgence, the image drawn should not be one of protest, but that of Christ. For through indulgences one learns to become more like him. Yet it is part of the granduer of Christ's love not to leave us in the condition of passive recipients, but to draw us into his saving work and, in particular, into his Passion. Return to this issue Return to The Georgia Bulletin Return to Home Page of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.