The Irish standard., 1915-09-11
LETTER ON PAPAL NDULGNCES
Written by Msgs. Benson to Protestant Friend

on to Protestant Friend
something of the kind-(call it what
you nke)-I do not see how you are
to meet the facts. Where is the flaw
in anything have said? However,
dare say you do not see any difficulty
i'm it, after all: many Protestants are
beginning to hold the idea, though they
are still terrified of the name.
Very well, then. Here is this debt
of temporal pains which is, obviously,
not RENTED always when the guilt is
RENTED. Now, is there any means by
which we can ourselves help to pay
the debt even In this world and not
wait till we are driven to it? If we
can, we call that act by which we pay
that debt the winning of an indul-
gence, though that is not all that the
word implies.
Let us go back to our sinner to make
it clear. Imagine some great sinner
of that hnd-let US. say an utterly
selfish and mean man, who, up to the
age of sixty, has never given God
thought, who has never helped his
neighbor, who has never loved any
one. Well, at the age of sixty he re.
rents fervently and sincerely.
Now, all he is bound to do is to re-
i civ
future. Both you and believe that If
he does that his soul is washed in the
Precious Blood and is saved. But
supposing his repentance is exception.
ally fervent; suppose that, hating the
thought of his past selfishness and Low.
ing God as he never thought God could
be loved, he determines to do some
really heroic action-to sell his estat-
es, let us say, as Our Lord told the
young man to do in the Gospel-to
give all away to the poor, and to go
and live in some slum, as poor man,
and devote himself entirely to his
neighbors? Would not that be magni.
ficen ?-magnifcen because he need
not do it, he can save his soul with
n out it; magnificent because it would
be such a fine act of generous love
and sorrow. Do you not think. then,
that God would think it magnificent,
too? Do you not see, then, that by
his voluntary poverty and sufferings
he would be anticipating, so to say, the
temporal penalties he owes to God for
his sixty years of selfishness, that he
would, Of his own free love and &C
ton. be embracing his Purgatory in
this life? This heroism of his has
nothing to do with the forgiveness of
his guilt; that has been done already
} by the Precious Blood of Christ; but
he has chosen, by that heroism, to
: pay the temporal penalties Tor some
of them) that are still DUE.
} That, then, is the main idea Of an
indulgence" He is winning sort OF
! personal indulgence" by acts of love
r which he is not actually bound to per
1 form.
3 We see, then, plainly, that although
whatever we do for God we are still
y Improbable servants, yet for al
8 that there are what we may call "extrs
e good deeds" which God does not abso
s lutely demand of us as conditions o
n our salvation. am not bound, for in
d stance, to go out and preach to tn.
s heather till die, or to become a fra
d or to fast every day-although al
d those things might be good and gener
r Gus. We may add to those obviousl,
8 good actions a number of others, too
I am not bound to recite particula
Il prayers (beyond the office" have t,
s say as a priest), or to say my Rosar.
s every day, or to go out aud visit tn
q holy places in Palestine, or to bull,
o churches. Yet all those things woul,
:, be good and pleasing to God If di,
n them out of love for Him and wa
h already Gin grace'-that is. in stat
Il Of salvation. (Of course, canno
0 cheat God by doing these things an,
Q yet persisting in grave SIM
Very we'll, then, the Catholic Church
t has drawn up list of such goot
t deeds, which no one is bound to d.
3 but which will certainly please God i
: they are done in a proper spirit, ant
a tells US that II, being already in grace
+ we will do those things generously ant
/ freely, she guarantees that they viii
/ count before God-just as the heroisn
rro Mro noo ooo a.