Alcala 1958

The Chur ch,in the caseof the ind ulg enc e, draws from the trea sur yof mer it and satis­ fac tion an d conv ey s the me asure of the wit hdrawa lto the cre dit of one of her mem­ ber s fo r the tota l or par tia l liqu ida tion of hi s debt of sat isf act ionor reat us poe nae . It is cle ar, the n, tha t an ind ulg enc e is not me rel y a dis pen sat ionfrom the obl iga ­ tion of ma kin gup for si n. Rat her it is the sup ply ingof the wh erewit ha lto the sin ner to com ply with hi s ob ligati on ,just as the mi llio na iregave hi s broth era sum of mo ney towards the ext inc tio nof hi s brot her' sdeb t. He did no t sim ply rem ove the obliga tionof sa tis fyi nghi s bro the r'sdeb t. St. Thomas, wi th hi s cha rac ter isti csim­ pli cit y, pu ts it th is way, " . . . iste qu i ind ulg ent iassusci pit , non abs olvi tur , sim- plic iter loquen do, a deb ito po enae : sed datu r sib i unde debit um sol vat ." 12 We ha ve sta ted that an indulg encewor ks ex op er eop er at o. This me ans that the mea s­ ure of tempora l punish mentremoved is not det erm inedby the me asu reof the reci pie nt' s dis pos itio n,fer vor or pie ty. It me ans that who ever ful fill sthe requir ementfor ga ini ng the ind ulg en cere ce ive s the ind ulg enc eas pro ffe red . If two men say a pra yer to wh ich an in­ dul gen ce of 50 da ys is atta che d, and one say s the pra yer wit h gre at reco llec tion and devoti onwh ere asthe oth er say s it with dis­ trac tion and lack of dev otio n, bo th gai n the ind ulg en cein equa l me as ur e. The reas onis tha t the ind ulg enc eis grant­ ed by the Chu rch au tho rita tiv elythr ough an ex erc ise of he r pow er of the keys and con seq uen tlythe me asu re of the gran t de­ pen ds on the wil l of the Church, wh ich gra nts the ind ulg en ce . Th is is the tea ching of St. Thoma s. He rea son s that the cau se of the can cell atio n or reduct ion of the tempor al pun ishm entis the me rit or trea sure of the Chu rch. He nce , rch, se l ence, y i - i eys re l f - l ti l i tio i ction e. , , l ence ly sation f - i g . l ing ithal l tion, ire rother tion 's t. l tion ti fying r's t. as, teristic - y, i . . . l i l entias it, t r, do, it ae: datur si i cl ." 12 ence e rato. - l ent r ined re i nt's ition, . il s e ent f g l ence ives l ence f red. - ce d, s l tio on as s · i ti n, t l ence l sure. eason l ence - t ritatively t ise e tly re - i lgence. is i s. tion tio al i e t

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sin ce the Churc h ha s cont rol of that treas­ ure , the mea sure of can cellatio nor redu c­ tion is the mea sure of the Chur ch's gra nt, not the devotio nor effo rt of the recipi en t. 13 It now becomes clea r that an ind ulg enc e qua tal is does not incr ease one 's me rit or sa nc tif yin ggra ce. Its func tion is pu rel y ne gativ e: the reducti on or can cellatio nof the debt of temp oral pun ishment. It is true that the Chur ch requires some goo d work , usu ally a pra yer of some kind, as a con dit ion for ga ini ng an ind ulg en ce. In thi s case,per formingthe goo d work , say ­ in g the prayer, is a me rito riou sact and as su cheff ec ts an incr ease of san cti fyi nggrac e. But the pra yer is not the ind ulg enc e. It is on ly a conditi on requir ed for ga in ingthe ind ulg enc e. Th is con clu sion permit s us to pla ce in­ du lge nce sin their proper pla ce in the hier ­ ar chy of obj ect ive values. The ind ulg ence is a gre at adv ant age and a gre at be ne fit . Bu t it is not the gre ates t. Th e form al fun c­ tio n of the indulg ence is ne ga tiv e, the re­ mo val of temporal pun ishm ent . Tem por al pun ishm ent is an obs tacl e that reta rds the ach iev emen t of man's fin al des tiny, the vis ion of God fac e to fa ce . Th e ind ulg en ce, the n, doe s not con fer a hig he rme asu re of beati tud e. It mer ely has ten s the pos ses sion of that mea sure of beatitude wh ichis com­ mensu rat ewith the me asu reof gra ce at the moment of death. Pr ay ers and goo d wor ks are of gre ate r val ue for inc rea singgra ce and th er eb yin­ cr ea sin gone' s eter nal ha pp ines s. Bu t the ind ulg enceis of gre ate r valu e than privat e act s of reparation, pra yer or goo d wor ks, for has ten ing the ac hi evem en t of one 's ete rnal reward . Th e one complem entsthe oth er, an d the y work tog eth er for the acc omplis hmentof the one purp ose of our exi ste nce ,the glo ry of God thro ugh the salv atio n of our sou ls. , i n c- 's t, n pient. 13 r l ence i s 's tifying g c . / ti. r ly ti e: tion i n l i t. i , l i ion g l ence. se, i g , - i rious ts an tifying e. l ence. o e i g l ence. i sio i s - l nces - y ive l ence tage fit. t. l - e ce tive, - i ent. al i e t le i e ent ' l ti y, . l ence, , re tude. l si n which - rate re t ers r i g eby i - si g ines . l ence e ti , i g ent f ' l r . ents , pli hment o f ce, t ti n l .

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13 /o c.ci t., a. 2, c. 13 Loe t., .

12 loc. ci t., ad 2um. 12l cit., ad 2um.

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