But it should be noted that the Blue Army Shrine in New Jersey has an outside stations of the cross. They are simply large wooden crosses with a sign for each station. There are no plaster images...
How big does this wooden cross need to be to make the indulgence effective? Six feet or six inches? Does composition matter? Is pine OK?
I love my Catholic friends, but I'll take my chances among the "30,000" non-Catholic denominations than deal with silliness like this.
The operative law concerning indulgences is in the Enchiridion Indulgentiarum ("Handbook of Indulgences"). It says you have to have, minimally, 14 crosses. 14 images are an extra goody, not required. The idea is that, if you have the 14 images, they are images of scenes involving the cross, and so the images themselves depict crosses. It is not necessary to have 14 crosses and 14 images. (If you had some sort of strange abstract stational images which did not include crosses, I suppose that would be a problem.)
I don't see anything there about anything that is required to be blessed by a Franciscan. I think it's odd that an indulgence available to the whole church would be dependant on a blessing of a member of a particular religious order.
**** What if the same church was missing tens of thousands of days of indulgences or plenary indulgences because of this? ****
Perhaps you should explain EXACTLY what an “indulgence” is
Most think of Tetzel when this is mentioned.
In other news...
EL CID is out on DVD! EL CID is out on DVD!
I would urge you to get “Catholic Caucus” status added to this thread, before The Swarm gets in here and ruins it.
Please!
13In memoria Passionis et Mortis Domini
Plenaria indulgentia conceditur christifideli qui
1°24 in sollemni actione liturgica feriae VI in Passione et Morte Domini adorationi Crucis pie interfuerit;
2°25 vel ipse pium exercitium Viae Crucis peregerit vel, dum illud a Summo Pontifice peragitur et ope instrumenti televisifici vel radiophonici propagatur, ei sese pie univerit.
Pio Viae Crucis excercitio renovatur memoria dolorum, quos divinus Redemptor passus est in itinere a Pilati praetorio, ubi ad mortem damnatus est, usque ad Calvariae montem, ubi pro nostra salute in cruce mortuus est.
Ad indulgentiam plenariam assequendam quod attinet, haec statuuntur:
1. Pium exercitium peragi debet coramViae Crucis stationibus legitime erectis.
2. Ad erigendam veroViam Crucis requiruntur quattuordecim cruces, quibus utiliter adiungi solent totidem tabulae seu imagines, quae repraesentant stationes Hierosolymitanas.
3. Iuxta communiorem consuetudinem pium exercitium constat quattuordecim piis lectionibus, quibus adduntur aliquae preces vocales. Ad pium excercitium tamen rite peragendum sufficit pia meditatio Passionis et Mortis Domini, ideoque non est necessaria consideratio de singulis stationum mysteriis.
4. Requiritur motus ab una ad aliam stationem.
Si pium exercitium publice peragatur et motus omnium praesentium fieri nequeat sine incommodo, sufficit ut saltem qui exercitium dirigit ad singulas stationes se conferat, dum alii suum locum tenent.
5. Legitime impediti eamdem indulgentiam acquirere poterunt, si piae lectioni et meditationi Passionis et Mortis Domini nostri Iesu Christi saltem per aliquod tempus, e.g. per horae quadrantem, incubuerint.
6. PioViae Crucis exercitio assimilantur, etiam quoad indulgentiam assequendam, alia pia exercitia, a competenti Auctoritate adprobata, quibus memoria Passionis et Mortis Domini recolitur, quattuordecim pariter stationibus statutis.
7. Apud Orientales, ubi huius pii exercitii usus non habeatur, ad hanc indulgentiam lucrandam, valet aliud pium exercitium in memoriam Passionis et Mortis Domini nostri Iesu Christi, a Patriarchis pro suis cuiusque fidelibus statutum.
You should pay particular attention to #6 and #7, above.
#6 essentially states that if you are impeded from making the Way of the Cross, you may gain the indulgence by pious meditation on the Passion for at least a half hour.
#7 allows Eastern Rite Patriarchs to substitute a comparable devotion for members of their rites (as the Via Crucis is a Latin Rite devotion).
Let's not let legalism get in the way of what is REALLY important in regards to what an indulgence does.
According to the Catechism, some little tidbits on indulgences:
1472 To understand this doctrine and practice of the Church, it is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence. Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the "eternal punishment" of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the "temporal punishment" of sin. These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain.831473 The forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment of sin remains. While patiently bearing sufferings and trials of all kinds and, when the day comes, serenely facing death, the Christian must strive to accept this temporal punishment of sin as a grace. He should strive by works of mercy and charity, as well as by prayer and the various practices of penance, to put off completely the "old man" and to put on the "new man."84
We must also look at the doctrine behind "Purgatory:"
1030 All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.
And finally some tidbits from the CCC on penance:
V. The Many Forms of Penance in Christian Life1434 The interior penance of the Christian can be expressed in many and various ways. Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms, fasting, prayer, and almsgiving,31 which express conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to others. Alongside the radical purification brought about by Baptism or martyrdom they cite as means of obtaining forgiveness of sins: effort at reconciliation with one's neighbor, tears of repentance, concern for the salvation of one's neighbor, the intercession of the saints, and the practice of charity "which covers a multitude of sins."32
1435 Conversion is accomplished in daily life by gestures of reconciliation, concern for the poor, the exercise and defense of justice and right,33 by the admission of faults to one's brethren, fraternal correction, revision of life, examination of conscience, spiritual direction, acceptance of suffering, endurance of persecution for the sake of righteousness. Taking up one's cross each day and following Jesus is the surest way of penance.34
1436 Eucharist and Penance. Daily conversion and penance find their source and nourishment in the Eucharist, for in it is made present the sacrifice of Christ which has reconciled us with God. Through the Eucharist those who live from the life of Christ are fed and strengthened. "It is a remedy to free us from our daily faults and to preserve us from mortal sins."35
1437 Reading Sacred Scripture, praying the Liturgy of the Hours and the Our Father - every sincere act of worship or devotion revives the spirit of conversion and repentance within us and contributes to the forgiveness of our sins.
1438 The seasons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year (Lent, and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense moments of the Church's penitential practice.36 These times are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies, pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works).
1439 The process of conversion and repentance was described by Jesus in the parable of the prodigal son, the center of which is the merciful father:37 The fascination of illusory freedom, the abandonment of the father's house; the extreme misery in which the son finds himself after squandering his fortune; his deep humiliation at finding himself obliged to feed swine, and still worse, at wanting to feed on the husks the pigs ate; his reflection on all he has lost; his repentance and decision to declare himself guilty before his father; the journey back; the father's generous welcome; the father's joy - all these are characteristic of the process of conversion. the beautiful robe, the ring, and the festive banquet are symbols of that new life - pure worthy, and joyful - of anyone who returns to God and to the bosom of his family, which is the Church. Only the heart of Christ Who knows the depths of his Father's love could reveal to us the abyss of his mercy in so simple and beautiful a way.
If you take a look at the Preliminary Observations in the Enchirdion, you will see the following:
3. Participatio Sacrificii Missae et Sacramentorum indulgentiis, secundum traditionem, non ditatur: nam in seipsis praecelsam habent efficacitatem quoad « sanctificationem et purificationem ».2Cum vero ob singulares eventus (veluti primam sacram Communionem, primam Missam a sacerdote novensili litandam, Missam in exitu Conventus Eucharistici celebrandam) indulgentia conceditur, haec non participationi Missae vel Sacramentorum adicitur, sed extraordinariis adiunctis ad eiusmodi participationem accedentibus. Itaque ope indulgentiae promovetur et quasi praemio afficitur se devovendi studium, quod huiusmodi celebritatum est proprium, bonum, quod aliis praebetur, exemplum, honor, qui augustae Eucharistiae et Sacerdotio tribuitur.
Attamen indulgentia addi potest, secundum traditionem, variis operibus pietatis privatae et publicae; praeterea eadem locupletari possunt opera caritatis et paenitentiae, quibus maius momentum nostris temporibus tribui oportet. Omnia autem haec opera indulgentiis praedita, ut alioquin quodvis aliud opus bonum et quivis cruciatus patienter toleratus, a Missa et Sacramentis nullatenus seiunguntur, utpote quae sint fontes praecipui sanctificationis et purificationis; 3 siquidem opera bona et cruciatus fiunt oblatio ipsorum fidelium, quae oblationi Christi in Eucharistico Sacrificio adiungitur; 4 siquidem Missa et Sacramenta fideles adducunt ad officia sibi imposita exsequenda adeo ut « vivendo teneant quod fide perceperunt »,5 et vicissim officia diligenter impleta animos melius in dies disponunt ad Missam et Sacramenta fructuose participanda. 6
Indulgences are given for works of public and private piety. They are given for works of charity and penance. The goal behind indulgences is not a checklist mentality of "do this and get this" -- rather the goal is the interior conversion of heart for the Christian, in an effort for the Christian to "put on the New Man." They are a method to help the Christian achieve sanctification.
I would submit that the person who, in a spirit of humility and piety, makes the Via Crucis sincerely will receive the benefits of the associated indulgence, whether the stations were set up properly or not. God looks at hearts, after all. Likewise, I also believe that the person who makes the Via Crucis with perfect precision with Stations that are perfectly conformed, but does so without the attitude of piety and humility, will get nothing out of it. How can I say this? Because in the first case, there is a conversion of heart. In the second case, there is, at best, superstition...and, at worst, cynicism.