Dear Father,
My question is as follows: what is the difference—naturally in terms of the “result” (please excuse the bluntness of the term, but at the moment I cannot think of another)—between a plenary indulgence applied to a soul in Purgatory (for instance, during this Easter season) and having a series of thirty Gregorian Masses offered for the deceased?
With sincere cordiality,
Guido
The Priest’s answer
Dear Guido,
1. Looking at it from the outside, it might seem as though there is no difference at all. In fact, one might suppose that a plenary indulgence offers an infinitely shorter path. However, the difference is profound.
2. First and foremost, because a plenary indulgence is a sacramental, whereas the Holy Mass is a Sacrament.
As the Church teaches, sacramentals derive their efficacy ex opere operantis—that is, depending on the devotion of the subject. Sacraments, on the other hand, have efficacy ex opere operato, which is to say by virtue of the very celebration itself, because the principal celebrant of every Sacrament is Christ Himself. In the Mass, in fact, Christ makes Himself present with the same sacrifice offered on Calvary.
Therefore, an indulgence is a human work; the Holy Mass is a divine work.
3. Secondly, although it might appear that a plenary indulgence is easily obtained—given that the Church applies it to many good deeds—it is nonetheless bound to the total repudiation of sin.
By “total repudiation of sin,” we mean having no attachment whatsoever, not only to mortal sin but even to venial sin. It therefore presupposes a purification of the soul so perfect that it is not easily achieved. While it is simple to repeat the words of the Act of Contrition: “I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin.” Still many latent disordered inclinations remain within us; as soon as the opportunity arises, we immediately fall.
This means that the repudiation, though expressed with a sincere intensity of feeling, often remains conditioned by many predispositions toward venial sin. On a positive note, if one fails to obtain the plenary indulgence, at least a partial indulgence is acquired. Thus, it remains a meritorious good deed for the one who performs it and a benefit for the soul to whom it is offered.
4. The fruit of the Mass, on the other hand, is partially linked in its most significant aspect, but not bound, to our own good dispositions. This is because the celebrant is Christ Himself, who is evidently always well-disposed and whose merit is infinite.
5. Furthermore, it must be remembered that a plenary indulgence draws its fruit from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ—that is, from the Holy Mass, which is the source of every blessing. The Mass origins a benefit extended to all humanity, both the living and the deceased. Its benefit can only be faintly compared to that of the sun. Without the sun, there would be no life. For this reason, Saint Pio of Pietralcina used to say that it would be easier for the earth to exist without the sun than without the benefit of the Mass.
6. Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori writes: “God Himself cannot cause there to be in the world an action more holy or more pleasing to Him than the celebration of a Mass.
All the ancient sacrifices, by which God was honored, were but a shadow and a figure of our sacrifice of the altar.
All the honors that angels and men have ever given to God, or shall ever give Him, by all their prayers, penances, and labors, could never give Him as much glory as one single Mass. For the honors of creatures are finite honors, but the honor given to God in the sacrifice of the altar is an infinite honor, because it is offered by a Victim of infinite value
The Mass is the action which gives to God the greatest honor that can be given Him; it is the work which most effectively defeats the forces of hell, which brings the greatest relief to the souls in purgatory, which most appeases the divine wrath against sinners, and which brings the greatest good to men in this life.
If the Lord has promised that he will grant us all that we ask of him in the name of Jesus — ‘If you ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it to you’ (John xvi. 23) — how much more ought we to hope that he will grant us what we ask of him by offering to him Jesus himself?
This our loving Redeemer is continually interceding for us in heaven; but he does so especially during the time of Mass, in which he presents himself to his Father by the hands of the priest, for the purpose of obtaining graces for us. If we knew that all the saints, together with the divine Mother, were praying for us, what confidence should we not have of obtaining all we desire?
But it is certain that one single prayer of Jesus Christ can do infinitely more than all the prayers of the saints.
As the passion of Christ was sufficient to save the whole world, so a single Mass is sufficient to save it.” (English version by Eugene Grimm (1887) from Dignity and Duties of the Priest; cf. the Italian Sacerdote ascoltami, pp. 162-164).
7. Nor should one overlook the significant almsgiving that accompanies the celebration of Gregorian Masses. It is a personal sacrifice through which one willingly unites oneself more intimately with the infinitely greater sacrifice of Our Lord. Sacred Scripture reminds us that as “Water quenches a flaming fire, and alms atone for sins” (Sir 3:29). Likewise, Saint Peter says that charitable love—and almsgiving is an act of charity—covers a multitude of sins (cf. 1 Pet 4:8). It atones for the sins of the giver and also covers the sins of the one for whom the alms are offered, thereby drawing down manifold graces.
8. Finally, while a plenary indulgence benefits a single individual, the celebration of the Mass—in addition to uniquely benefiting the person for whom it is offered—assists everyone, both the living and the deceased, provided they place no obstacle in its way. Moreover, it is worth remembering that the benefit received by all redounds to the merit and blessing of the one who requested it.
With the hope that you may skillfully invest the great treasures that the Lord has left in our hands, I bless you.
Father Angelo
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