Portal:Sacred Congregation of Indulgences and Holy Relics

“ Come, let us adore the Eternal Father, saying a Pater, Ave, and Gloria Patri, and then,
I adore Thee, Father everlasting, in union with all the heavenly host, my Lord and my God; rendering Thee never-ending praises on the part of Mary, Virgin most holy, Thy well-beloved daughter, for every grace and favour Thou hast granted her, and above all, for the great power with which Thou didst exalt her in her Assumption into heaven. ”

“ Mary is the name of her who is at once our tender Mother, our loving Mediatrix, the Stewardess of God's graces, the Queen of the Universe, and Mother of God. This name has many mystic meanings—as, Star of the Sea, light of the World, Princess; titles of glory to her, and of consolation to us. The name of Mary, then, ought to he ever in our hearts and often on our lips during life, and specially at the moment of our death. ”

“ Ut videntes Jesum,
Semper collætemur.
Preserve our lives unstained with ill,
In this infectious way;
That heaven alone our souls may fill,
With joys that ne'er decay.
Sit laus Deo Patri,
Summo Christo decus,
Spiritui Sancto,
Tribus honor unus. Amen.
To God the Father, endless praise;
To God the Son, the same;
And Holy Ghost, whose equal rays,
One equal glory claim. Amen.
His Holiness, Leo XIII,, by a rescript of the S. Congr. of Indulgences, January 27, 1 888, granted to the faithful who shall recite the above hymn
An indulgence of three hundred days, once a day. ”

“ Holy Mary, All ye holy men and women, saints of God, intercede for us to our Lord, that we may be made worthy to receive help and salvation at His hands. Amen.
TO THE MOST BLESSED VIRGIN.
I acknowledge thee, most holy Virgin, Queen of Heaven, Lady and Mistress of the Universe, Daughter of the Eternal Father, Mother of His well-beloved Son, most loving Spouse of His most Holy Spirit; and in these names I worship thee. ”

“ Heart of Mary, Mother of God, our Mother, Heart most amiable, Delight of the ever Adorable Trinity, worthy of all the veneration and tenderness of angels and of man; Heart most like the Heart of Jesus, whose most perfect image thou art; Heart full of goodness, ever compassionate towards our miseries,—vouchsafe to thaw our icy hearts, and change them to the likeness of the Heart of Jesus. ”

“ My God, had I a thousand hearts, I'd love Thee with them all.
2. Would that all hearts of all men loved Thee.
3. Glad would I be that there were many worlds, that all might love Thee.
4. Blest would he be who could love Thee with all the hearts of all possible creatures.
5. To be so loved, my God, is Thy just meed.
6. Too poor a heart have I, too cold, to love Thee.
7. O ye cold hearts of men, why love ye not your Good?
8. O ye blind wretched worldlings, why know ye not your Love? ”

“ Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we Thy faithful people, who rejoice in the name and protection of the most holy Virgin Mary, may by her loving intercession be delivered from all evils here on earth, and be made worthy to attain eternal glory in the life to come. ”

“ Who can tell how much in this present life the Divine Justice may exact in payment of the debt he owes to God, or whether his penances have gained for him the entire, or only the partial, remittance at God's hands of that temporal penalty which he has to undergo; and who, in the life to come, when he can only satisfy by burning fire, will not think that a fearful mode of payment?—a payment, too, which will be exacted of him to the last farthing. ”

“ Mary most holy, offer to the Eternal Father the most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ for my poor soul, for the holy souls in purgatory, for the wants of Holy Church, for the conversion of sinners, for all the world. ”

“ Guilt, together with the eternal penalty of sin, is entirely remitted to us by means of the infinite merits of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of Penance, provided only that we approach that Sacrament with fitting dispositions. On the other hand, as regards the temporal penalty of sin, inasmuch as it is not commonly wholly remitted to us by this Sacrament, very much remains to be discharged, either in this life by means of good works or penance, or else in the next life by means of the fire of Purgatory. But what man is he that can penetrate into the deepest and most hidden judgments of God? ”

“ My God, because Thou art almighty, infinitely good, and full of pity, I hope that by the merits of the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ our Saviour Thou wilt grant me eternal life, which Thou, the faithful God, hast promised to all those who shall do the works of a good Christian, as I purpose to do by Thy holy help. ”

“ No apology is required for presenting to all the faithful who speak the English language a book of prayers which has the highest sanction of the Church, and the use of which is not only authorised, but privileged in the highest degree, so as to entitle it to be called emphatically "The Church Prayer-Book of Private Devotion," as the Missal and the Breviary are her books of Public devotion. To a Catholic such a book speaks for itself, as the Church has given her formal approval of the pious practices and devotions contained in it by the privileges she has so abundantly accorded to them. ”

“ Loosen, O Lord, we pray Thee, in Thy pity, the bonds of our sins, and by the intercession of the blessed Mary, ever Virgin Mother of God, the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and all saints, keep us thy servants and our abodes in all holiness ; cleanse us, our relations, kinsfolk, and acquaintances, from all stain of sin; adorn us with all virtue; grant to us peace and health ; drive far off all our enemies visible and invisible ; bridle our appetites ; grant us healthful seasons; show forth Thy love towards our friends and; our enemies ”

“ Deign, Mother and Lady most tender-hearted, to accept this wretched heart of mine, my memory, my will, and all my other powers and senses, internal and external; accept my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my hands, my feet; govern them all in conformity to the good pleasure of thy Son, that every movement of these my members may give thee infinite glory. ”

“ We offer to the Most Holy Trinity the merits of Jesus Christ, in thanksgiving for His unspeakable charity, by which He descended from heaven to earth to take upon Himself our flesh, and in It to suffer and die upon the cross; and by His merits we beseech the Divine Majesty to bring our souls to the glory of heaven after our death. ”

“ In the Second glorious Mystery we meditate how Jesus Christ, the fortieth day from His Resurrection, ascended into heaven with great pomp and triumph, before the face of His most holy Mother and His disciples. ”

“ O God, who hast prepared all good things for them that love Thee; pour into our hearts such a desire of Thy love, that we, loving Thee in all and above all, may finally attain Thy heavenly promises, which exceed all that we can desire. ”

“ Behold me now, then, then, willing my salvation: in thy hands I place it; to thee I here consign my soul. I will to be of those who are thy special servants ; cast me not, then, away. Thou goest up and down seeking the wretched, to console them. ”

“ By all such Indulgences, all the temporal penalty is remitted to us which we owe to God for all those sins for which, though pardoned, we were still debtors, so that theologians teach us, that were we to die immediately after gaining worthily a Plenary Indulgence, we should go straight to heaven. ”

“ God grant us of His holy grace that such dispositions be found in all those Christians who are desirous of gaining these Indulgences; and grant us likewise to remember, that whilst we do our utmost to gain them, we ought always, notwithstanding, to endeavour at the same time to do worthy fruits of penance, and by means of other wholesome penal works, as well as works of mercy and devotion, pay to the Divine justice some satisfaction for the misdeeds we have done. ”

“ Be thou the road leading to Jesus; be thou the channel whereby we receive all graces needful for our salvation. Be thou our help in need, our comfort in trouble, our strength in temptation, our refuge in persecution, our aid in dangers ”

“ To gain an Indulgence, many conditions are requisite. First, it is requisite that we should be in a state of grace, that is, living in the grace of God; for whosoever before God is in his guilt of unremitted sin, and liable to its eternal penalty, is not, and cannot be, whilst continuing in that state, in a capacity to receive the remission of the temporal penalty. ”

“ Give me, I beseech Thee, heavenly craft to draw sinners from perdition, constancy to strengthen them in good, zeal to lead them on to perfection; give me, too, judgment in my decisions, uprightness in my advice, light in what is dark, sagacity in what is perplexed, success in what is difficult. Let me not waste time in useless conversations, and let me not be soiled by base. Enable me to save the souls of others and not lose my own. ”

“ Blessed for ever, then, and praised be the most merciful and tender Heart of our Divine Redeemer, Jesus Christ He from its very origin imparted to His Holy Catholic Church the power to grant to us, and to us the capability to receive, a portion of this treasure of Holy Indulgences, by means of which we are enabled with lightest burden to ourselves to pay to the justice of God even to the last farthing all we owe Him of temporal penalty after the eternal penalty of sin and its guilt have been remitted. ”

“ I most firmly believe, because God, who is the infallible Truth, hath so revealed to the Holy Catholic Church, and through the Church to us, that there is one only God in three divine Persons, equal and distinct, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ”

“ He was open-handed to the poor, most devout to the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, which he used to visit every day wherever it was exposed for the Forty Hours. Nor was he less devoted to the holy souls in purgatory, by whose intercession he had often obtained great graces from God throughout the whole course of a life of seventy-seven years and twenty-nine days; for to them and in their behalf he had with heroical charity ceded and given over during his life all the suffrages which should be made for him after his death, which took place February 17, 1845. ”

“ In particular, however, every regular order, every convent, monastery, college, and congregation of religious persons of both sexes, enjoy many other Plenary and Partial Indulgences, of which we do not here undertake to make mention, inasmuch as our object in this Raccolta is to restrict ourselves to the mention of those prayers and pious works enriched with holy Indulgences, which are for the most part universal, and common to every condition of person. ”

“ The Sovereign Pontiffs of Rome, to whom especially has been committed the care of advancing the eternal salvation of the flock of Christ, have granted an almost countless number of Indulgences for the spiritual benefit of Christians, the holy Council of Trent teaching that "the use of Indulgences is most wholesome to Christian people." ”

“ No better advice can, then, be given, than before doing the works enjoined for gaining an Indulgence, if we cannot go to Confession previously, to make at least an act of true contrition, accompanying it with a firm resolution to go to Confession, that by so doing we may regain the grace of God should it happen to have been lost. ”

“ The Plenary Indulgence and remission of all sins to all religious of both sexes, as often as they shall, with the leave of their respective superiors, make for ten days the spiritual exercises, applying themselves during that time to meditation on the four last things, on the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, on the blessings of God, &c., and passing at least two hours each day in mental prayer, and exercising themselves in other practices of virtue, mortification, vocal prayer, or ejaculatory prayer, or the like ”

“ In conceptione tua, Virgo Maria, immaculata fuisti: ora pro nobis Patrem cujus Filium Jesum de Spiritu Sancto conceptum peperisti.
TRANSLATION.
In thy Conception, Mary, thou wast Immaculate. Pray for us to the Eternal Father, whose only-begotten Son Jesus thou didst bear, conceived in thy womb by the Holy Ghost. ”

“ While age on ages flows.
THE SEQUENCE.
Veni Sancte Spiritus, et emitte cælitus lucis tuæ radium.
Veni Pater pauperum, veni dator munerum, veni lumen cordium.
Consolator optime, dulcis hospes animæ, dulce refri gerium.
In labore requies, in æstu temperies, in fletu solatium. O lux beatissima, reple cordis intima tuorum fidelium. Sine tuo numine nihil est in homine, nihil est in noxium.
Lava quod est sordidum, riga quod est aridum, sana quod est saucium.
Flecte quod est rigidum, fove quod est frigidum, rege quod est devium. ”

“ The Plenary Indulgence to every religious man on the day that, after having been canonically promoted to the priesthood, he shall, after Confession, celebrate for the first time Holy Mass; and also the Plenary Indulgence to his fellow religious who shall be present at his first Mass, provided that they have Confessed and Communicated on that day, or, being priests, have celebrated Holy Mass. ”

“ Cases, however, occur, and that not unfrequently, when the said Indulgences are not gained by the faithful, either because the grants of the Indulgences, or the conditions enjoined to be fulfilled, are altogether unknown, or because, in certain little tracts or printed papers hawked about without the approbation of this Holy Congregation (not to speak of those Indulgences which are apocryphal and false) , the conditions are not singly and integrally specified. ”