penitential canons of the Church. Plenary indulgences, or indulgences in the form of Jubilee, are, in their effect, one and the same thing; the only difference being, that, when the indulgences are granted in the form of Jubilee, confessors have power of jurisdiction conferred on them to absolve from reserved cases, to dispense from or commute certain simple vows, etc. By these indulgences is remitted all the temporal punishment which we owe to God for our sins, even after they have been pardoned; so that, according to the teaching of theologians, if we were to die immediately after gaining a plenary indulgence, we should go straight to heaven. The same may be said of the holy souls in purgatory, whenever we gain for them a plenary indulgence applicable to them, provided the divine justice deign to accept it in their behalf.
From this we may easily gather, devout reader, how highly we ought to prize indulgences, how great is their value and efficacy, and how great a spiritual benefit they are to Christian souls. The Council of Trent says that “the use of indulgences is in the highest degree wholesome to Christian people.” Every Christian, therefore, should strive, with holy eagerness, to gain as many indulgences as possible, both for his own spiritual good, and for the relief of the faithful departed.
However, to gain any indulgence, many things are required. First, it is necessary to be in a state of grace; that is, the soul must be free from sin; because the soul that is loaded with the guilt of sin in the sight of God, and with the debt of
