Is it true that indulgences are like brownie points in heaven?  Do we still believe in them?

Just Curious.

I don’t think “brownie points in heaven” does justice to the theology of indulgences, and yes, we still believe in them.  Just read section 1471-1479  in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  It is not enough to be saved.  One must be saved and redeemed.

What, pray tell, is the difference?

If I am driving down a dark road unaware that the bridge is out and that I am about to plummet over a cliff into a swollen river, and someone is standing on the road waving a red flag shouting that the bridge is out, that person has saved me even though until I saw him I had no idea I even needed saving.

Still, I've got a problem.  How do I get over the river?

If the fellow who just saved me gets into the car and directs me to a safe crossing, he who was my savior has now become my redeemer.  He restores me to my original purpose.  To save has an obvious meaning.  It is to pluck someone from imminent danger.

To redeem is bit more complicated. It is a Latin word that means to "buy back" and in Greek it is lytrosis, and in Hebrew, goel.  They all mean the same thing.  When a person in the ancient world was sold into slavery, if his family could find him, and if they had the means to do it,  they went and bought him back and restored him to his rightful place in the family.

We were meant to be the sons and daughters of God, princes and princesses of the Kingdom seated with God in heavenly places.  Instead we are slaves, covered in filth and rages and sometimes so far removed from home that we have forgotten who we are.  Jesus saves us.  He snatches us from imminent danger, but still, we need to be washed and clothed in royal robes and restored to our rightful position.  This takes time. 

There is a temporal punishment that is a process of restoration that must take place in our life, because our slavery was voluntary.  Fools that we were we chose slavery to sin instead of freedom with the Lord!  This punishment, however, is not eternal.  It is more of a reconstructive discipline, a time of conversion and repentance.  My spirit is right with God, but the rest of me has to do some catching up.

In the early church, long public penances were prescribed as antidotes for the sickness that sin causes in our lives.  As the church grew, the public penances were often commuted to prayers and good works.  Mother church was, in effect, being “indulgent” to her wayward children.  The treasure of faith and grace and the wonderful example of the saints and the Lord were of use in this process of redemption, just as in a family, the older children can help the younger. 

So, when you read the catechism, remember that we are in a wonder family of faith and our older siblings, and especially our dear mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, want nothing more than to help us in the process of redemption.  This, I think, is a helpful way to understand indulgences.

Rev. Know-It-All