Indulgences that can be obtained on November 2
Conditions:
on that day
- visit to a cemetery,
- prayer for the deceased,
- prayer for the intention of the Holy Father,
- exclusion of any inclination to sin,
- holy communion;
and within this timeframe the sacrament of reconciliation.
2.
Indulgences that are generally obtainable during the week of All Souls from November 1 to 8 related to a visit to the cemetery can this year be obtained on any eight days from October 25 to November 30 at one's own choice. Conditions:
on that day
- visit to the cemetery,
- prayer for the deceased,
- prayer for the intention of the Holy Father,
- exclusion of any inclination to sin,
- holy communion;
and within this timeframe the sacrament of reconciliation.
3.
Those who cannot go to church or the cemetery (due to illness, old age, etc.) can obtain indulgences at home before an image of Christ or the Virgin Mary. Conditions:
- spiritually unite with those who visit the church or cemetery,
- renounce any sin,
- intend to receive the Eucharist, perform confession, and pray for the Holy Father as soon as possible,
- pray for the deceased (using a breviary, rosary, chaplet, or reading Scripture) or perform an act of mercy connected with offering one's difficulties to God.
What are indulgences?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church discusses indulgences in articles 1471 - 1479 and 1498. Article 1471 states that the teaching and practice of indulgences is closely connected with the effects of the sacrament of penance (confession).
An indulgence means that temporal penalties for sins, whose guilt has been forgiven, are pardoned before God; it is a forgiveness that a properly prepared believer obtains under certain conditions through the intervention of the Church, which as the servant of redemption authoritatively dispenses and applies the treasure of Christ's and the saints' satisfaction.
An indulgence is partial or plenary depending on whether it partially or completely frees one from temporal punishment for sins. Indulgences can be applied to the living or the deceased.
Article 1479 then speaks about the application of indulgences to souls in purgatory: Since the faithful departed, who are being purified, are also members of the same communion of saints, we can help them, among other ways, by obtaining indulgences for them, so that they may be freed from the temporal punishments they have deserved for their sins.
