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The Holy Year of St. Joseph & Plenary Indulgences Connected to It
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You may have heard by now that Pope Francis proclaimed a new holy year – the Year of St. Joseph. This year began On December 8 and will go until December 8, 2021.
When we talk about saints one question that comes to mind is what are they the patron saint of, and there is none greater than St. Joseph, because he is the patron saint of the whole Catholic Church!
In this holy year there is opportunity to obtain plenary indulgences. The norms for any plenary indulgence are required. They are:
1) No attachment to any sin including venial sin
2) Sacramental Confession & Reception of the Eucharist (both of these within 20 days before or after)
3) Prayers for the Holy Father (One Our Father and one Hail Mary suffices).
In addition to those requirements, here are a few of the specific opportunities for obtaining a plenary indulgence in this holy year of St. Joseph.
1) Meditate for at least 30 minutes on the Lord’s Prayer, or take part in a Spiritual Retreat of at least one day that includes a meditation on St. Joseph
2) Perform a spiritual or corporal work of mercy
3) Recitation of the Holy Rosary in families and among engaged couples
4) Recite the Litany to St. Joseph for the persecuted Church and for the relief of all Christians suffering all forms of persecution.
For a complete list, go to this article from the Vatican: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2020-12/apostolic-penitentiary-plenary-indulgence-year-st-joseph.html
If a person is not fully disposed (still has attachment to sin), a partial indulgence may still obtained.
You might be wondering what an indulgence is. “An indulgence is the remission in the eyes of God of the temporal punishment to sins whose culpable element has already been taken away.” (The Handbook of Indulgences)
In other words when we sin there are consequences of our sin (broken relationships, attachment to sin, etc), so even when we are forgiven there are still things that need mending, and that is what temporal punishment is. I can break a window and be forgiven, but the window still needs to be fixed. We work with the grace of Jesus on the mending of temporal punishment through penances we do in our life and also through the gift of indulgences.
St. Joseph, pray for us! God Bless. – Fr. Seth
