6 WAYS TO GAIN PLENARY INDULGENCE FOR THE YEAR OF ST. JOSEPH.
Pope Francis on Tuesday announced a special year dedicated to St. Joseph starting from 8 December 2020 until 8 December 2021, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of St. Joseph as the Patron of the Universal Church, as well as the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady.
The Apostolic Penitentiary also issued a decree granting special indulgences for the duration of the special Year of St. Joseph to celebrate the anniversary and “to perpetuate the entrustment of the whole Church to the powerful patronage of the Custodian of Jesus.”
During this period, the faithful will have the opportunity to commit themselves “with prayer and good works, to obtain, with the help of St. Joseph, head of the heavenly Family of Nazareth, comfort and relief from the serious human and social tribulations that besiege the contemporary world today.”
Condition to gain plenary indulgence
The decree from the apostolic penitentiary offers a plenary indulgence to Catholics who choose to take part in the special year in one of six different ways. In normal conditions, Catholics are obliged to also make a confession, receive the Eucharist, and pray for the pope’s intentions; however, the decree recognizes that some will be unable to do so in line with pandemic social distancing measures.
“In the current context of the health emergency, the gift of the plenary indulgence is particularly extended to the elderly, the sick, those close to death and all those who for legitimate reasons find it impossible to leave their homes,” the decree states, suggesting such persons can obtain the indulgence by having an intention to fulfill the requirements “as soon as its possible.”
Apostolic Decree
The six ways Catholics can gain plenary indulgences during the year are:
1. Meditating for at least 30 minutes on the Our Father prayer/or at least 1-day Spiritual retreat which includes a meditation on St. Joseph;
- The plenary indulgence is granted to those who will 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. “St. Joseph, an authentic man of faith, invites us”, the decree reads, “to rediscover our filial relationship with the Father, to renew fidelity to prayer, to listen and correspond with profound discernment to God’s will.”
2. Undertaking a work of spiritual or corporal mercy in the example of Joseph, who is called a “just man” in Matthew’s Gospel;
- The indulgence can also be obtained by those who, following St. Joseph’s example, will perform a spiritual or corporal work of mercy. St. Joseph “encourages us to rediscover the value of silence, prudence and loyalty in carrying out our duties,” the decree notes.
3. Reciting the holy rosary in your family or among engaged couples;
- The recitation of the Holy Rosary in families and among engaged couples is another way of obtaining indulgences, in order that “all Christian families may be stimulated to recreate the same atmosphere of intimate communion, love and prayer that was in the Holy Family.”
4. Entrusting your daily work to the protection of Joseph, or invoking the intercession of Joseph in trying to find employment;
- Everyone who entrusts their daily activity to the protection of St. Joseph, and every faithful who invokes the intercession of St. Joseph so that those seeking work can find dignifying work can also obtain the plenary indulgence. On 1 May 1955, Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph “with the intent that the dignity of work be recognized by all, and that it inspires social life and laws, based on the fair distribution of rights and duties.”
5. Reciting the Litany of St. Joseph, or making another similar prayer, on behalf of persecuted Christians; and,
- The plenary indulgence is also granted to the faithful who will recite the Litany to St. Joseph (for the Latin tradition), or the Akathistos to St. Joseph (for the Byzantine tradition), or any other prayer to St. Joseph proper to the other liturgical traditions, for the persecuted Church ad intra and ad extra, and for the relief of all Christians suffering all forms of persecution. Because, the decree notes, “the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt shows us that God is there where man is in danger, where man suffers, where he runs away, where he experiences rejection and abandonment.”
6. Making an act of piety in honor of Joseph on the 19th of the month or on Wednesday, the day traditionally dedicated to the saint’s memory.
SPANISH SOURCE: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/tribunals/apost_penit/documents/rc_trib_appen_pro_20201208_decreto-indulgenze-sangiuseppe_sp.html
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