The Jubilee Year 2025 is upon us, and St. Aloysius Church has been designated as a “Jubilee Parish,” a special place of pilgrimage within the Archdiocese of Washington. As explained in a previous article, that means you can obtain an indulgence each time you participate in Holy Mass, Liturgy of the Hours, Stations of the Cross, the Rosary, or a Penance Service at St. Aloysius Church during the Jubilee Year.

Indulgences are a rarely discussed and frequently misunderstood aspect of our faith. Many of us learned in history classes about corrupt priests who sold indulgences during the Middle Ages, so it’s easy to incorrectly imagine that indulgences are a way to “buy” eternal life.

Indulgences are instead a gift of God, offered through the Church, to help us heal the damage caused by sin. When we sin, God forgives us through the sacrament of Reconciliation, but sin still leaves effects that need to be repaired. An indulgence, through merits of Jesus Christ and the saints, removes some or all of the temporary consequences of our sins. This can help us or the souls in Purgatory as we prepare for heaven.

To offer an analogy, imagine that a boy named Henry – who’s old enough to know better – throws a ball in his room and puts a hole in the drywall. Henry apologizes, and Mom and Dad lovingly forgive him, but Henry’s action still has unrepaired consequences: Someone is going to have to pay for materials and repair that wall. We wouldn’t be surprised, then, if Henry’s parents gave him an appropriate punishment or asked him to help fix it.

Similarly, our sins have consequences, even after we’re forgiven. God restores us to his friendship in Confession, removing the “eternal punishment” of any serious sin, but lesser effects of sin often remain. Traditional Catholic theology refers to these as the “temporal punishments” of sin (CCC 1472-1473). We cannot enter the glory of heaven until all the negative consequences of sin within us are healed, either through sanctification in this life or through the purification of Purgatory (CCC 1030-1032).

Now let’s return to Henry’s story – It’s a beautiful day, but Henry can’t go outside until he helps his Dad fix the bedroom wall. Dad has paid for the supplies – because Henry can’t afford them – but Henry must help patch, spackle, and paint the wall, which could take a while. Seeing Henry’s disappointment, Henry’s sister Mary generously asks what she can do to help Henry finish the project more quickly and play outside.

In a similar way, indulgences allow us to help repair the effects of sin—either our sins or those of the faithful departed—by doing specific works, like visiting a pilgrimage site or praying a family Rosary. These actions draw from the spiritual treasury of Christ and the saints, through the Church, to heal the temporal consequences of sin. To receive an indulgence, we must also go to Confession, receive Communion, and pray for the Pope’s intentions. Indulgences can be partial, removing part of the punishment, or plenary, removing all of it. They do not forgive sins—that happens in Confession—but they help us grow in holiness and heal what sin has damaged.

As we approach the Jubilee Year 2025, don’t miss the opportunity to obtain indulgences for our faithfully departed brothers and sisters in Purgatory. This year we have the opportunity to receive indulgences for visiting our own parish Church, which we should be doing every Sunday anyway!