I think it was on my 27th birthday that I was driving over to my parents’
house for dinner when I saw flashing lights in the rearview mirror of my car. A
police officer pulled me over and asked to see my license. He looked at it, then
looked at me, and said, “You failed to yield the right of way when your turned left
onto this street. You cut off an oncoming vehicle. But I see on your I.D. that today
is your birthday. I don’t write tickets for people on their birthday.” He handed my
license back and drove away.
There is a difference between guilt and punishment. Usually when you are
guilty of something, you get punished. If you are not punished, you presume you
are not guilty. But sometimes you are guilty, even though the punishment is
removed. Parents have to judge punishments all the time. A child has to learn
right from wrong, but sometimes out of love for the child parents may lessen or
remove the punishment. The child is still guilty, but the punishment is gone.
That is one way to understand indulgences in the Catholic Church. We are
guilty of sin before God. We ask God for mercy, to remove the punishment that
our sins deserve. At times the Church invites us to perform certain actions to
atone for our sins or even for the sins of the dead. We do not eliminate our own
punishment; only God can do that. But we can show God that we understand our
offense, and we depend on his mercy.
Pope Benedict XVI has designated this as a Year of Faith in honor of the
50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the 30th
anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Last week our bishop
released a decree on indulgences for our diocese, inviting us to perform certain
actions this year. The actions include taking a course about the council, visiting a
special place of prayer such as our cathedral, participating in a diocesan mass
for the year of faith, and visiting the church where you were baptized. In addition
to an action, people should go to confession and communion, and pray for the
intentions of the pope.
While we think about ways of obtaining God’s mercy, we might want to
offer mercy to others as well. This would be a good year to mend disagreements,
especially within the family. We could also settle debts, return items we borrowed
long ago, and find ways to make peace. These small actions will make us better
persons, strengthen our families, and enliven our communities. Psalm 96
encourages us to proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to the nations. We witness
God’s salvation every day and tell his wondrous deeds to the families of nations.
When we experience indulgence, and when we offer it, we participate in the
wondrous deeds of God.