By Leslie Ann Aquino
Those who attend Mass online may also receive plenary indulgence, a Catholic priest said.
Father Jerome Secillano of the Nuestra Senora del Perpetuo Socorro Parish in Manila, said this in view of the decree issued by Pope Francis granting indulgences to all suffering from corona virus, health care providers, their family members and all those working like the Samaritan to stem the tide of the virus at their own risk or peril.
The priest said the same indulgence is granted to those who attend masses via Facebook, radio or television; those who recite the Rosary, pray the Way of the Cross, visit the Blessed Sacrament or do Eucharistic Adoration, recite the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy, read the Holy Scriptures for at least half an hour.
The conditions for the reception of the indulgence, Secillano said are the following:
-Recitation of the Creed, the Lord’s prayer and a pious invocation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
-Have the intention to offer this trial in a spirit of faith in God and charity towards our brothers and sisters.
-Have the will to fulfill the usual conditions of sacramental confession, Eucharistic reception or Holy communion and prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father.
Secillano said those who are on the point of death and unable to receive the Anointing of the sick are also granted this Indulgence provided they are duly disposed and have recited a few prayers during their lifetime.
"The use of the crucifix or the cross is recommended for the attainment of this indulgence," he said in a Facebook post.
According to Secillano, “indulgence” is the “remission of temporal punishment due to sin."
"It is not 'forgiveness of sins' but a favor granted by the Church to either wipe away or diminish the temporal punishments we may incur due to our sinfulness," he said.
The Code of Canon Law (Can. 992) and the Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 1471) define an indulgence (full or partial) remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints.”