What Does “Indulgence” Mean in the Bible?
A gift of the Church that takes away the punishment still left for sins that have already been forgiven.
It can mean
- What it takes away: it does not take away the sin: that is forgiven in confession. It takes away the “temporal punishment,” what still needs to be purified.
- Where it comes from: Jesus gave Peter the power to “bind and loose.” With it, the Church opens the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints.
- For the dead: you can gain an indulgence and offer it for someone who has died.
Today
To gain one, you must be well disposed and do what the Church asks. For example, works of piety, penance or charity.
Where it appears in the Bible
Matthew 16:19
What the Bible says
Matthew 16:19
And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.
Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.
Source: Catechism 1471-1473, 1478 and 1479; Compendium of the Catechism 312