Page:TheManualOfIndulgences.djvu/33

Rh indulgence of striving to stir up in their hearts a sincere sorrow, not only for mortal sins, whereof the guilt has already been remitted, but even for each and very venial sin.

Before bringing this introduction to a close, it will be useful to draw attention to the following points:—

I. The Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, March 7, 1678, expressly declared that “a plenary indulgence granted for visiting a church on any given day, as also for the performance of some particular good work, can be gained only once on any one day.” From this general rule is excepted the indulgence granted on the 2nd day of August, and generally known as the indulgence of the Portiuncula, which can be gained many times on the same day. What is asserted in this decree is, that the same plenary indulgence cannot be gained several times on the same day; for there is no doubt that several plenary indulgences can be gained on one and the same day, provided they be granted for several distinct practices of piety. This holds both for indulgences granted on the occasion of great feasts in the Church, and for those which any pious person may wish to gain, on any given day, by certain practices of piety to which indulgences have been attached.

The same Congregation decided, Feb. 16, 1852, that, “when a plenary indulgence is granted for any day in the year, on condition of visiting some particular church or public oratory, it is to be understood that such an indulgence cannot be gained more than once a year by any