August 2 THE FORGIVENESS OF ASSISI
From noon on August 1 until midnight on August 2, one can receive the plenary indulgence, also known as "the forgiveness of Assisi", only once.
Required conditions:
1) visit to a parish or Franciscan church and recite of our Father and Creed;
2) sacramental confession;
3) Eucharistic communion;
4) Prayer according to the intentions of the Holy Father;
5) Willingness that excludes all affection for sin.
The conditions referred to in nos. 2, 3 and 4 can also be fulfilled in the days preceding or following the visit of the church. However, it is convenient that communion and prayer for the Holy Father be performed on the day of the visit.
Indulgence can be applied both to the living and in suffrage of the deceased.
HISTORY OF THE PLENARY INDULGENCE OF THE FORGIVENESS OF ASSISI
For his singular love for the Blessed Virgin, St. Francis always took particular care of the little church near Assisi dedicated to S. Maria degli Angeli, also called Porziuncola. Here he took up a permanent residence with his friars in 1209 after returning from Rome, here with Santa Chiara in 1212 he founded the Second Franciscan Order, here he concluded the course of his earthly life on 3 October 1226.
According to tradition, St. Francis obtained the historic Plenary Indulgence (1216) at the same church, which the Supreme Pontiffs confirmed and subsequently extended to the Churches of the Order and to other Churches
From the Franciscan sources (cf FF 33923399)
One night of the year of the Lord 1216, Francis was immersed in prayer and contemplation in the church of the Porziuncola near Assisi, when suddenly a very bright light spread in the church and Francis saw the Christ above the altar and his Holy Mother on his right, surrounded by a multitude of angels. Francis silently worshiped his Lord with his face on the ground!
Then they asked him what he wanted for the salvation of souls. Francis' response was immediate: "Most Holy Father, although I am a miserable sinner, I pray that everyone, repented and confessed, will come to visit this church, grant him ample and generous forgiveness, with a complete remission of all sins" .
“What you ask, O Brother Francis, is great, the Lord said to him, but you are worthy of greater things and you will have more. I therefore welcome your prayer, but on condition that you ask my Vicar on earth, for my part, for this indulgence ”. And Francis immediately presented himself to Pope Honorius III who was in Perugia in those days and told him with candor the vision he had had. The Pope listened to him carefully and after some difficulty gave his approval. Then he said, "For how many years do you want this indulgence?" Francis snapping replied: "Holy Father, I do not ask for years but souls". And happy he went to the door, but the Pontiff called him back: "How, you don't want any documents?". And Francis: “Holy Father, your word is enough for me! If this indulgence is the work of God, He will think of manifesting his work; I don't need any document, this card must be the Most Holy Virgin Mary, Christ the notary and the Angels the witnesses ".
And a few days later together with the Bishops of Umbria, to the people gathered at the Porziuncola, he said in tears: "My brothers, I want to send you all to Heaven!".
USEFUL TEXTS TO PREPARE FOR THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION
From the second letter of St. Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians (5, 1420)
Brothers, because the love of Christ pushes us, to the thought that one died for all and therefore all died. And he died for all, so that those who live no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died and rose for them. So that by now we no longer know anyone according to the flesh; and although we have known Christ according to the flesh, we no longer know him this way. So if one is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are gone, new ones are born. All this, however, comes from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and entrusted us with the ministry of reconciliation. in fact, it was God who reconciled the world to himself in Christ, not attributing their sins to men and entrusting the word of reconciliation to us. We therefore act as ambassadors for Christ, as if God exhorted through us. We beg you in the name of Christ: let yourself be reconciled with God.
From Psalm 103
Bless the Lord, my soul, how blessed is his holy name.
Bless the Lord, my soul, do not forget many of its benefits
He forgives all your faults, heals all your diseases;
save your life from the pit, crown you with grace and mercy.
The Lord acts with justice and with right towards all the oppressed.
He revealed his ways to Moses, his works to the children of Israel.
The Lord is good and pitiful, slow to anger and great in love.
It does not treat us according to our sins, it does not repay us according to our sins.
As heaven is high on earth, so is his mercy on those who fear him;
as it is east from the west, so it removes our sins from us.
As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear him.
Because he knows what we are shaped by, he remembers that we are dust.
As the grass are man's days, like the flower of the field, so he blooms.
The wind hits him and he no longer exists and his place does not recognize him.
But the grace of the Lord has always been, it lasts forever for those who fear him; his justice for the children of his children, for those who keep his covenant and remember to observe his precepts.
The iNDULGENCE
The indulgence that the Church bestows on penitents is the manifestation of that marvelous communion of saints, which, in the only bond of Christ 's charity, mystically unites the most blessed Virgin Mary and the community of the faithful or triumphant in heaven or living in purgatory, or pilgrims on earth.
In fact, the indulgence, which is granted through the Church, diminishes or completely cancels the punishment, from which man is in some way prevented from reaching closer union with God. Therefore the faithful repentant finds effective help in this special form of charity of the Church, in order to be able to lay down the old man and put on the new man, who renews himself in wisdom, according to the image of the one who created him (cf. Col 3,10:XNUMX).
[PAUL VI, Apostolic Letter "Sacrosanta Portiuncolae" of July 14, 1966]
PROFESSION OF FAITH (Apostolic Creed)
I believe in God, Almighty Father,
creator of heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried:
descended into hell;
on the third day he rose from the dead;
went up to heaven,
sits at the right hand of God the Almighty Father:
thence he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the remission of sins,
the resurrection of the flesh,
eternal life. Amen.