I did remember why we decided to keep the candy. There were several reasons. For one thing, no one wants it. Everybody else is already trying to give away their left over candy. The Ladies of Charity, the nurses at the hospital, the kid next door, all already have a giant bowls of candy that people who were thinking faster gave them. "Here! Take this candy!" We hear it on the breeze.
Besides, Sister Mary Fiacre loves it. If Sister St. Aloysius and I can keep our mitts off it, Sister St. Fiacre will be rolling in candy for some time to come. I have indulged enough.
This being All Soul's Day, we have the perfect question for the day, a follow up from my ramblings yesterday.
Here's a question for you, Sister: Can I (or anyone else) offer an indulgence that they gained for someone ELSE's benefit? Can I offer it for a friend or relative near death? Or for a soul in Purgatory? I believe one can offer their Indulgences to Jesus or Mary for them to use as they wish (such as for reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart) rather than one's own benefit but can WE also decide or at least ASK that our Indulgences be applied to someone else?
Yes, they can and I'll confess to you that I see no point in racking up indulgences for yourself in the first place. Unlike the Halloween candy, everybody will gladly accept your kind gift of time off of their Purgatory sentence. I feel selfish gaining indulgences for myself, the same way I do when I eat what is now Sister Mary Fiacre's candy stash.
Stash....that's a drug term, isn't it? Why do I know things I don't want to know about?
Where were we?
Keeping indulgences to yourself is all the more selfish when you understand that you can't give them away to other people or even dying people. You can only keep them for yourself or give them to the Souls in Purgatory. How could you keep them to yourself, knowing this? Those people are on fire.
By the way, you can only gain one plenary indulgence per day. You could spend just about all your time keeping yourself out of Purgatory and still be too selfish to become a saint. Ironic.
It's All Soul's Day. Get busy.
One last question, which I am thrilled to answer because it is a big pet peeve of mine:
" no kid has ever been poisoned by Halloween candy, "
Are you sure? Were all those scare stories about poison, pins & needles in the apples, etc., a hoax? Or are you saying that luckily no child has yet died?
That is exactly the case. It is a hoax. No child has even been poisoned. The rare instances of a 'needle in the apple' have happened maybe 8 times since NINETEEN FIFTY NINE. Almost all of those cases were 'the big brother trying to scare the little brother'. No one hands out apples anymore, if they know what's good for them anyhow. People are so gullible and scaredy-catty these days. We didn't even have seat belts in cars when I was a little girl. Not that that is a good thing.....
But this Halloween poisoning nonsense has got to stop so the kids can get back out there and trick or treat and not leave me with a giant bowl of candy that I can't give away, even to the Souls in Purgatory.
11 comments:
If I understood my Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary by deMontfort two years ago, any good graces or indulgences I get are immediately taken by Mary to dispense where she knows God knows it is best. Correct me if I'm wrong. But, I'm all over that, because I love to share and I'd like to share a space in Heaven some day.
When I was a kid, I used to be so disappointed to get candy from a smokers house. My grandparents candy tasted foul if I ate it anywhere outside their smoky realm. So, I ate it in their house if they were doling it out. I was still thankful for it. Anyway, I'd get so excited about my KitKat and bite into it to only have it taste stale, like cigarettes. Yuck. These days, there just aren't as many smokers (not that there aren't any) so kids have a better chance at avoiding that flavor.
Thanks for letting me muse.
When I read that line about not having seat belts as a little girl, it reminded me of being little and being wedged five across in the back seat of our "Rambler." We were in there so tight we didn't need seat belts. We almost needed "the jaws of life" to get us out of there.
I have a question.
I have seen references in a lot of works to spiritual directors. I have read a lot of Aquinas and other doctors of the church and I want build my faith more and work on my areas of imperfection. I love the idea of having a spiritual director to guide me along the right path. How does one go about obtaining one? My priest is such a busy man. I am wondering if you have any advice or if this was just a silly medieval tradition that is no longer continued and I should just stick to the couple minutes in confession.
Thanks for reading this and God bless you for this blog!
Sister,
So when we offer our indulgences for the Souls in Purgatory, we may offer then for a specific person, s
uch as Léon Bloy, or Aunt Dolores? Or must we offer then for everyone there (this is the American in me, I guess, always wanting to be fair and democratic--and I guess a bit of pragmatism is in there, too) hoping that they will get to the soul most worthy of them?
Perhaps I am over thinking this?
In Christ,
La Bibliotecaria Laura
LaBiLaura, at our house we offer stuff up for specific people when we're thinking of them, and everything else goes into the general pool.
Where is that photo taken from? looks like an altar piece but I am curious from where. Thanks.
Sister,
You stated that the souls in Purgatory are burning. If that's so, then what is Hell, aren't they burning as well. Is the difference only that you get to leave one and the other you don't?
It looks like Our Lady of Mt. Carmel! It is lovely.
Monica, I like how you do it in your house... That is usually what we do, too. :)
I don't mean to throw cold water on anybody's hopes, but there is an additional condition if you want to get a plenary indulgence--you have to have "no attachment to sin," not even to venial sins. Most of us can't quite manage that, but it's still worth it to try. You'll get at least a partial indulgence.
Speak for yourself, anonymous! :)
Monica:
Actually, Anonymous is correct. I read a story once about a priest (Padre Pio?) offering Mass for about 350 people. The Mass was supposed to get everyone who attended a Plenary indulgence. During the Mass, it was revealed to the Priest that only himself and ONE WOMAN in attendance were actually receiveing the indulgence. Everyone else still had an attachment to sin or some other reason why they were not granted it. It is VERY difficult to actually receive a Plenary indulgence, although we certainly must keep trying to do so.
I always offer any prospective indulgences up for "the soul most in need" because there are many, many souls in Purgatory who have no one to pray for them.
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