Why the Jubilee indulgence?
Historical reflection on the phenomenon of indulgences shows how the Church has acquired an ever clearer awareness of a basic conviction: in the spiritual realm “everything belongs to everyone”. In this perspective (certainly the most fruitful for a catechetical and pastoral presentation of the historical theme), the witness and intercession of the martyrs and confessors of the faith, as well as the prayers and good works of the faithful can be seen as genuine “sources of indulgence”, because they add to that treasury of holiness ness from which the Church draws in order to grant the indulgence itself. In fact, the believer’s faith journey and his various experiences of grace can never be considered a private possession. Among the faithful, John Paul II explains, there is established “a marvellous exchange of gifts…. There are people who leave in their wake a surfeit of love, of suffering borne well, of purity and truth, which involves and sustains others. This is the reality of ‘vic
