Meaning of Indulgentiam, Absolutionem, et Remissionem

The Meaning of “INDULGENTIAM, ABSOLUTIONEM, ET REMISSIONEM”

 

Question. Two friends of mine had a discussion about the meaning of the three words in the verse which follows the Confiteor - “Indulgentiam, absolutionem, et remissionem peccatorum nostrorum, tribuat nobis Omnipotens et Misericors Dominus. Amen.” The translation in our Baltimore Catechism is: “May the Almighty and Merciful Lord grant us pardon, absolution, and remission of (all) our sins. Amen.”

 

A. said: Pardon, absolution, and remission are synonyms, and the whole verse simply means: May the Lord forgive us our sins,— which in his opinion would be a more concise and perfect petition.

 

B. said: Yes; the three English words are synonyms, but the three Latin words are not, and hence the translation in our catechism making them all mean the same thing is not correct. Any one of the three English words is a good translation of absolutionem, but they are not correct translations of the first and the last word, indulgentiam and remissionem. The former means God’s mercy, His loving kindness, His tender pity for us, and is implied in the title with which we address Him in the verse “Misericors Dominus.” Remissionem means not freedom from guilt, but from punishment, and is a technical term equivalent to the now more commonly used term—indulgence. The meaning and the free translation, therefore, is: May the Almighty and Merciful God show us mercy, blot out our sins, and remit the punishment awaiting us in purgatory.

 

As the umpire has nothing on the subject in his library to help him settle the debate, he sends it to the Review with a request for a decision.

 

Response. The above-mentioned words in the present form of absolution are rather a vestige of the penitential code used in the early and mediaeval Church. This code distinguished three stages in the work of reconciling the sinner with God through the Church.

 

The first was sacramental absolution (in foro interno), which meant the forgiveness of sin. This is called simply indulgentia. The term can still be recognized in the form of Extreme Unction: “indulgeat tibi Dominus quidquid per auditum . . . deliquisti.”

 

The second step was canonical absolution (from the prescribed outward penitential works). This is called absolutio.

 

The third was reconciliation, a solemn reinstating of the penitent by the communicatio pacis. This is called remissio.

 

A free translation would read something like this: May Almighty God blot out the guilt of our sin, remit the punishment due to it, and restore us to His friendship.

 

(Cfr. Bussdisciplin, Frank, pp. 733, 896-903, and Schmitz, pp. 18 seq. 78, 88 seq.)

 

TAKEN FROM THE AMERICAN ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW, VOL. 19, 1898.