©2017 Victor R. Claveau, MJ
The Church’s doctrine on indulgences is a legitimate outgrowth of Jewish belief in an afterlife and an individual’s final judgement before the throne of God. Orthodox Jewish belief is that the final judgement is but the culmination of a series of annual judgements, which take place on Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement), the most important day in the Jewish liturgical year. Ten Days of Penitence also called the “Days of Awe” or the “High Holy Days” preceded the Day of Atonement. These Days of Awe are the first ten days of the month of Tishri, from Rosh Ha-Shanah, literally meaning “head of the year,” to Yom Kippur.
According to ancient belief, God keeps a record book of our actions, both good and evil. It is during the High Holy Days that God determines who shall live and who shall die in the coming year. During these first days of the New Year that God opens the book and writes therein the names of those who will live through the coming year. The central theme of the Days of Awe is repentance, or teshuvah, literally meaning “returning to one’s self.” The preceding Hebrew month of Elul is set aside as a time for reflection and soul-searching in order that the Days of Awe might be entered into with the proper spirit.
According to Jewish tradition, there are conditions necessary for teshuvah–regret for past negative behavior, willingness to confess sins before God and a resolve to amend wicked behavior. In the words of the Psalmist, “depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it” (Ps. 34:30). The opportunity to repent extends until the end of the tenth Holy Day, the Day of Atonement, when Jews fast as a sign of contrition. Jews will visit the graves of their loved ones just prior to the Days of Awe in the belief that the deceased can intercede in heaven on behalf of the living. This stems from the belief that the patriarchs had stored up an excess of merit for themselves and that the surplus could be transferred for the benefit of the living. These concepts are analogous to the Catholic belief in the Communion of Saints and the Treasury of Merit in Catholic theology. It is through the application of the superabundant merits of Christ and the saints that indulgences are granted through the exercise of the power of the keys given to Blessed Peter and Peter’s successors.