Question:
Answer:
In contrast to classic Protestant theology, our reception of holiness is not a mere legal or forensic exercise in which the eternal punishment of our sins is taken away, but we remain totally depraved, unchanged in our immortal souls.
Rather, the Church teaches—in line with Scripture—that we are transformed by God’s grace and equipped for good works, beginning in baptism, which St. Paul reminds us is “the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Thus, the righteousness of Christ is not simply imputed or declared regarding our fundamentally unchanged selves; rather, Christ’s righteousness renews and transforms us.
Consequently, we see that holiness is at first a free gift from God, although we have to be receptive to it or our parents on our behalf if we are below the age of reason. In addition, holiness is also increased through our free-will cooperation with God’s grace (Rom 2:6-7; John 15:1-5).
Reception of indulgences, whether plenary or partial, also requires our cooperation with God’s grace, including repentance, the absolution of our sins in Confession and the reception of Holy Communion, which foster our holiness. So we see that, as with Baptism, receiving an indulgence is never merely a legal or forensic declaration without an accompanying transformation of the human person receiving it, and we need to cooperate with God’s grace to receive his merciful remission of the temporal punishment due our sins, whether plenary or partial.