ts and satisfactions are its spiritual treasury.

"Superabundant" means more than was necessary. (See explanation of
communion of saints in the "Creed.")

237 Q. What must we do to gain an indulgence?
A. To gain an indulgence we must be in a state of grace and perform the
works enjoined.

"Works"--to visit certain churches or altars; to give alms; to say
certain prayers, etc. For a plenary indulgence it is required in
addition to go to confession and Holy Communion, and to pray for the
intention of our Holy Father the Pope; for this last requirement it is
sufficient to recite one Our Father and one Hail Mary. Now, what does
praying for the intention of the Pope or bishop or anyone else mean? It
does not mean that you are to pray for the Pope himself, but for
whatever he is praying for or wishes you to pray for. For instance, on
one day the Holy Father may be praying for the success of some missions
that he is establishing in pagan lands; on another, he may be praying
that the enemies of the Church may not succeed in their plans against
it; on another, he may be praying for the conversion of some nation, and
so on; whatever he is praying for or wishes you to pray for is called
his intention.

There are three basic ways of gaining a partial indulgence. A partial
indulgence can be gained by: 1) raising one's heart to God amidst the
duties and trials of life and making a pious invocation, even only
mentally; 2) giving of oneself or one's goods to those in need; 3)
voluntarily depriving oneself of something pleasing, in a spirit of
penance.

A partial indulgence is also granted for reciting various well-known
prayers, such as the acts of faith, hope, charity and contrition, and
for performing certain acts of devotion, such as making a Spiritual
Communion.

To gain an indulgence you must also have the intention of gaining it.
There are many prayers that we sometimes say to which indulgences are
attached, and we do not know it. How can we gain them? By making a
general intention every morning while saying our prayers to gain all the
indulgences we can during the day, whether we know them or not. For
example, there is a partial indulgence granted us every time we devoutly
make the Sign of the Cross or devoutly use an article of devotion, such
as a crucifix or scapular, properly blessed by any priest. Many may not
know of these indulgences; but if they have the general intention
mentioned above, they will gain the indulg