Plenary Indulgences

Fr. Z's blog tells me: " A plenary indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful who in any Friday in the season of Lent piously recite the prayer "En ego, o bone et dulcissime Iesu", before an image of the Crucified Jesus Christ after communion; … (Reference: Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, 4th edition, al. concessiones.)" Cool! An indulgence! What is it? The Catholic Encyclopedia says "An indulgence is the extra-sacramental remission of the temporal punishment due, in God's justice, to sin that has been forgiven, which remission is granted by the Church in the exercise of the power of the keys, through the application of the superabundant merits of Christ and of the saints, and for some just and reasonable motive." KEY FACTOR - "It is not the forgiveness of the guilt of sin; it supposes that the sin has already been forgiven." It does NOT take the place of confession.