What indulgences have you received before?
It’s possible for Catholics to receive an indulgence by reading the Bible!
The Enchiridion of Indulgences explains that there are in fact two types of indulgences the faithful can receive for reading the Bible: a partial indulgence and a plenary indulgence.
If you read Sacred Scripture with proper veneration for the Divine Word, you may receive a partial indulgence.
“A partial indulgence is granted to those who read from Sacred Scripture with the veneration which the divine word is due.”
However, if you extend the length of your reading to at least 30 minutes, you may receive a plenary indulgence!
“A PLENARY INDULGENCE is granted to those who read for at least one half an hour.”
Are there any other requirements for being granted an indulgence by the Church? Most definitely. Indulgences cannot be gained by the sheer acts alone listed above, or by saying prayers as if they were magic spells.
The granting of indulgences are predicated on the internal disposition of the person and by meeting the three prerequisites: Sacramental Confession, Holy Communion, and Prayer for the Intentions of the Pope. All must be performed within days of each other if not at the same time. Additionally, one must be free from all attachment to sin. What does that mean? Freedom from attachment to sin does not mean freedom from all sin – that would be impossible. Rather, it means there must be no sin the soul is not willing to renounce, possibly the most difficult requirement.
“An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints” – Catechism of the Catholic Church 1471
If any of the above four conditions aren’t meant, you can still receive a partial indulgence – a partial remission of the temporal punishment associated with sin.
“An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin.” – CCC 1471
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