Enchiridion · Grant 30 §2
Listen to Scripture when unable to read
A person reasonably unable to read may listen to an approved Scriptural text read by another person or through audio or video. The same half-hour threshold applies.
Time required At least 30 minutes for plenary; a shorter time for partial.
- When
- Any day
- Where
- Any suitable place
- Who
- Those who for a reasonable cause cannot read Sacred Scripture
- Application
- Self or the departed
The prescribed work
- A reasonable cause must prevent reading.
- Listen to the Scriptural text itself, using an approved text, as spiritual reading and with reverence.
- At least 30 minutes qualifies for the plenary grant; a shorter time for the partial grant.
The work and its conditions
A plenary indulgence also requires complete detachment from every sin, sacramental confession, Holy Communion, and prayer for the Pope’s intentions, subject to the grant’s stated exceptions. The ordinary limit is one plenary indulgence per day.
Conditions common to every indulgence
The person gaining an indulgence must be baptized, not excommunicated, and in the state of grace at least when the prescribed works are completed. There must be at least a general intention to gain indulgences, and the prescribed work must be performed at the time and in the manner required by the grant.
Read the full conditions and norms. The cited grant and its specific provisions govern.
Time required
Read each branch with its own conditions. An editorial estimate is not a prescribed minimum.
Plenary: spiritual listening
Prescribed minimum
At least 30 minutes
Prescribed minimum: 30 minutes.
Thirty minutes is an actual legal minimum, not an editorial estimate. Use an approved Scriptural text with the required reverence; the listening route also requires a reasonable cause that prevents reading.
Partial: shorter spiritual listening
Duration varies
Less than 30 minutes; no fixed lower limit is stated
The grant expressly allows a partial indulgence for a shorter time. It does not prescribe a numerical lower minimum; the required spiritual and reverent character still applies.
What the time estimate excludes
- Ordinary travel to and from the venue, and waiting outside the prescribed work
- Preparation and the ordinary conditions for a plenary indulgence, unless they are themselves part of the prescribed work
Source and exact reference
Prayer texts and grants have separate source histories. Consult the grant source for the prescribed work, occasion, and conditions.