What are some things we can do to shorten or wipe out a poor soul's purgatory time?
Go to Mass.
Say prayers.
Do good works.
Practice almsgiving (giving away money to help others).
Offer up our sufferings.
What three things can you do to gain a partial indulgence for a soul?
Fulfill your duties in your state in life (do what you are supposed to do!)
Acts of charity.
Acts of mortification (denying yourself of something like dessert or entertainment).
An Indulgence is the lessening or complete removal of the suffering in purgatory.
How do you gain a plenary indulgence and thereby completely release a soul from purgatory?
1. Go to Confession within a reasonable period of time (2-3 weeks) of the day of the indulgence
2. Receive Communion on the day of the indulgence
3. Pray for the Holy Father’s intentions
4. Be detached from sin
5. One of these: pray the Rosary in a group or before the Eucharist, walk the Stations of the Cross, or spend 30 minutes in Adoration or reading and meditating on Scripture
Amazingly, if you do these things, it is possible for you to free a soul from purgatory every day!