So when the devil throws your sins in
your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this:
"I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who
suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ,
Son of God, and where he is there I shall be also!"
--- Martin Luther
Four Hairs from the Head of Mary
There they sat. Relics. Lots of them. There was a cut of fabric from
the swaddling cloth of baby Jesus, 13 pieces from his crib, a strand of
straw from the manger, a piece of gold from a Wise Man, three pieces of
myrrh, a morsel of bread from the Last Supper, a thorn from the crown
Jesus wore when crucified, and, to top it all off, a genuine piece of
stone that Jesus stood on to ascend to the Father's right hand. And in
good Catholic fashion, the blessed Mary was not left out. There sat
three pieces of cloth from her cloak, four from her girdle, four hairs
from her head, and better yet, seven pieces from the veil that was
sprinkled with the blood of Christ. These relics and countless others
(19,000 bones from the saints!), stood ready to be viewed by pious
pilgrims. These relics were the proud collection of Frederick the Wise,
elector of Saxony, Martin Luther's prince. And they sat in the Castle
Church at Wittenberg, prepared and ready for showing on All Saints Day,
November 1, 1517.
But in the midst of this fanfare was the essential ingredient,
namely, the procurement of indulgences. Veneration of these relics would
be accompanied by indulgences reducing time in purgatory by 1,902,202
years and 270 days. An indulgence, the full or partial remission of
punishment for sins, was drawn from the Treasury of Merit, which was
accumulated not only by the meritorious work of Christ but also by the
superabundant merit of the saints. Keep Reading >>>
