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In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
497 years and 2 days ago (October 31, All Hallows Eve, 1517) a monk and doctor of theology nailed some theses on the door of All Saints Church in the town of Wittenberg. The next day, All Hallows or All Saints Day, was a day of commemorating your loved ones who had died in the faith. Not just commemorating them, but trying to get them so good mojo in the afterlife. That monk went to that church door because in that church was the biggest collection of relics of saints in all of Europe. This is important because All Saints Day was like Christmas for your dead relatives who still owed God goodies. And by paying to view the 19,000some relics—including milk from the blessed Virgin Mary, and straw from the manger, all of it authenticated by churchly authorities—it was thought that you could get all sorts of time off of purgatory for yourself or someone else. If you loved your deceased grandma wouldn’t you make the trip, and pay the price to go do this for granny?