Final answer:
The indulgence prayer during the morning offering aimed to reduce time in purgatory through a devotional act recognized by the Church. It was part of the medieval Catholic belief system, which was challenged by Martin Luther during the Reformation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The purpose of the indulgence prayer at the time of morning offering was tied to the historic Catholic practice of granting indulgences. Indulgences pertained to the belief that the faithful could reduce or cancel the time their souls would spend in purgatory through certain actions, including prayer, that had been blessed by the Church. The morning indulgence prayer would thus be a devotional act aiming to shorten the time of atonement in purgatory, either for oneself or for the souls of the deceased.
This practice was based on the concept that the Church held a repository of the surplus merits from Jesus and the saints, which could be applied to others through indulgences. The sale of indulgences became controversial and was one of the catalysts for the Reformation. In 1517, Martin Luther challenged the sale of indulgences, emphasizing that acts of love and charity were of higher value. His Theses argued that care should be taken in preaching about indulgences to avoid misleading the faithful into valuing them above genuine good works.