“With my wedding, I have made the angels laugh and the devils weep.” M. Luther
For all his early life, Martin Luther knew that priests and nuns were not allowed to marry. After all, the vow of chastity was, and is, an important tenet of the Roman Catholic faith. So when Martin chose the path of the priesthood, he knew he was closing the door on the possibility of wife and children, much to the chagrin of his parents.
During the Reformation, as the Holy Spirit guided Luther to the scriptural truths of salvation by faith, Martin also began reexamining other teachings of the Roman church. He came to realize that many of the doctrines of the Roman Catholic faith had no basis in Scripture at all, but were mere fabrications of popes, church councils, and religious traditions.
Throughout his early career Luther had spoken and written about the blessings of Christian marriage. He emphasized that marriage provided the blessings of companionship, sexual purity, and family life with the gift of children. After seeing that Scripture neither forbade nor commanded clergy to marry, Luther boldly proclaimed that priests and nuns were also eligible for marriage, the same as any of God’s children. Yet, while extolling the virtues and blessings of matrimony, he was convinced that he was not destined for a married life.
Katharina von Bora
However, Luther’s words were taken to heart by many. Priests and nuns all across Germany began to rescind their vows of chastity, and seek out homes and spouses. Twelve such nuns sought Luther’s help and were spirited away from their nunnery, purportedly in herring barrels. Within two years all the women had found suitable matches except for Katharina von Bora. After two suggested matches for Katharina failed, she famously declared that she would marry none except Nikolaus Amsdorf or Dr. Luther himself. She got her way. On the thirteenth of June, 1525, Martin and Katie were united in marriage in a small private ceremony in Wittenburg.
It is assumed that there was little, if any, romantic love between the couple at the time of their marriage; although they had deep respect for each other. However, through their letters of correspondence over the years, it is clearly evident that a deep and lasting love had grown up between them during their 21-year marriage. Katie was indeed a God-sent helpmeet for Martin.
Katie not only made sure the Herr Doktor’s bedding was clean and meals cooked regularly, but she also ran and maintained the Black Cloister, their home, often with thirty or more students and guests staying there. She also planted the crops and fed and cared for the animals on the cloister farm. Katie even had the cloister brewery repaired, and brewed the beer! All these financial and managerial efforts by Katie allowed her husband the time to read, study, write, preach, debate, and expound on the Word of God.
The one area Luther took an especially active role in was the raising of the children. The Luthers were blessed with six children, although two daughters were taken in death early, one at eight months and the other at thirteen years. Even though Martin and his wife were devastated by these losses, they knew that their job was not just preparing their children for this world, but preparing them to meet their Savior God.
When one sees the blessings of family and married life that came unexpectedly and relatively late in Luther’s life, you can see the truth in Proverbs 18:22, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.” Or, as Luther put it, “The greatest gift of grace a man can have is a pious, God-fearing, home-loving wife, whom he can trust with all his goods, body, and life itself, as well as having her as the mother of his children. . . . Katie, you have a good man who loves you. Thank God, and let someone else be empress.”
is a retired teacher. He lives in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.