Katharina Von bora was the wife of the German Reformer Martin Luther. She was born somewhere in the 14th century in a place called Hirschfeld. In 1504, she entered into Benedictine cloister at Brehna. She was placed there by her father for the sake of furthering her education. Later, as a teenager she was moved to a Cistercian monastery where her aunt resided. There she eventually became a nun.
She was very unhappy with the monastic life and was interested in the Church reform movement that was happening in Germany. As a result, in 1523 von Bora and a number of her friends eventually contacted Luther and asked for his help in escaping their monastery. This was an extremely dangerous undertaking in the sixteenth century. A person caught abandoning their monastic vows could be tortured and imprisoned for the rest of their lives.
Luther sort a plan and arranged for a merchant who could help smuggle Katharina and her friends out of the monastery on Easter Eve.When they first arrived in Wittenberg, Luther tried convincing the women to return to their families. This proved to be an unworkable solution, since none of their families would have them returned. Aiding and abetting a runaway nun was a violation of Roman Catholic canon law and therefore a grave crime in the sixteenth century.
Due to this reason Luther started finding husbands for the women in accordance to their wishes.Katharina was difficult to find a husband for, since she did not find many of her suitors acceptable. Finally she made it known that she would be willing to marry either Nicholas von Amsdorf -a university colleague of Luther, or Luther himself. After some resistance, Luther finally agreed to marry Katharina in 1525. He was forty-one years old and she was twenty-five.
After Luther and Katharina were married, they moved into the Black Cloister. The Black Cloister was the former Augustinian monastery in which Luther had lived as a monk. The Black Cloister possessed vast holdings of cattle and pigs, as well as a brewery. Katharina took over management of these holdings and worked as a businesswoman of a sort.
Katharina was in every way a Proverbs 31 woman, tender as silk when husband and children needed encouragement and tough as leather when both got out of line.She planted and harvested a large garden annually, and tended and even butchered the family’s livestock. And she helped Martin walk the line, matching him quip-for-quip. No doubt Luther wasn’t an easy man to live with, but Katie was more than up to the task.Beyond her work as an entrepreneur and housewife, Katharina also bore six children to Luther. She also took care of four adopted children. And while her maternal qualities are highlighted, with one child on her lap and another standing nearby, she also appears to be discussing or perhaps even arguing a point with her husband. Katharina is speaking, and Luther is listening. . . . Katharina was not a mere bystander; she was an engaged and devoted partner to Luther and an active participant in the Reformation.
As with all good marriages, the Luthers’ was filled with both difficulties and delights. They buried two daughters—Elizabeth at eight months and Magdalena at 13. Katie was often anxiety-ridden thinking the Reformation’s enemies might eliminate her husband. Along with their six children, their home was perennially filled with guests, from Martin’s students to famous friends such as Philip Melanchthon. She welcome and served them with great hospitality.
She went through lot of struggles in her life and overcame them through her faith and trust in the Lord. At age 53, she died due to a deadly cart accident at the city gates.
Learnings:
1. This women sets a great example and a model of faith to all of us. Her virtues would not have been possible without her faith in the gospel. We must learn from her life to grow more in our faith and trust in the Lord.
2. She knew her priorities well and she managed her roles properly as a wife, mother and an entrepreneur. We must set our priorities right. We must examine how is our priorities listed and is it pleasing our Lord.
3. Her life of marriage was a witness to many. She and Luther wanted to set an example to many. We must pray that our marriage life should also be a witness to many young people in the world.
4. Her hospitality is something we must admire, appreciate and practice. So many tasks to accomplish yet she delightfully and cheerful served God’s people.
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 