Letter to Katie (Luther's wife)
February 10, 1546 (8 days before Luther’s death)
“To the holy lady, full of worries, Mrs. Catherine Luther, doctor, the lady of Zolsdorf, at Wittenberg, my gracious, dear mistress of the house”
“Grace and peace in Christ! Most holy Mrs. Doctor! I thank you very kindly for your great worry which robs you of sleep. Since the date that you started to worry about me, the fire in my quarters, right outside the door of my room, tried to devour me; and yesterday, no doubt because of the strength of your worries, a stone almost fell on my head and nearly squashed me as in a mouse trap. For in our secret chamber [the bathroom or water closet] mortar has been falling down for about two days; we called in some people who merely touched the stone with two fingers and it fell down, The stone was as big as a long pillow and as wide as a large hand; it intended to repay you for your holy worries, had the dear angels not protected me. Now I worry that if you do not stop worrying the earth will finally swallow us up and all the elements will chase us. Is this the way you learned the Catechism and the faith? Pray, and let God worry. You have certainly not been commanded to worry about me or about yourself. ‘Cast your burdens on the Lord, and he will sustain you,’ as is written in Psalm 55:22 and many more passages.
