Letter writing has become a lost art. In this text-crazed world, few take time anymore to write without abbreviations, attend to proper grammar or care about punctuation.
Henrich (Henry) Bullinger (1504-1575) was a prodigious letter writer. Twelve thousand letters survive that he either sent or received. Henry took time off from pastoring a church in Switzerland to find a wife. He became interested in a nun, Anna Adlischweiter, who had been placed in a convent after her dad died and her mother couldn’t care for her. When Anna’s mom became ill, she came to live with Anna in the convent. The influence of the Reformation had emptied out the convent, so only Anna and her mom remained. Henry sent Anna a formal, businesslike marriage proposal in letter form. He listed the advantages and disadvantages of single life and did the same with married life. He ended his lengthy letter, “The sum of it all is, the greatest, surest treasure you will find in me, is fear of God, piety, fidelity and love, which with joy I will show you labor, earnestness and industry, which will not be wanting in temporal things.” Not quite a sizzling love letter, but Anna accepted the proposal. It was customary to marry two weeks after the engagement, but Anna’s mother insisted her daughter stay by her side. Her mom preferred Anna find a rich man to marry. Anna said it would be Henry or nobody. Her mom countered it would have to be nobody.
When Anna’s mother died two years later, Henry and Anna promptly married. They had six sons, five daughters. and adopted two orphans. Henry’s parents lived with them as did a widow and her children. Protestant refugees from all other Europe also took up lodging with them. Their marriage was an intimate union until the plague cut short Anna’s life.
Henry’s prayer leads us to center our day in praise and gratitude: