Father Antônio Vieira was a speaker, philosopher, writer and one of the missionaries sent to catechize the Indians (conversion to the Catholic religion) in the conquest of Brazil, in the 17th century.
Along with Father Manuel da Nóbrega, he was a defender of the indigenous and Jews, taking a stand against slavery and the inquisition.
Biography
Son of Cristóvão Vieira Ravasco and Maria de Azevedo, Antônio Vieira, firstborn of four brothers, was born on January 6, 1608 in Lisbon, Portugal.
In 1614, at just 6 years old, he moved with his family to Brazil, since his father had been entrusted with the position of clerk in Salvador, Bahia.
He stood out with his brilliance at the Colégio dos Jesuítas in Salvador and there awoke his religious vocation. He studied languages, philosophy, theology, rhetoric and dialectics, becoming one of the most important Portuguese speakers of his time.
He was one of the Jesuits of the Companhia de Jesus (Order of the Jesuits) and in Brazil he worked as a teacher at the Colégio dos Jesuitas, in the city of Olinda. In addition, he witnessed the Dutch invasion of Brazil, starting in 1624.
Around 1640, at the request of King Dom João IV, he returned to Portugal, standing out with his sermons and sermons, which attracted thousands of people.
On the other hand, given his political influence in Portugal, he was threatened with being expelled from the Order of the Jesuits. Thus, Dom João IV named “Preacher Régio”
Still in Europe, he participated in diplomatic missions (Holland, France and Italy) fighting against the inquisition and prejudice against Jews, called “new Christians”.
He returned to Brazil in 1653, in Maranhão, fighting against the settlers’ slave interests. For this reason, the Jesuits were expelled from Maranhão in 1661, returning to Lisbon.
Pursued by the Holy Inquisition, after many interrogations during his time in prison (1665), in Coimbra, Vieira was accused of heresy, however, he was amnestied by the Church in 1668.
In 1681 he returned to Brazil promoting other missions among the Indians. Vieira died in Salvador, on July 18, 1697, at the age of 89.
Works by Padre Antônio Vieira
Father Antônio Vieira has a vast literary work ranging from poems, letters, sermons and novels.
He was responsible for the development of baroque prose in Portugal and Brazil. He wrote in conceptist style, about 200 sermons of which stand out:
- Sermon for the Good Success of the Arms of Portugal Against those of the Netherlands (1640)
- Sermon of the Good Years (1642)
- Sermon on the Mandate (1645)
- St. Anthony’s Sermon to the Fish (1654)
- Sermon of Quinta Dominga da Lent (1654)
- Sermon on the Sixtieth (1655)
- Sermon of the Good Thief (1655)
Sermon of the Sixtieth
This is undoubtedly one of the most famous of his sermons, divided into 10 parts and written in the Baroque conceptist fashion, in which there is the privilege of the game of ideas.
The theme of the text revolves around the importance of preaching the word of God, used by him in the metaphorical sense of “sowing” which, in turn, must be felt so that it is not an empty content.
Below are excerpts from his work:
” Ecceexiit qui seminat, seminare. Christ says that “the evangelical preacher went out to sow” the divine word. It looks like this text from God’s books. Not only does it mention sowing, but it also makes a case for leaving: Exiit, because on the day of the harvest we will have to measure the sowing and we will have to count the steps. The World, to those who work with it, neither satisfies what you spend, nor pays you for what you walk. God is not like that. For those who plow with God until they leave, it is sowing, because they also reap fruit from the past. Among the sowers of the Gospel there are some who go out to sow, there are others who sow without going out. Those who go out to sow are those who go to preach to India, China, Japan; those who sow without leaving are those who are content with preaching in the Fatherland. Everyone will have their reason, but everything has its account. Those who have the harvest at home will pay for sowing;to those who seek the harvest so far, they will measure their sowing and count their steps. Ah Day of Judgment! Ah preachers! Those here will find you with more peace; those from there, with more steps: Exiit seminare. ”
“Doing little for the word of God in the world can come from one of three principles: either from the preacher, or from the listener, or from God. For a soul to convert through a sermon, there must be three contests: the preacher must compete with the doctrine, persuading; the listener must compete with the understanding, realizing; God will compete with grace, illuminating. For a man to see himself, three things are needed: eyes, mirror and light. If you have a mirror and you are blind, you cannot see for lack of eyes; if you have a mirror and eyes, and it’s at night, you can’t see it because of the lack of light. Therefore, there is mister light, there is a mirror and there are eyes. What is the conversion of a soul, if not a man enters within himself and sees himself? For this view, eyes are needed, light is needed and a mirror is needed.The preacher competes with the mirror, which is the doctrine; God competes with light, which is grace; man competes with his eyes, which is knowledge. Now it is assumed that the conversion of souls through preaching depends on these three contests: from God, from the preacher and from the listener, which one should we understand is missing? On the part of the listener, or on the part of the preacher, or on the part of God?“
Curiosities
- For the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa, Antônio Vieira was considered the “Emperor of the Portuguese Language”.
- Among the Indians it was called “Paiaçu”, a term that in the Tupi indigenous language means “Great Father”.