Saint Joseph of Anchieta and the Virgin Mary

São José de Anchieta (d. 1597), padre jesuíta português, ficou conhecido como apóstolo do Brasil. Deixou uma memória indelével não só pela sua atividade missionária, mas também pela aura de santidade e mística que emanava da sua pessoa.

Nascido em La Laguna, nas Ilhas Canárias, em 1534. Após os estudos na Universidade de Coimbra, ingressou na Companhia de Jesus em 1551. Foi enviado muito jovem para o Brasil com o grupo de jesuítas que fundou a missão de São Paulo. Foi ordenado sacerdote em 1566. Com um irmão, fundou a missão do Rio de Janeiro, de onde se desenvolveu a atual metrópole brasileira.

Foi superior da missão de São Vicente e de 1578 a 1586 ocupou toda a organização missionária dos jesuítas no Brasil como superior provincial. Sua atividade também foi frutífera para a conversão dos povos indígenas à fé cristã. Morreu em ‘fama de santidade’ em 1597 em Reritiba ou Iriritiba, local que hoje leva seu nome no atual Estado do Espírito Santo. Foi beatificado em 22 de junho de 1980 por São João Paulo II e canonizado em 3 de abril de 2014 pelo Papa Francisco. Anchieta foi protagonista da história e da cultura do Brasil. Seus escritos e sua produção poética e epistolar constituem de fato os primeiros ensaios da literatura deste grande país.

# Mariology: Key Works and ReflectionsThe most significant works for Mariology include *De Beata Virgine Dei Matre Maria*, a grand poem of 5,786 lines written in dactylic hexameter and pentameter. Three Sapphic odes celebrate the Immaculate Conception of Mary, her Purification, and Jesus’ encounter with her in the Temple. A lengthy composition of 368 verses in medieval meter honors the Assumption. *De beata Virgine*, with its agile and inspired rhythm, conveys profound doctrinal content, making Anchieta the first Jesuit mariologist. His thoughts on Mary do not offer novel theological insights but reveal a soul deeply enamored with the Mother of the Lord, who, upon contemplating her greatness, sanctity, and mission in salvation history, seeks every opportunity to express his love and veneration.## *Beata Virgin Maria, Mother of God*Since your conception brings joy to the entire world, why do I alone feel no delight? Is it because my shameful sins disfigure my heart that, being stained, it suffers from its impurities? Does dirt loathe purity, and darkness hate light? Or is it that virtue always seems difficult to a depraved spirit, that eyes avert from a modest face, and the glory of virginity acts as a torment for the impure?I confess these thoughts, heavy with weight, could drown my corrupted mind in an abyss of sorrow if your mercy did not lift up my torn heart and my forsaken soul find refuge in your maternal womb. For your light drives away darkness. Your immaculate nature purifies mud. Your virtue dissipates every sin. I, unclean, will follow you who are pure. Our hearts will cling to you to be freed from their vices. For who will purify a contaminated seed? (Job 14:4). Who will wash filthy stains in a clear stream?Perhaps your virtue cannot do this, oh most pure Virgin. You who were conceived without original sin! I feel discouraged for having shared in my ancestor’s fall and for having contracted the first sin in my mother’s womb (Ps 50:7). I am completely submerged in an abyss of filthy mud, and my life is corrupted by sins inherited from you. You, oh source of purity, who drive away every crime, will purify my heart with living waters.Happy are those whose hearts are devotedly on fire with love for you!

Happy is he who in the sweet silence of the still night caresses and loves you, meditating on you! Happy is he who stands at the entrance to your virgin hall and diligently watches over your doors. He who meditates with a heart full of love upon the deep mystery of your conception, which is the golden gate to life. Whoever experiences the gentle restlessness of your love and remains chaste in body with a pure soul will find true salvation through the gift of the Lord and receive the fullness of life through you. O love and immense goodness of the Supreme Father! His right hand shaped you as a wonderful work. May heaven praise him who should adorn himself with such great grace, and sing new hymns for him with a pleasant voice. Let the earth praise you, happy because of such a singular gift that generated a good which brings well-being to all others. O highest Father, even my prostrated mind adores you and my love praises you through the conception of the Virgin! O splendor, o wondrous glory of our descendants, the splendor of purity and whiteness of virginity!

The mercy of the Father and the dreams of a virgin

Sweetness of mercy and sweet mercy befit you. Loving pity and kind love. Even if a mother could forget the son she bore in her womb and nourished at her breast (cf. Is 49:15), you, O merciful Father, could forget us, who your wisdom created with your word. That mother would certainly be cruel, but you are sweetness. This mother would not be merciful, but you are supreme mercy. Therefore, O Our Father, restore with your right hand the ruined work that with your right hand you had fashioned from clay. Cruelty has become wild enough and is loose. Anger has drunk enough human blood. At this point, righteous fury has wielded its two-edged sword enough to punish sins.

Now only mercy asks in gentle words that it play its part in the indignant Father’s heart. You finally find that role. And you, source of goodness, lament that we are disturbed by such grave evils. From the Father’s heart flows a calmer pity. Its foliage is bound with olive [peace]. Sweetly you soothe Sister Retribution, who has been angry for so long. And with a mournful voice you totally mitigate her. Looking at the miserable world with maternal eyes, you rejoice in the face of so many centuries of sorrow. Flow, O pure torrent. Flow, medicinal oil, that by your touch the dead earth may come to life again. These are your thoughts, O Virgin. These are the mysteries you meditate upon. This is the food for your spirit when you read that the prophet, whose lips were purified with burning coal (cf. Is 6:6-7), proclaimed with a powerful voice: A virgin shall conceive, intact and without male seed, and her womb shall swell with happiness (cf. Is 7:14). Virgin who even in childbirth maintained her modesty intact and nourished her happy fruit with a virginal breast. Emmanuel will be your glorious name, known on earth and in the celestial halls of heaven.

When these oracles reach your mind, O Virgin, and you begin to meditate in your heart on such a great mystery, your spirit burns with love and longs to know this most wondrous girl. And with a humble voice, you say: “How many centuries will prove the happiness of beholding you, O Virgin, glorious honor of the descendants of Jacob? In what land so blessed will you give birth, O fair one, and be worthy of such a gift of offspring? Which mother will be so happy to carry it in her womb. And soften its lips with the nectar at your breast? Finally, what virtue, beauty, honor, and glory await you, O exalted woman!”You will enclose the Lord in the dwelling place of your closed womb and give birth to His Son without opening your entrails. You will nourish the Word of Life in your virgin bosom, tenderly caring for its blessed members with maternal hands. The Supreme Father desires to prolong my years so that I may see the blessed times of his birth. How happy I would be if I merited to be a servant of such excellent mother, a companion of such Virgin!You will be that virginFrequent sighs delay your speech, O Virgin, and a virginal love stirs your chaste breast. Bending your groans, you allow yourself to be bathed in a rain of tears and fill the heavenly temple with pious supplications. A stream of warm water flows across your face while the just wrath [of God] continues to affect humanity. Why, O compassionate Virgin, do you grieve with such pain? Why do moans tear your soft chest? Please stop oppressing your sweet heart with so many worries. Stop disfiguring your virgin cheeks. Stop marring your true complexion with tears. Tears streaming down do not disfigure your splendid gaze.Behold, the king comes surrounded by peaceful meekness, who will repair the destruction of Jerusalem. Do you not know that great glory awaits you, O Virgin? Do you ignore the great honor due to you? Why do you weep, believing that the girl absent is the one who, without being violated, will clothe the immense God with carnal members? So great honor awaits you, O worthy woman. Only you will be the intact mother of your Father.Open your bed, O fair daughter of Zion. Arrange the fine linen veils of your tabernacle (cf. Is 54:2). Hear the creaking of the celestial doors as they swing open and the joyful resonance of angelic choirs. O chaste garden (cf. Ct 2:12), your groans have already reached the eternal Father’s divine ears. The Consuls, O Zion (cf. Is 52:1), wear their most beautiful robe. Dress yourself, O royal Virgin, in a new fortress so that you may enclose celestial power within your womb when a divine breeze blows across your belly. The Divine Spouse will descend from the heavenly hall to take up residence in his bride’s bed. What a novelty! O my soul, sleep does not close your eyes. You will see a great sign come to pass.Why, O death, do you not kill the Mother?**The Mother’s Lament**Why, Death, do you pierce my bowels with a keen dagger? Why do you cruelly torture the Son, leaving the Mother unharmed? O cruel one, why do you spare me after stealing away My Son? Why does your wrath not turn its weapons against the Mother? You would be merciful to kill us both with a single dart. A single cross would suffice to kill us both after nailing us to it. You are cruel in killing the Son. You are even more cruel in sparing the Mother. It would be better if we both died together. Now turn your final dart upon the Mother. Force her to die, who you make live without Her Son.You curse me! What am I to do? He [God] is indignant with righteous anger. The punishments his wrath meditates are not unmerited. Certainly, if I look at the deeds my hands have done, he has no hope of calming himself. But when I think of the painful death of His Son, a great hope arises from this cruel death. By contemplating this blood, do not look at me with anger. This precious blood does not allow you to be without mercy.I will seek refuge in the deep wounds of the Mother’s heart. This refuge contains that God who is nailed to the cross. Her compassionate entrails, which send rays of light everywhere through open doors, cannot close themselves before me. Even if you hide a part of it, you cannot close all her wounds. Much more has been inflicted on you than you can hide. The very pain of death, which moves anger, will calm it. This blood has the strength of merciful love.Wipe away a little of your sweet tears while gazing at the bloody face of Your Son. Calm yourself with the sad sight of the shed blood: if you are gentle, He will not be harsh with me. But do not forgive me now. One day His Son will forgive me. Instead, hurl bloody weapons against my chest, so that your heart, pierced by so many wounds, may never be torn from mine. For these wounds which I, cruelly, inflicted upon Your Son and which He made with His love. For these wounds I ask you, O pitiable one, to suffer a painful death for the Lord and with the Lord.Thus spoke, O generous Mother, the sacred tongue of the great prophet, when he prophesied the mission of Your Son: before Him burns the clear fire of Your passionate heart, which tolerates no delay. Yet You remain tranquilly happy in warming Your children under Your placid wings, who feed on Your sweet milk. And thus the holy multitude of those who began to cultivate faith will behold the face of the Mother who created them. He will venerate the new splendor of Your face and in the light of faith Your sublime mission will shine forth. And You who gave birth to God in the world, so that with His death He might nullify the unjust rights of unjust death, now You will give birth to Your living Son a holy descent while Your life still awaits the vision of God. Innumerable hosts drawn by true life, and You will be the merciful Mother of these living beings. Thus love and piety will increase in the world. And the glory and honor of the Lord will also increase.## Crowning of the QueenO Queen of Heaven, You already wear the eternal trophy and royal diadem upon Your beautiful hair. The earth, the sea, and the great palace of heaven are at Your service and all creation obeys every sign of Yours. You are clothed with the brilliant mantle of the scorching sun and the bright moon prostrates itself at Your feet. Twelve stars adorn Your hair with their radiant light: this is the crown befitting Your head. You surpass all saints in holiness, O most holy. And You are superior in purity to all choirs of angels. After many tribulations, You rest in the holy city and, sanctified, rule the celestial abode. By the work of God’s right hand, You are like a tall tree with deep roots among the chosen people (cf. Sir 24:16). Where the sacred walls of Jerusalem shine, You exercise Your supreme power in peace.## Mary’s Sorrows and Joys When Jesus Stayed Alone in the Temple**Mary’s Sorrows**What were the anguishes, the groans, and the pains, and how many tears ran down Your beautiful faces, O Mother, when Your Son was left alone in the city of Jerusalem. And how was it when Your life and the love of Your heart, withdrawing, tore Your life asunder, O Virgin, leaving You in similar death-like sufferings? Grant me also to groan for the desire to see Jesus, who is hidden in heaven above. Or when will this tribulation that oppresses me end while I live on this earth?Three nights and three days, O Mother, You sought the light of Your eyes. And where did Your beloved Son hide or bless? If You permit me, I also want to go seek with You He who is the strength and peace of Your soul. But above all, it is the sweet intimacy of Your love.**Mary’s Joys**Please, tell me, O Virgin, what feeling did you experience, what joy flooded your chest when you saw Your Son seated in the temple’s center? If You would grant me a mere part of that joy, O Mother, my heart would be completely free from all pain and dedicated to You forever. O Child, Son of the Supreme Father. O Son, honor and delight of Your Mother, be the God of my heart and the reward of eternal life. O sweet Mother of Jesus, kindly revive your miserable servant with Your face: alone with Your Son may my sweet love be. To the Most High Father and to the Son be power. The due praises are for the Holy Spirit. And glory to You, O Virgin of virgins and merciful Mother of the Creator.The Marian devotion of Saint Joseph of Anchieta and his evangelizing mission in Brazil fit into a tradition that the encyclical Redemptoris Mater by John Paul II values, presenting Mary as mother and model for all missionaries throughout Church history.Deepen your studies: explore Mariology, Marian Theology, Marian Apparitions, and Post-Graduate Studies in Mariology.