Preces por agoa: exemplos da pregação em torno do fenómeno da seca nos séculos XVII e XVIII

In past centuries, the phenomenon of drought was related, like other natural calamities, with a divine punishment. The prayers for water occurred frequently and priests, in their sermons, present the disaster in comparison with others described in the Holy Scriptures, pointing out the repentance of sins as a “remedy”. The sermon was a powerful medium to model behaviours and a real “mass media”. The sermon was meant for orality and its structure complied with established principles, but it surpassed an ephemeral fame when it became printed. In the present moment, it seemed interesting to investigate how the prayers for water were preached. We choose two Portuguese printed sermons from 17th and 18th. century. Our goal is to analyse, individually and comparatively, the preaching context, the profile of the preachers, the arguments raised to justify the phenomenon, the awareness of its impact in society and the hopeful message for the future.