The Mission:

Max Grady
Jr. Faith
Mr. Sciuto
Mission Essay
11/22/04

The Mission :

After Analyzing the ultimate decisions of Fr. Gabriel and Rodrigo, were these men still men of Faith? What attributes of Faith did they show? Have I been faced with similar decisions in my life? What did I decide?

In the movie The Mission, it is obvious to see that Fr. Gabriel, Rodrigo, and many of the other jesuits and indians were men of faith, they all had very clear beliefs and trusts within one another and within the catholic faith until it was disturbed by the dilemma from the Spanish and Portugese. Yet discerning whether they were still men of Faith, after the crisis, is a more complex issue. Fr. Gabriel and Rodrigo both chose very different solutions to the problem with the Spanish and Portugese, yet I believe they were both still men of Faith. Fr. Gabriel chose passive resistance by merely refusing to leave the mission and continuing to say a mass with the natives while the mission was besieged by the army. Meanwhile Rodrigo choose to defend the mission and the native people by taking up arms against the invading army.

Part of the secular definition of faith says that faith is belief and trust in and loyalty to God. I think this is clear in Father Gabriel in the movie, and that it was evident in his decision to stay at the mission. Fr. Gabriel realized that leaving the mission and abandoning all he had worked so long for with the natives would not be something Jesus or God would have expected him to do. The Catholic definition of faith describes it as an intellectual assent to a loving God and His revelation. I think that Fr. Gabriel knew that faith was a grace and that through his faith, God would give him all the help that was needed. Fr. Gabriel knew that his faith in God would see him through the dilemma, and he would receive God’s sanctifying grace in his life. I also think that Rodrigo displayed his faith in the Lord throughout the movie. One of the more notable times was after he had made his decision to stand and fight the impending invasion he went back to Fr. Gabriel to ask for a blessing, even though he most likely knew that Fr. gabriel would turn him down in disagreement with his decision. I think that if Rodrigo had truly lost his faith in the Lord he would not have bothered to go back to seek Fr. Gabriel's council before fighting.

Faith is a risk as defined by the Catholic Church, by putting their faith in God both Fr. Gabriel and Rodrigo made a courageous attempt to do the right thing. Both men knew the risks involved in their decisions yet they both knew what they had to do and were ok with the fact they there would be danger involved. The fact they they knew they were doing the right thing, and the grace given to them through their faith in God helped them through their situation and impending dangers. Also, though their decisions involved risk, they were also reasonable. Faith too is a reasonable thing, a kind of middle path between beliefs without reason and reason without beliefs. Neither of these men made careless decisions. Each of them reflected deeply on how they had been living their life and whether that cause was worth defying orders from the church to leave the mission.

Neither man acted in an over radical or nihilist way. Their beliefs that their cause at the mission was just was supported by reason. Fr. Gabriel showed his compassion for the people of his mission throughout the movie he did more than just build a place for the native to live, he cared for them in ways others may have overlooked such as holding choir practice for the natives. Rodrigo, who once hunted the native people to be sold as slaves, changed his ways dramatically and eventually died trying to save them from the oppression he once forced upon them.

Since faith is based in reason, that also adds to faith being a virtue of our lives. Neither Fr. Gabriel nor Rodrigo succumbed to the orders and temptations from evil. It would have been easier for both men to just accept the rulings of the church and leave the mission but what would that have gotten them. It was their faiths that gave Fr. Gabriel and Rodrigo the strength to stand up for what they truly felt was the just decision.

I think ultimately the reason that Rodrigo and Fr. Gabriel were still men of faith after they had made up their minds to stay at the mission, one to fight, and the other to resist non-violently, is because they followed some of the sometimes overlooked principles of the church’s teachings on faith. Even though they were disobeying a direct order from the Bishop to leave the mission, both men examined their life and the decision they had to made. Both men then followed their conscienceses and made their decision. It would have been wrong for Fr. Gabriel and Rodrigo to make decisions that were not carefully thought out and examined, or based on things they did not truly believe themselves. I believe that both men acted in ways that Jesus himself may have condoned. Jesus wouldn’t have taken up arms against his fellow people, yet I think he would certainly say that the cause was just, and that reasonable decisions were made.

In my life I haven’t been faced with such a drastic decision such as theirs, nor one very similar to theirs where violence was provided as an option, yet there is a specific time in my life where I now realize I am being faced with a decision mildly similar to that of Fr. Gabriel or Rodrigo. For three years now I have been playing water polo for St. Louis University High school. Incase it wasn’t known, much of the sport and physical contact takes place beneath the water and is very hard for the officials to see. Often we play against teams and players who grab and kick or punch at you beneath the water where the officials can’t see it. All the time I have been playing under coach Baudendistel he has warned us that this will happen what he emphasizes to us over and over is that he would hate it if we would have to do things like that just to win a water polo game. While in the water I have been faced with plenty of opportunities to cheat under the water or plenty of times when I am being held or grabbed, yet I try to restrain from it.

Over the summer and during the spring off seasons the players from around St. Louis are provided opportunities to play on select club teams, they provide us with extra practice and chances to meet the players from other teams. On certain club teams that many of the SLUH players have a chance to play for, things are taught on that those teams that may contradict how we have learned to play. Sometimes the coaches may encourage gaining advantages by contact under the water. The opportunity is there for me and other players to take, yet I have decided that It isn’t worth it, I wouldn’t feel right playing like some of the other players choose to do. The decision wasn’t quite as easy as it may seem for one because its an ongoing decisions throughout the season. Another reason is that it is hard to know that there are things you could be doing that would make your team win, after only taking third place in state, which is still respectable, it makes me wonder whether we may have been able to win state or at least do better only by cheating a little bit here and there under the water by kicking or grabbing onto people, yet also would I feel the same now knowing that that's the only reason we won? I think putting faith in myself, my coach and the other players on the team to make the right decisions and play cleanly without violence or cheating should end up with the best feeling even if it means losing some games that could have been won other ways. This way we know we put forth our best efforts, to me that is what matters the most.