Rich Mehan
Mr. Scuito
Faith Essay on the Mission
Rodrigo Mendoza
At the beginning of the movie the Mission, Rodrigo Mendoza was a mercenary. He would capture the native people from there lands and sell them as slaves. He did not care if he killed any of them as long as he made a profit. In this case, these native peoples were called the Guarani. After he captured a number of these people, he found out his brother was with his woman. He eventually ended up killing him, even though he loved him so much. He then was going to be executed but was saved by the Jesuits. He too thought the path to redemption was to become a Jesuit and help those who he has hurt. He joins a mission and begins to help all the Guarani he once tried to enslave. Then the Portuguese ask them to leave the mission. They all refuse, even the Jesuits. Father Rodrigo then decided the way he will help the Guarani is to lead them into battle with the Portuguese. He believes and trusts in the people he once captured, to fighting on there side verse the same person he once was. He dies for the people he once killed. Father Rodrigo Mendoza is a man of great faith.
I learned many things about faith from Father Rodrigo. I learned there are many ways to express faith and all these are the right way. As Fr. Rodrigo fought other Jesuits prayed and lead services. I learned that you can always change, just as Fr. Rodrigo changed from killing and enslaving the Guarani, to helping, saving, and dieing for them. I leaned. I learned you can always be forgiven and that if people trust and believe in one another it is a much easier life then hurting and killing one another. In conclusion I learned one can always change, one can express the right faith in many different ways, and that on can always be forgiven.