Shawn Moore

Theology

Mr. Sciuto

11/7/06

The “Mission”

Roderigo in the beginning of the story found out that Carlotta, his wife, was in love with Felipe Mendoza. He caught Carlotta sleeping with his brother and was upset. As he was trying to walk away his brother stopped him and hit him. As much as Roderigo wanted to just walk away, the hit from his brother caused them to fight and he eventually killed him. Roderigo did not want to fight his brother, even though he caught him with Carlotta, but being a mercenary the hit from his brother provoked him to fighting and eventually killing him. After killing his brother he felt extremely depressed and would not do anything. Then one day Father Gabriel came and talked to him. This was his first step in his conversion to Christianity. Being able to talk to Father Gabriel helped Roderigo open up and realize that no matter what he did God was willing to forgive him. Roderigo thought that what he could never be forgave. He thought that enslaving and killing the many Indians he found in the mountain as a mercenary was a sin that just couldn’t be forgiven. He thought that killing his own brother was jus something not worthy of being forgiven of. But thanks to Father Gabriel He was able to realize know matter what how many people he killed or enslaved that God loved him enough to forgive him. He convinced him that even though the penance of his sin couldn’t possibly be paid off, but that he should try to anyway. This led him to go to the mountain where the Jesuits had their mission for the Indians. This was another step which in the end caused him to convert. When he made it to the top of the mountain, carrying all his armor and weapons, the Indians had a chance to kill him just like he killed their people, but the Indians instead showed mercy towards him by relieving him of the equipment that was weighing him down. The forgiveness the Indian people showed towards Roderigo helped Roderigo to see that if the Indians can forgive him then God should be able to forgive him. After realizing that he has received love and forgiveness through the Indian people, a metanoia occurs in Roderigo’s life. Roderigo goes from a mercenary towards the Indian people to being willing to do anything for them. He started to love the Indians and desired to help them in anyway possible. For this reason he became a Jesuit. Through the love and forgiveness that Roderigo received from the Indians, he decided that in order to help them he would become a Jesuit and help in the missions. He wants to help the Indians so badly that he decides to fight against the Portuguese and risking his own life for the Indians. He decides that by fighting for the freedom of the Indians will help pay as a penance for all the sins he committed in the past towards the Indians. He fights and in the end he ends up dying. He died trying to gain freedom for the Indians. After Enslaving Indians himself he decides in order to pay as a penance that he fights for their freedom. In fighting for the Indians, after being told by Father Gabriel to not fight with violence, he felt that he was paying them back. He felt that it was his obligation towards them. The reason he became a Jesuit was to pay back the Indians for their love and forgiveness and Roderigo wanted to pat them back in whatever way was necessary and fighting was what he felt necessary. Even though he has a change of heart toward the Indian people, he doesn’t change his ways. When confronted with the task of keeping the Indians from enslavement he decides to resort to his old ways of dealing with things and that was through violence. So in the end, Roderigo Mendoza has a change of heart as he feels the love and forgiveness of Jesus through the Indians people, yet he never changes his ways of handlings things. As he resorts to his old ways of dealing with his troubles, Father Gabriel mentions that he “betrays everything (they’ve) done”. Roderigo, in the end only has a change of heart, but he never gives up his old ways of dealing with certain matters.