A heart-whelming story... A must watch movie!

            I strongly encourage everyone to watch the Film “The Mission” by Robert Bolt. It focuses on Jesuit missionaries who were expanding their missionary ventures in South America and showed an unconditional love of Jesuits towards the Guaranis. The film inspired us to reflect upon the experiences of Father Gabriel and Father Rodrigo who fell in love with a community and ended up defending it to death.
Although the two priests had different ways on how to fight for the Guaranis where in Father Gabriel did it in a non-violent way while Father Rodrigo fight in a violent way, both of them still had one concept which is “to lay down their lives for a friend”. The greatest achievement of both the Jesuits and the Guaranis was unity in the community and brought Christianity. This achievement was ruled by two priests who are faithfully living out their respective callings when they unexpectedly are faced with vilest form of evil. It was showed in the film how the two priests led the Guaranis in their different ways. Father Rodrigo dies leading his Guarani followers in battle while Father Gabriel dies leading his followers out of the burning Church. Both the priests showed the power to endure suffering to save the Guaranis.

            The particular world view seen in the special relationship between Jesuits and Guaranis is the concept of “laying your life down for a friend”. The Jesuits mission showed in the film continues to be alive in the Jesuits mission nowadays. There’s a lay organization of young men and women who assist in social, pastoral and development work of missions called the Jesuit Volunteers Philippines (JVP). This organization is dedicated to the task of nation-building by promoting volunteerism and serving as a development network in increasing literacy, creating more equitable access to health services, education and community life, especially to the marginalized and underprivileged. This organization is the living symbol of the Jesuits mission. Until now, the Jesuit volunteers are wholeheartedly willing to serve in under-resourced and under-served areas over the country.  I actually consider these volunteers as one of the great achievements of Jesuits and Guaranis.