December 30 marks the 116th anniversary of Rizal's martyrdom which is declared a national holiday. Dr. Jose Rizal emulates Jesus’ moral foundation of the redemptive process: “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34) which is alluded to Rizal’s “Only love can work wonders; only virtue can redeem,” an incarnation of altruistic and unconditional love.
Ironically,
this generation could also be seen with youth who have been driven by a desire
to fight for the country’s citizens’ right against abuses but use a violent
line of attacking those in the government seat by burning effigies, writing
on the structures’ walls to air sentiments and fighting with the authorities.
Compared
with Mary and Joseph who greatly worried when the 12-year old Jesus lost in the
midst of Passover Feast (Luke 2:41) wherein the Lord appeased them by calmly
saying "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my
Father's house?"(Luke 2:49), the teenager Rizal
pulled himself away from romantic passion with Segunda Katigbak of Lipa[1]
to obey the voice heard from within to follow instead the path of sacrifice and
mission.
Another
parallel occurrence between Jesus and Rizal is their births. When the infant
Jesus was brought to the temple to be consecrated to the Lord, the devout
Simeon upon seeing the child in the temple spoke about His redemptive mission
(Luke 2:34). On the other hand, when the infant Rizal was brought to
the church for baptism, the Filipino priest noticed the child’s uncommon head
and told his mother to be watchful as the boy would someday be a great man.
Jesus
and Rizal were innocent victims whose deaths were instigated by men of robes:
the chief priests, led by Caiaphas, who conspired to get Jesus nailed to the
cross (Matthew 26:57, John 18:14) and on the other hand the Spanish friars who conspired to get
Rizal shot in Bagumbayan. The schemes to place Jesus and Rizal to execution
bore the conspirators’ haughtiness and prejudice who desired the heads of their
victims regardless of proof of innocence.
Harking
back to the history, named as Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado hy his parents
Francisco Rizal Mercado y Alejandro and Teodora Alonza y Quintos, Rizal is the
seventh child from the brood of eleven, born in town of Calamba in the province
of Laguna in the Philippines on June 19, 1861. He was known for his amazing
sharpness and abilities on learning at a very young age of five years through his
mother’s assiduousness who taught him the value of reading and writing.
As
landowners who rented their land to the Dominican friars in Laguna, the Mercado family enjoyed affluence, whose priority
was education. Thus, Jose Rizal was
tutored by Justiniano Aquino Cruz, from adjacent Biñan, Laguna. However, the education he has acquired from
the small town and tutorship did not amply satisfy his thirst for knowledge.
Subsequently, he was admitted to Ateneo
Municipal de Manila (known also as Escuela Municipal de Manila (1859-1865),
Ateneo Municipal de Manila (1865-1901) Ateneo de Manila (1901-1959) founded in
1859 by the Society of Jesus, the third-oldest university in the Philippines. Run by Jesuit Order, Ateneo was one of the
most high-flying and academic institutions in the
country provided for the rich, the powerful and most intelligent students that
the country had, which suited the young Rizal.
His
older brother Paciano Rizal Mercado insisted to drop the surname “Mercado”
prior to his enrollment in this eminent institution to make sure of his
disassociation with him who was reputed as frank subversive. Thus, he was
known as Jose Protacio Rizal when he enrolled.
Raised
by wealthy landowners, Jose Rizal studied a degree in Land Surveying and
Assessment in this institution and graduated with honors or sobresaliente on
March 14, 1877. In 1878, he took and passed the licensure exam for land
surveying and assessment but was not granted with a license until 1881 when he
turned 21.
After
finishing of his degree from Ateneo Municipal de Manila, he pursued, his
passion for the arts and enrolled at the Faculty of Arts and Letters for a
degree in Philosophy at the University of Santo Tomas in 1878.
His
mother’s ominous blindness induced him to study Medicine although he stood out
at philosophy, and on that same year he enrolled in the Faculty of Medical
Sciences at University of Santo Tomas to specialize in ophthalmology. He left
the medical program in 1882 after experiencing discrimination against Filipino
students by the Dominican professors in Medicine.
With
the support of his older brother Paciano, he traveled to Spain without
informing his parents believing that education in the country was inadequate.
His years of stay in the European continent opened his broader perspective
about the world, fortified his innate talents.
The
ten years spent in the European continent would leave an indelible
mark on his personality and open his eyes to the world’s reality, develop his
natural talents and strengthen his zeal for the country. His hunger for
education continued until he found himself studying at the University of
Paris. To further master his chosen
field, he enrolled at the University of Heidelberg to specialize ophthalmology
under the eminent eye specialist, Professor Otto Becker.
In
Europe, he excelled and articulated his competence in arts such as sculpting,
painting, architecture; physical activities such as fencing, pistol shooting,
martial arts; he was knowledgeable and could discuss economics, agriculture,
history, anthropology, and sociology with will power.
The
government where his family hailed in Calamba, Laguna recognized his prowess in
different sports during his lifetime after 117 years from his death.
Aside
from which, he was also multilingual enabling him converse in over 10 languages
including Filipino, English, Spanish, French, Dutch, and German, among the few.
Known
for his association with Dutch, people were enthralled by his charm, wit, and
intelligence. He created an indelible remark and reputation wherever he may be,
building friendship and relationships.
His
exposure as a youth to the hurdles under the Spanish colonial government
had stimulated him the need for change in the system of how the country was
being governed. He spent most of the time with his older brother Paciano who
had been linked to Filipino priests (Gomez, Burgos, Zamora) who pursued reform within the Catholic Church toward
equality between the Filipino and Spanish priests. The latter were indicted as revolutionists
and executed under the Spanish colonial government.
Jose
Rizal witnessed how the Spanish authorities regarded his beloved mother Teodora
Mercado who was accused of attempting to poison her cousin and detained in
Santa Cruz, Laguna. His mother had to
walk sixteen kilometers from their home to the jail and was imprisoned for two (2) and a half years until they triumphed for an appeal which cleared the charges
at the highest court of the Spanish government.
In his first stay in Europe, Rizal wrote Noli Me Tangere. The novel was
written in Spanish and first published in Berlin, Germany in 1887. It narrates
about a young Filipino man who travels to Europe to study and returns home with
new awareness to the inequalities and corruption in the country.
Noli Me Tangere was an intense criticism of the Spanish colonial
system and Philippine society in general which drew harsh reactions from the
elite, the church and the government. In this novel, Rizal employed elaborate
characters to epitomize both the tormentors and the tormented, concentrating on
countrymen who had espoused to the colonizer’s custom than preserving
nationality, the Spanish friars who were exposed for their debauchery, gluttony
and self-seeking minds, and the impoverished and tyrannized society by the
Church and the state.
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