Lariosa - 3A - Exile, Trial, and Death

Allan Gabriel A.

Lariosa

Rizal’s Life and Works

BSME 3A
1. In your opinion, why did Rizal refuse to embrace the conventional type of
Catholicism though he consistently attended mass?
Although Rizal did not subscribe to conventional interpretation of Catholic dogmas, he

continued to be Catholic. He still hears mass and celebrates religious feasts. First of all,
Rizal did not agree with all that the Roman Catholicism believes and teaches. The reason
behind these actions are that Rizal has his own interpretations of these dogmas and he
became a critique of the Church because of its malicious traditions and practices, and the
abuse of authority and power of the ones who sit as the head of these Churches. He is a
Catholic who inquires and enlightens, not the Catholic who blindly follows everything they
have been told.
According to him, “Faith is not merely reciting prayers and wearing religious pictures.
It is living the real Christian way with good morals and manners.” In which he clearly did
not see the followers to practice.
2. Explain: Rizal had "bitter-sweet" life in Dapitan.
Rizal lived in exile in far-away Dapitan, a remote town in Mindanao which was under
the missionary jurisdiction of the Jesuits, from 1892 to 1896. This four-year interregnum
in his life was tediously unexciting, but was abundantly fruitful with varied achievements.
During his exile, Rizal practiced medicine, taught some pupils, and engaged in farming
and horticulture. He grew many fruit trees (like coconut, mango, lanzones, makopa,
santol, mangosteen, jackfruit, guayabanos, baluno, and nanka) and domesticated some
animals (like rabbits, dogs, cats, and chickens). The school he founded in 1893 started
with only three pupils, and had about more than 20 students at the time his exile ended.
He also met his wife, Josephine Bracken, there during his exile in Dapitan. He was a
famous ophthalmic surgeon, and one of his friends referred him to the group. Their love
bear its fruit but unfortunately was taken after three hours because of prematurity of the
birth.
3. Despite the "serene" life of Rizal in Dapitan, why did he opt to go to Cuba as
volunteer physician?
During the peak of Cuban revolution, Rizal offered his services as a military doctor
to compromise the shortage of physicians in the said country. While there he could study
the successes and failures of Cuba revolution; drawing inspiration for the Philippine
revolution in the process. Rizal’s request to travel to Cuba was far from a profession of
pro-Spanish sentiments. Instead, it was a calculated attempt to return from exile to
continue his revolutionary life’s work. Rizal wants to learn more about starting a
revolution. At that time the American country is revolting against the Spaniards. He wants
to prepare himself and the country when their time for liberation would come. Remember
he said that Philippines is not yet ready for war, further calculations must be done. This
is Rizal's motive when applying as doctor in Cuba.
4. Don't you think it was a sort of cowardice on Rizal’s part when he refused to
approve the planned uprising of the Katipunan?
Andres Bonifacio, the Katipunan leader, sought Jose Rizal's advice prior to the
revolution's start. The group agreed to send Dr. Pio Valenzuela as a representative to
Dapitan to notify Rizal of their plan to begin a revolution against the Spaniards in a secret
meeting on May 2, 1896 at Bitukang Manok river in Pasig. Valenzuala set out from Manila
on the steamer Venus on June 15, 1892, and arrived at Dapitan six days later with a blind
friend, Raymundo Mata. Rizal and Valenzuela had a late-night conversation in the
former's garden. Valenzuela informed him about the Katipunan's strategy there. Rizal was
loud in his opposition to Bonifacio's "premature" idea for two reasons:
1. the Filipinos were still unprepared for such a bloodbath; and
2. The Katipunan lacked machinery - in order to prepare a revolution, adequate weaponry

and cash must be gathered.
Rizal was also informed about Valenzuela's plot to rescue him in Dapitan. The exiled hero
objected once more, stating that he had no intention of betraying his vow of honor to the
Spanish authorities.

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Allan Gabriel A.

Rizal’s Life and Works

Although Rizal did not subscribe to conventional interpretation of Catholic dogmas, he

2. Explain: Rizal had "bitter-sweet" life in Dapitan.

1. the Filipinos were still unprepared for such a bloodbath; and

2. The Katipunan lacked machinery - in order to prepare a revolution, adequate weaponry

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