Rizal – Pastells Correspondence

Jose Rizal
Aged 31
Exiled in Dapitan.
Jesuit alumnus turned rationalist.
Ilustrado in the dual sense of educated and on fire with enlightenment ideas, political ideology.

Fr. Pablo Pastells

Aged 46
Former Spiritual Director of student Rizal at Ateneo Municipal de Manila.
Stationed in Intramuros as the Superior of Jesuits in the Philippines.

Rizal exiled in Dapitan, Mindanao

Fr. Pablo Pastells, S.J sent a letter to Fr. Antonio Obach to invite Rizal to live in Mission House with a
following condition:
- “That Rizal publicly retract his errors concerning religion, and make statements that clearly pro-
Spanish and against revolution.”
- “That he perform the church rites and make a general confession about his past life.”
- “That henceforth he conduct himself in an exemplary manner as a Spanish subject and a man of
religion.”
 Rizal was not amenable to this conditions and choose to live in the house of Capt. Ricardo Carnicero.

Dapitan, 1 September 1892 Rizal to Fr. Pablo Pastells

First Letter of Rizal to Fr. Pastells

- Rizal gives his gratitude to Fr. Pastells for the precious gift, a book of Sarda.
- Sarda - a skillful polemicist in diffusing in a certain social class the ideas he upholds according to Rizal

“Tell him to set aside the foolishness (majaderias) of looking his affairs through the prism of his
judgement and self-esteem.”

Nemo judex in causa propia ( No one is a judge of his own cause)

Rizal explain about prism of own judgement and self-esteem

- Nevertheless, it does not seem to me censurable for one to look to his own affairs through the prism of
his own judgement and self-esteem for God must have given these faculties to him for his own purpose.
- In choosing we would have to make use of our own judgement, unless we should endlessly which will
turn out that we would be wise men in one another’s house.
- With regards to self-esteem, I confess candidly that I have long time asked God very sincerely to
deprived me of it, but He who knows better what suits us, has left it to me.
- Self-esteem is dignity when it is passionate and it is moderated by judgement.

Rizal give Fr. Pastells the authority to give him advice

- It is the duty of men to help one another.
- Rizal grieved for the changed of his fortune.
- “I should like to clear the land of my country.”

Valediction of Rizal in his letter to Fr. Pastells

- Giving his gratitude to Fr. Pastells
- “I will work and I will do this and that, for God will always have his way. Therefore, forward!”

Manila, 12 October 1892 Fr. Pablo Pastells to Rizal

Father Pastells goes into lengthy philosophic-religious disquisitions
- Father Pastells pitied Rizal for not using his intelligence and skill for better causes.
- Using his (Rizal) intelligence for the Catholic religion, the only true religion and for the Mother Country
of the Phillipine Archipelago, the Spain.
- Rizal’s exaggerated self-judgement and extreme self-esteem separate him from the Catholic religion
and Spanish nationality, and raised the standard of filibusterismo.
- “Foreign heretics sowed in your soul those bad winds from which you are now reaping tempests. And
how dark and cloudy is the weather that is glimpsed fir you in the future!”
- Fr. Pastells want Rizal to stop being stubborn of desiring to emancipate the Filipinos from the gentle
yoke of Catholic religion and the Spanish nation.
 - Spiritual Polarization which truth and good faith diminish and error and bad faith reach the maximum
intensity according to the angle which things are seen.
- Fr. Pastells explain the help that is being provided by the God.

Dapitan, 11 November 1892 Rizal to Fr. Pastells

Rizal is grateful for a copy of Kempis’ Imitation of Christ of Father Chirino, Fr. Delgado, and Cartas
de los Misioneros
- Rizal appreciated the books given by Fr. Pastells.
- Some of Fr. Pastells advice is embraced by Rizal

Brilliant defense of his espousal of the Philippine cause

- My cause is good and enough for me.
- Others will yield more profit, more renown, more honors, more glories, but the cane on being born in
this land, is for the purpose of supporting nipa huts and not the heavy bulk of the buildings of Europe.
- I do not regret neither the humbleness of my cause nor the meagerness of its reward but the little talent
that God has given me to serve it.
- If instead of weak cane I had been a solid molave, better service I would be render.
- I do not aspire either eternal fame or eternal renown; I do not aspire to equal others whose conditions,
faculties, and circumstances could be and are in effect different from mine.
- My sole wish is to do as much as possible, what is in my hands, the most necessary.
- I have glimpsed a little light and I believe that it is my duty to teach it to my countrymen.

Fr. Pastells’ philosohpico-religious question

- Delicate questions that Rizal want it to answer in the future.
- Rizal cannot be a base or flatterer nor

Noli me Tangere is not German insperation

- Rizal explains on how Fr. Pastells is confuse by saying that Noli made with the resentment of
Germans.
- No German knew about his work before its publication neither Blumentritt.
- He also explain that maybe the environment in Germany influenced him in remembering his country.

About Noli me Tangere

- If sometimes, resentment had moved the pen with which I wrote the Noli me Tangere and my memory
answered me in negative.
- If on various occasions that they treated me with marked injustice; if my works had been passed over in
silence with marked disdain, if against all reason my complaints have been ignored, I was very young
yet, I forgave more readily than I do now, and however deep were the wounds, they healed at last,
thanks to the good crust with which nature has endowed me.
- There were no swollen wounds; there were no thorns that deepened. What there was a clear vision of
my motherland, vivid memory of what was happening and a sufficient dexterity to judge the etiology in
such a way that not only could I paint but also divine he future.
- Half of Noli me Tangere was written in Madrid, one fourth in Paris and the other fourth in Germany.
- His witness is his countrymen who saw him working.
 He is not a protestant
- Rizal explains why he is not a Protestant. He had lost for not accepting Protestantism ( Nellie
Boustead?)
- Rizal believe that two different religion can become Christian fraternity. One example is a Catholic
curate and his friend a Protestant curate, they considered themselves two servants of the same God
instead of spending their time quarreling , each one fulfilled his duty, leaving it to their lord to judge
afterwards who had interpreted better His will.
Rizals opinion about Religion
- Rizal admits that supernatural (divine) light is more perfect than human reason.
- But who with justifiable reason can call the reflector of that Light on this our little planet? All religions
pretend to hold the truth. What religions do I say? Each man, the most ignorant, the most giddy,
pretends to be right.
- Rizal explain his ideals by referring it to a student is drawing a statue and seated around it. Truth is
different in individual’s point of view. Moreover, no one can judge other beliefs on taking his own norms.

Manila, 8 December 1892 Fr. Pastells to Rizal

Fr. Pastells is deeply interested in Rizal’s Eternal Salvation
- Pastells and Rizal has different beliefs
- He is interested in Rizal’s sole, necessary, transcendental, undeferable business of his eternal
salvation.
- Candid confession of Rizal
- Fr. Pastells thinks Rizal was influenced by the Protestants

He claims that Rizal expressed Protestants ideas in his books

- Rizal used Protestants doctrine in his books Noli me Tangere, El Filibusterismo and the annotations to
Morga.
- Rizals belief that one religion can make a brotherhood to other religion according to Fr. Pastells was a
trap created by the curate of the Osdenwald.
- The two friends he mentioned in the last letter that a catholic and a protestant curate makes a great
friendship. He said that the catholic curate is a simpleton, ignorant, who had lost the Catholic common
sense because he necessarily must be so to consider the Protestants servant of the God of the
Catholics.
- Different type of Protestants
 Establishing following bases:

Fr. Pastells gives Rizal some verse from the bible

- He used bible verse to give proof to his ideals and beliefs
- He used it to persuade Rizal
- He explain that Jesus Christ is the legitimate reflector
- Divine mission of Jesus Christ
- Miracle performed by Jesus Christ
- Miracle of Ressurection of Lazarus
- Resurrection of Jesus

Fr. Pastells agreed to Rizal to leave the Politics

- He believes Rizal is involved in paralogism caled fallacy of heart.

Bear in mind, however , that:

1st Right of Spain to the occupation and later to the domination over the Philippines was a divine and natural
right
2nd that the prescription of the fact of Spanish domination over the Philippines with attending circumstances
sanctioned her original right
3rd that the fruits of occupation and domination of Spain, secured for the benefit of the Philippines, thanks to the
system of legislation, government, administration and culture adopted and employed by Spain, corroborate the
 fact and right of her domination, and the abuses committed in all branches of the government by the personnel
of the same, even if they ought to be corrected, cannot be used to destroy the fact or right of her domination.

4th Philippine separatism constitutes especially at present, the ugliest blot of downright ingratitude
5th that separatism in the Philippines is impossible of execution, indefensible in practice, and in the end unwise
6th and last, that united to Spain, the Philippines will run triumphantly until the end over the course of true
progress, but separated from her, she will inevitably run headlong into the chaos of anarchy, of slavery, of
savagery.
- Fr. Pastells send the bases for Rizal to see the importance of Spain in the Phillipines

Dapitan, 9 January 1893 Rizal to Fr. Pastells

Unfinished draft of Rizal’s letter
- Last letter of Rizal to Fr. Pastells but only a draft
- Shipwreck of Faith
- “Solid bases have remained firm despite of so many tempests “ from Fr. Sanchez

Explanation about his concept of God

- He believes in the existence of the Creator
- But more than by faith, by reasoning and by necessity.
- Zeus of the Greeks
- Attribute him all the beautiful and holy qualities
- Anacreons