Chapter 1: “Advent of a National Hero”

Dr. Jose Rizal is a unique example of a many-splendored genius who become the greatest hero of a nation. He was endowed by God with versatile gifts, he truly ranked with the world’s geniuses. He was a physician ( ophthalmic surgeon ) poet, linguist, musician , dramatist , naturalist , ethnologist , surveyor, engineer , farmer businessman, economist, geographer, cartographer , bibliophile , philologist , grammarian , folklorist , Philosopher, translator, inventor, magician, humorist, satirist, polemicist, sportsman, traveler and prophet. Jose Rizal was born June 19 1861 on the moonlit night of Wednesday, in the town of the lakeshore town of Calamba, Laguna Province, Philippines, Rizal was baptized in the catholic church in the Calamba Laguna on June 22 at the of three years old by the parish priest, Father Rufino Collantes . Father Pedro Casanas was the the godfather (ninong) native of Calamba and close friend of Rizal’s family. Rizal’s Parents was Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso Realonda, His father Francisco Mercado Rizal was born in Binan, Laguna on May 11, 1818, He was studied Latin and Philosophy at the College of San Jose in Manila, He was a hardly an independent-minded man which talked less and worked more, and he was a strong on body and valiant in spirit. He died in Manila on January 5, 1898 at the age of 80. And his mother Teodora Alonso Realonda was born in Manila on November 8, 1826 and he was educated at the college of Santa Rosa, She was remarkable woman, possessing refined culture, literary talent, business ability and the fortitude of Spartan women. She also known as Dona Teodora, She was died in Manila on August 16, 1911 at the age of 85.
Rizal’s have a eleven siblings Saturnina was the oldest sister, Paciano was the oldest brother, Narcisa was the second oldest sister she was a teacher of Morong , Olimpia was the third oldest sister she was a telegraph operator in manila, Lucia was the fourth oldest sister, Maria was the fifth oldest sister and Jose was second oldest brother . He was the greatest Filipino hero and peerless genius. Concepcion was the sixth oldest sister but she was died at the age of 3, Josefa was the seventh oldest sister, Trinidad was eight oldest sister and last Soledad was the youngest. Rizal loves to play with her sisters. Rizal was immortalized him in his first novel Noli me tangere as the wise philoso tasio. In the letter to blumentriit , written in the London on 1888, he was regarded Paciano as “the most noble of Filipino” and “though an Indio” In Rizal's Ancestry Rizal was called “The Great Malayan” actually had Negrito, Malay, Chinese, Japanese and Spanish blood Predominantly, he was a Malayan , In the Rizal's Surname In 1731, Domingo Lamco adopted the surname “Mercado” (market)In 1849, Gov. Gen. Claveria ordered all Filipinos to adopt Spanish surnames Francisco adopted the surname “Rizal” Was suggested by the provincial governor, who was a family friend and Originally “Ricial” In Spanish, it means “green fields” Prophetic according to Leon Ma. Guerrero: “a field where wheat, cut while still in green, sprouts again.” Only Jose used the surname Rizal until 1891.
The Rizal Family was a good and middle class family, In the Middle class family the Rizal family belonged to the principalia Had a large stone house Owned a carjuahe (carriage) Had a private library with more than 1,000 books Sent their children to colleges in Manila and the Rizals home A two-storey building Built of adobe stones and hard woods Roofed with red The rebuilt Rizal house tiles

Chapter 2: “Childhood years in Calamba”

Jose Rizal had many beautiful memories of childhood in his native town. He grew up in a happy home, rule by good parents bubbling with joy, and sanctified by God’s blessings. His natal town of Calamba. Filled with parental affection, impregnated with family joys, and sanctified by prayers. In the midst of such peaceful, refined, God-loving family, he spent the early years of his childhood. In the Calamba, “Cradle of a Genius” Rizal loved Calamba with all his heart and soul. In 1876, when he was 15 years old and was a student in Ateneo, He remembered his beloved town. Accordingly, he wrote a poem Un Recuerdo a Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My Town)
In the Earliest Childhood Memories, The first memory of Rizal, in his infancy, was his happy days in the family garden when he was three years old because he was a frail, sickly and undersized child and he was given the tenderest care by his parents. His father was built a little Nipa cottage in the garden for him to play in the day time, and another childhood memory was the daily Angelus prayer. By nightfall, Rizal related, his mother gathered all the children at the house to pray the Angelus.With nostalgic feeling, he also remembered the happy moonlit nights at the azotea after the rosary, The aya related stories to Rizal children many stories about fairies; tales of buried treasure and trees with blooming diamonds, and other fabulous stories. Sometimes, when he did not like to take his supper, the aya would treaten him that the aswang, the nuno, the tigbalang, or a terrible bearded Bombay would come to take him away if he would not eat his supper.
In the first sorrow The Rizal children were bound together by the ties of love and companionship, their parents taught them to love one another, to behave properly in front of elders, to be truthful and religious, and to help one another. Of his sisters, Jose loved most little Concha. He was one year older than Concha. He played with her, and from her, he learned the sweetness of brotherly love.
In Devoted Son of Church the Young Rizal was a religious boy. A scion of a Catholic clan, born and bred in a wholesome atmosphere of Catholicism, and possessed of an inborn spirit, Rizal grew up a good Catholic, at the age of 3, he began to take part in the family prayers. When he was five years old, he was able to read haltingly the family bible. Rizal’s loved to go to church to pray, to take part in novenas, and to join the religious processions. It is said that he was so seriously devout that he was laughingly called Manong Jose by the Hermanos and Hermanas Terceras.
Pilgrimage to Antipolo On June 6, 1868, Jose and his father left for Calamba to go on a pilgrimage to Antipolo, in order to fulfill his mother’s vow which was made when Rizal was born, It was the first trip of Jose across Laguna de Bay and his pilgrimage to Antipolo.He was thrilled, as a typical boy should, by his first lake voyage. He did not sleep the whole night as the casco sailed towards the Pasig River because he was awed by “the magnificence of the watery expanse and the silence of the night.
The story of the Moth, of the story told by Dona Teodora to Jose, it was that of the young moth made the profoundest impression on him, that the tragic fate of the young moth, which died a martyr to its illusions, left a deep impress on Rizal’s mind, the Artistic Talents Since early childhood Rizal revealed his God-given talents for the arts. He drew sketches and pictures on his books of his sisters, for which reason he was scolded by his mother, He was carved figures of animals and persons out of wood. Even before he learned to read, he could already sketch pictures of birds, flowers, fruits, rivers, mountains, animals and persons. The first known poem that he wrote was a Tagalog poem entitled Sa Aking Mga Kababata (To My Fellow Children). In the Lakeshore Reveries During the twilight hours of summertime, Rizal, accompanied by his dog, used to meditate at the shore of Laguna de Bay on the sad conditions of his oppressed people, Young that he was, he grieved deeply over the unhappy situation of his beloved fatherland. The Spanish misdeeds awakened in his boyish heart a great determination to fight tyranny. And the Influences on Hero’s Boyhood In the lives of all men there are influences which cause some to be great and others not. In the case of Rizal, he had all favorable influences, which no other child in our country enjoyed, there are three influences are Hereditary Influence , Environmental Influence and Aid of the Divine Providence