When I was taking up SS014, a course that is all about our national hero - Jose Rizal, we went to Mt. Banahaw for a trip to meet the Rizalistas. They are the ones who revere Jose Rizal as their God. Here are 3 questions provided by my professor, Sir Ortiz, that I answered.
1. Provide a description of the history and teachings of religious sects or charismatic movements who venerate Rizal.
The Spiritual Filipino Catholic Church was founded by Wencislao Santoyo on October 30, 1952. This creed was pioneered by a fermale, Maria Bernalda Balitaan. Currently, Kuya Muloy serves as its leader. Kuya Muloy was the only Rizalista we get to talked to. Kuya Muloy said that they believe that there are five persons of God; the God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, Mama Mary and the Infinite God. He said that they place Jose Rizal in the place of the God the Father. He also said that they pray just like an ordinary person praying. They do pray for adoration, forgiveness, thanksgiving and supplication, but first they will pray to Mama Mary, the infinite God and the widely considered Holy Trinity. After praying to them, they will pray to Rizal next. (I was still wondering why they will pray again to Jose Rizal if they do consider him as God the Father which is already part of the Holy Trinity. I was supposed to ask this question but time didn’t permit me.) Kuya Muloy also said that anyone is welcome to their own churches, even if you’re not part of their sect. They also celebrate Christmas in December, but Kuya Muloy said that the real birth of Christ did not happen on December 25. They were actually celebrating it with the rest of us because they believe that everyday is Christmas.
2. Why do they revere Jose Rizal as a hero or as one who possess the attributes of a divine being?
They revere Jose Rizal as a hero and as one who possesses the attributes of a divine being. They revere him because they believe that he was written in the bible, particularly on the book of Ecclesiastes chapter nine verses thirteen to eighteen. Here’s the passage from the Bible: “13 I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me: 14 There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siegeworks against it. 15 Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man. 16 So I said, "Wisdom is better than strength." But the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded. 17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.” They believe that the small city refers to the Philippines and the powerful king refers to Spain that colonized us for three hundred and thirty-three years. Then, the wise poor man who saved the city with his wisdom was no other than Jose Rizal, our national hero. They believe that the bible passage really refers to our national hero because of Jose Rizal’s stand regarding the issue of a peaceful and an armed revolution. We can say that Rizal favoured the peaceful revolution more, that’s why he fought for our independence with his pen and not with arms. Just like the wise poor man in the passage, Jose Rizal was forgotten. He was forgotten by the Filipinos. They also revere Rizal because of the miraculous happenings in their lives in which they believe Rizal was part. Just like Kuya Muloy, he became a Rizalista, a member of the Spiritual Filipino Catholic Church, because of the incident wherein Jose Rizal healed him. As I searched some more facts about the Rizalistas, I’ve found out in Wikipilipinas.org that some Rizalistas believed that Rizal is like Jesus Christ and that’s the reason why they revere Jose Rizal. They believe that they are similar in many ways. Rizal was believed to be the saviour of the Philippines from slavery just like Jesus Christ as the saviour of the earth. There were also those who believed that Rizal was the re-incarnation of Christ. These beliefs of the groups were based on the similarities of the two. They said that both of them were morally upright and exemplary in their own rights, they possess extraordinary character and have the purest intention in pursuing their missions. Also, they were both pious and Asians, and both from a country under colonial rule during their time. Also, the two were advocates of solidarity, equality and peaceful coexistence in spite of differences in social status, ethnicity and creed. and many more, such as, they were both healers and great visionaries, they advocate of reform and peaceful means to carry out their missions, strongly denounced prejudice, apathy, immorality and cruelty. They were also victims of trial and mockery, their teachings influence people around the world and most importantly, they were executed by their enemy and died for a noble cause.
I respect their beliefs, I’m not against them. I just want to comment that the passage in the bible may refer to other people. If you’ll look at it closely, you may wonder, “Is Rizal the only person in this world who believes in the power of wisdom than the weapons of war?” And Kuya Muloy said that the “kayumanggi” which means fair-skinned referred to us, Filipinos. Technically, there were no Filipinos that time. The term Filipinos was first used under the rule of Spain. It was used to refer to the Spaniards born in the Philippines. We were only known as Filipinos when we became a nation that is united in mind and heart. So, the “kayumanggi” people in the passage can be from the other races, because we are not the only ones who are fair-skinned. I would also like to comment on the part wherein they believe that the poor man in the passage, who was “supposedly” Jose Rizal was forgotten. Yes, it’s true that little by little, the new generation of youth fails to know the real Rizal, who he really was and what he did for our country. If you will ask a Filipino “Who is Jose Rizal?” he will answer “He is our national hero.” But, if you will ask him what Rizal had really done for him to be considered as our national hero, he can have difficulty in answering. A few may answer the question correctly and appropriately, but most of the Filipinos know Jose Rizal only as our national hero who died for our country, and that’s it. You can’t expect anything more than that. But, again my point will be “Is Rizal the only person who did something significant for a nation that was forgotten by the people whom he helped?”
3. What are their customs or practices which you observed/noticed are the influence of Rizal's message, writings or teachings?
We actually didn’t observe their practices but Kuya Muloy gave us an overview of their customs and practices. First of all, they do love our very own language, Filipino. They believe in what Jose Rizal had said: “Ang hindi magmahal sa sariling wika ay daig pa ang amoy sa mabahong isda.” They always speak in our native language, and they only spoke a very little amount of English words, two or three words may be. (I also love our own language, but since the questions were asked in English, I guess I should answer in English.) They also do respect each other’s beliefs, just like what Jose Rizal always did, especially when he was talking with people that believe the contrary of his beliefs. The value of respect is very evident in the place of the Rizalistas because in Mt. Banahaw, there are 77 religious sects. I envy them because they have that value in their hearts. Imagine all that sects living in one place altogether in harmony, unlike here in the urban area. You can see catfights anywhere, especially in the television wherein there are two religions fighting. One is claiming that their teachings are right and the other was claiming that the other’s teachings are wrong. They were even killings because of religious matters that are happening here in the urban area. Kuya Muloy said that they don’t want fighting against each other because they know that God is love, so they should love each other and not fight with each other.
1. Provide a description of the history and teachings of religious sects or charismatic movements who venerate Rizal.
The Spiritual Filipino Catholic Church was founded by Wencislao Santoyo on October 30, 1952. This creed was pioneered by a fermale, Maria Bernalda Balitaan. Currently, Kuya Muloy serves as its leader. Kuya Muloy was the only Rizalista we get to talked to. Kuya Muloy said that they believe that there are five persons of God; the God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, Mama Mary and the Infinite God. He said that they place Jose Rizal in the place of the God the Father. He also said that they pray just like an ordinary person praying. They do pray for adoration, forgiveness, thanksgiving and supplication, but first they will pray to Mama Mary, the infinite God and the widely considered Holy Trinity. After praying to them, they will pray to Rizal next. (I was still wondering why they will pray again to Jose Rizal if they do consider him as God the Father which is already part of the Holy Trinity. I was supposed to ask this question but time didn’t permit me.) Kuya Muloy also said that anyone is welcome to their own churches, even if you’re not part of their sect. They also celebrate Christmas in December, but Kuya Muloy said that the real birth of Christ did not happen on December 25. They were actually celebrating it with the rest of us because they believe that everyday is Christmas.
2. Why do they revere Jose Rizal as a hero or as one who possess the attributes of a divine being?
They revere Jose Rizal as a hero and as one who possesses the attributes of a divine being. They revere him because they believe that he was written in the bible, particularly on the book of Ecclesiastes chapter nine verses thirteen to eighteen. Here’s the passage from the Bible: “13 I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me: 14 There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siegeworks against it. 15 Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man. 16 So I said, "Wisdom is better than strength." But the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded. 17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.” They believe that the small city refers to the Philippines and the powerful king refers to Spain that colonized us for three hundred and thirty-three years. Then, the wise poor man who saved the city with his wisdom was no other than Jose Rizal, our national hero. They believe that the bible passage really refers to our national hero because of Jose Rizal’s stand regarding the issue of a peaceful and an armed revolution. We can say that Rizal favoured the peaceful revolution more, that’s why he fought for our independence with his pen and not with arms. Just like the wise poor man in the passage, Jose Rizal was forgotten. He was forgotten by the Filipinos. They also revere Rizal because of the miraculous happenings in their lives in which they believe Rizal was part. Just like Kuya Muloy, he became a Rizalista, a member of the Spiritual Filipino Catholic Church, because of the incident wherein Jose Rizal healed him. As I searched some more facts about the Rizalistas, I’ve found out in Wikipilipinas.org that some Rizalistas believed that Rizal is like Jesus Christ and that’s the reason why they revere Jose Rizal. They believe that they are similar in many ways. Rizal was believed to be the saviour of the Philippines from slavery just like Jesus Christ as the saviour of the earth. There were also those who believed that Rizal was the re-incarnation of Christ. These beliefs of the groups were based on the similarities of the two. They said that both of them were morally upright and exemplary in their own rights, they possess extraordinary character and have the purest intention in pursuing their missions. Also, they were both pious and Asians, and both from a country under colonial rule during their time. Also, the two were advocates of solidarity, equality and peaceful coexistence in spite of differences in social status, ethnicity and creed. and many more, such as, they were both healers and great visionaries, they advocate of reform and peaceful means to carry out their missions, strongly denounced prejudice, apathy, immorality and cruelty. They were also victims of trial and mockery, their teachings influence people around the world and most importantly, they were executed by their enemy and died for a noble cause.
I respect their beliefs, I’m not against them. I just want to comment that the passage in the bible may refer to other people. If you’ll look at it closely, you may wonder, “Is Rizal the only person in this world who believes in the power of wisdom than the weapons of war?” And Kuya Muloy said that the “kayumanggi” which means fair-skinned referred to us, Filipinos. Technically, there were no Filipinos that time. The term Filipinos was first used under the rule of Spain. It was used to refer to the Spaniards born in the Philippines. We were only known as Filipinos when we became a nation that is united in mind and heart. So, the “kayumanggi” people in the passage can be from the other races, because we are not the only ones who are fair-skinned. I would also like to comment on the part wherein they believe that the poor man in the passage, who was “supposedly” Jose Rizal was forgotten. Yes, it’s true that little by little, the new generation of youth fails to know the real Rizal, who he really was and what he did for our country. If you will ask a Filipino “Who is Jose Rizal?” he will answer “He is our national hero.” But, if you will ask him what Rizal had really done for him to be considered as our national hero, he can have difficulty in answering. A few may answer the question correctly and appropriately, but most of the Filipinos know Jose Rizal only as our national hero who died for our country, and that’s it. You can’t expect anything more than that. But, again my point will be “Is Rizal the only person who did something significant for a nation that was forgotten by the people whom he helped?”
3. What are their customs or practices which you observed/noticed are the influence of Rizal's message, writings or teachings?
We actually didn’t observe their practices but Kuya Muloy gave us an overview of their customs and practices. First of all, they do love our very own language, Filipino. They believe in what Jose Rizal had said: “Ang hindi magmahal sa sariling wika ay daig pa ang amoy sa mabahong isda.” They always speak in our native language, and they only spoke a very little amount of English words, two or three words may be. (I also love our own language, but since the questions were asked in English, I guess I should answer in English.) They also do respect each other’s beliefs, just like what Jose Rizal always did, especially when he was talking with people that believe the contrary of his beliefs. The value of respect is very evident in the place of the Rizalistas because in Mt. Banahaw, there are 77 religious sects. I envy them because they have that value in their hearts. Imagine all that sects living in one place altogether in harmony, unlike here in the urban area. You can see catfights anywhere, especially in the television wherein there are two religions fighting. One is claiming that their teachings are right and the other was claiming that the other’s teachings are wrong. They were even killings because of religious matters that are happening here in the urban area. Kuya Muloy said that they don’t want fighting against each other because they know that God is love, so they should love each other and not fight with each other.
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