Fr. Pastells and Dr. Jose Rizal

Father Pablo Pastells, S.J., co-founder of the Caraga mission, after his November 1887 reassignment to Manila to assume as vice superior of the Jesuits of the islands, opened a communication channel with Dr. Jose P. Rizal, the national hero who was then exiled in Dapitan. Over many letters, the two discussed religion and Rizal’s advocacy for Philippine reform. They also exchanged gifts. Fr. Pastells was Rizal’s professor at the Ateneo de Manila.

In their earliest exchange, Fr. Pastells showed deep interest in Rizal’s salvation who, at the time had already embraced Protestantism as reflected in his books. But the primary reason for the transfer could have been due to the incompatibility of Freemasonry, of which he was a member, to Catholicism. In one of his letters, Rizal explained his change of sect, saying all world religions have one purpose and he was not a believer in judging other people for what he stands for.

In his first letter to Fr. Pastells dated September 1, 1892, Rizal wrote:

‘To me, the mind is like the lamp that a father gives to each of his sons before they depart on a trip along rough and tortuous paths. He will not give a leaking oil lamp to the son who will pass through ravines and over precipices. If such son has to go through storms, the father will protect the light with strong glasses. If the light is of inflammable gas, he will shield it with a wire screen like a miner’s lamp. If the lampbearer suffers photophobia, he will provide him with smoked lenses. If, on the other hand, the son has cataracts, he will give him an electric light, especially if the son has to pass along very dark roads. Unfortunate that son would be who out of whim or madness exchanged his lamp for another while on the way. Everyone should try to keep and improve his light. Let no one envy or despise any of his brothers. Nor should anyone fail to take advantage of the rays from the other lights and of the sighs and warnings left behind by those who have gone before him.

‘With regard to self-esteem, I must confess that for some time I have been praying that God divest me of it. Knowing, however, what is best for us, He has preserved it. Now I understand why a man should never be without it, though he should never inflate it. My understanding is that self-esteem is the greatest good with which God has endowed man for his perfection and integrity. It saves him from many base and unworthy acts when he forgets the precepts which he has learned or have been inculcated upon him. Precisely, when not passionate, self-esteem is to me a worthy trait. It is like the sap that forces the tree to rear its head high in search of the sun. It is like the power that launches the steamship on its voyage. Reason, to be sure, should temper moderate it. My belief is that man is the masterpiece of creation, perfect within his sphere. He cannot be deprived of any of his component parts physical or moral without disfiguring him and rendering him miserable.’

In their 1893 exchanges, Rizal described his beliefs clearly: ‘More than by faith, I firmly believe by reasoning and by necessity that a creator exists.’ Though he continued his belief in God as Creator, he renounced his faith in Jesus, saying ‘If the result of reasoning may be called faith, my faith on God is blind, blind in the sense that it knows nothing.’ To justify his shift to Protestantism, he explained: ‘Consequently, the best religions are the simplest ones, the most natural, the ones most in harmony with the needs and aspirations of man.’ And in arguing against Catholicism, he wrote: ‘As to contradictions in the canonical books and miracles I confess that the subject has been so thoroughly threshed out that it is a waste of time to go over it again.’

Despite differences in religious views, Fr. Pastells remained steadfast in convincing Rizal to revert back to God, his Faith, and Catholicism, even providing him a copy of the Thomas a Kempis’ Imitation of Christ, and reminding him of his Ateneo days in Manila. (17)