A Letter to His Parents

By Jose Rizal

My dear Parents, Brother, and Sisters:

The love I have always borne you dictates the step I am about to
take. Only the future will show whether it is well and wisely taken or not.
Whatever may be the result, it can, it should, be said that it was my sense
of duty that forced me to act. Should I perish in what I contemplate doing,
that will make, should make, no difference?
I know I have caused you one and all to suffer much, but I do not
repent having done so; and should it be given me to begin my life all over
again. I would not change my conduct. It has all been inspired by my
appreciation of my duty. I am starting now, and gladly, to expose myself to
perils and to the dangers that may be awaiting me. This is not to atone for
my faults, for on this point at least I do not think I have committed any, but I
am going to crown my work, to bear witness by personal example, to the
truth of that which I have always preached.
One should die for his or her convictions and in the performance of a
duty as he or she sees it. I beg you to believe that I still maintain all the
ideas which I have proclaimed in regard to the present state and the future
of my country. I shall gladly die for my country--- more gladly still if I might
thereby secure for you all the justice and tranquility which has been
wanting.
It is indeed with pleasure that I risk my life to save so many
innocents, so many nephews and nieces. I wish to safeguard the children
of those who are not my friends but who have been or are now suffering for
me. For what am I? A lone, single man almost without family and quite
without illusions as to life. I have suffered many deceptions. And what
future has in store for me is obscure. It would be still more obscure were it
not illuminated by the dawning lights, the aurora of my homeland.
Until the last moment of my life I will think of you and wish you all
kinds of happiness.
Questions:
1. Why did Rizal write this letter?
2. He mentioned love, duty, and death. Show why these three were
important in the life of Rizal.
3. Why does he say that he had caused his family to suffer?
4. Why was he glad to die?
5. How did he show love for his country and love of his fellow Filipinos in
the fourth paragraph?

B. Discuss these lines from the pen of our national hero: “Sweet are
the hours in one’s native land….. But it is sweeter to die for mother,
home, and country.

C. You may not have to die for your country, but you can be truly
patriotic by “living” for your country. How can you as a student “live”
for your country?