Name: Clark C.
Belen
Section: 2BSCS-1
Life and Works of Rizal
Life
 On 19 June 1861, JOSE P.
RIZAL, the seventh child of
Francisco Mercado Rizal and
Teodora Alonso y Quintos, was
born in Calamba, Laguna in
what was said to be his first
stone house.
 Their family, the Mercados,
were among the richest in
Calamba.
 On 22 June 1861, He was
baptized JOSE RIZAL
MERCADO at the Catholic of
Calamba by the parish priest
Rev. Rufino Collantes with
Rev. Pedro Casañas as the
sponsor.
 On 28 September 1862, The
parochial church of Calamba
and the canonical books,
including the book in which
Rizal’s baptismal records were
entered, were burned.
 Jose Rizal’s education started
at home with his mom and
aunt as his first teachers. His
early studies also started with
his teacher Justiniano Aquino
Cruz.
 In 1864, He learned the
alphabet from his mother at
the age of 3 and could read
and write at age 5.
 In 1865, When he was four
years old, his sister
Conception, the eighth child in
the Rizal family, died at the
age of three. It was on this
occasion that Rizal
remembered having shed real
tears for the first time.
 He loved to go to church to
pray, take part in novenas, and
join the religious processions.
Age 0 - 8
Works Writings
 At the age of 3, he began to  In 1869, At the age of eight,
take part in the family Rizal wrote his first poem
prayers. entitled "Sa Aking Mga
 On 6 June 1868, With his Kabata" (“To my fellow
father, Rizal made a children”). The poem was
pilgrimage to Antipolo to written in Tagalog and had
fulfill the vow made by his
its theme "Love of One’s
mother to take the child to Language."
the Shrine of the Virgin of
Antipolo should she and her
 In one of his childhood
child survive the ordeal of
experiences, Rizal wrote:
delivery that nearly caused
"Thus my heart fed on
his mother’s life.
sombre and melancholy
 At the age of five, the young
Pepe learned to read the thoughts so that even still a
child, I already wandered
Spanish family Bible, which
he would refer to later in his on wings of fantasy in the
writings. high regions of the
 He drew sketches and unknown.
pictures in his sister's books,
for which reason he was  He later wrote in his
scolded by his mother. memoir, “When I was four
 He carved figures of animals years old, I lost my little
and persons out of wood. sister Concha, and then for
 At age five, even before he the first time I shed tears
learned to read, he started caused by love and grief”
to make pencil sketches and (“Memoirs of a Student in
mold in clay and wax objects Manila,” n.d.).
which attracted his fancy.
 Not only was little Jose
 Before he was eight years
skilled in the brush, chisel, old, he had written a drama
and pen-knife, but also pen,
(some sources say a
since he was born a poet as
Tagalog comedy) which was
his mother encouraged him
performed at a local festival
to write poetry.
 During Rizal’s childhood, Jose
and for which the municipal
captain rewarded him with
was also interested in magic.
two pesos.
He read many books on
magic. He learned different
tricks such as making a coin
disappear and making a
handkerchief vanish in thin
air.
 REFLECTION
I cannot imagine how talented and gifted Rizal was, as he acquired those skills
and knowledge at an early age unlike some other child in this generation. I'm very
amazed at how simple a life he had and how he developed his heart and mind by
engaging in different activities like praying and participating in church, appreciating
and studying different lifestyles in nature, and socializing with people around him
which educated him and help him to grow as a good and smart boy.

And I believe that we were born in this world with natural abilities and
characterization yet we still have to choose whether we will use it for good, and
improve it as we develop ourselves, as Rizal who has a purpose in life while we are
living in this kind of nature. I realized how gifted and talented we are even when we
were little ones. And I believe that even though we have some similarities between us
and little Pepe, we still have to choose the right path for us to become as good as him,
especially in terms of being generous, religious, smart, and also loving our country by
appreciating the nature.