Rizal was determined to come back to the Philippines for the following reasons, To operate his

mother's eyes, To serve his people who had long been oppressed by Spanish tyrants, To find out for
himself how the Noli Me Tangere and his other writings were affecting Filipinos and Spaniards.

It was a happy homecoming because His family welcomed him affectionally, with plentiful tears
of joys. His family became worried about his safety. Paciano did not leave him to protect him from any
enemy assault. •In Calamba, Rizal established a medical clinic. His first patient was his mother, who was
almost blind. News of the arrival of a great doctor from Germany spread far and wide. Patients from
manila and other province flocked to Calamba.

Criticism and attacks against the Noli and its author came from all quarters. An anonymous
letter signed "A Friar" and sent to Rizal, says in part: "How ungrateful you are… If you, or for that matter
all your men, think you have a grievance, then challenge us and we shall pick up the gauntlet, for we are
not cowards like you, which is not to say that a hidden hand will not put an end to your life."

Consequently, realizing how much the Noli had awakened his countrymen, to the point of
defending his novel, Rizal said: "Now I die content."

Fittingly, Rizal found it a timely and effective gesture to dedicate his novel to the country of his
people whose experiences and sufferings he wrote about, sufferings which he brought to light in an
effort to awaken his countrymen to the truths that had long remained unspoken, although not totally
unheard of