Letter to the Women of Malolos

Rizal's letter to the young women of Malolos reflects his advocacy for education, empowerment, and women's rights. He commends their courage in seeking enlightenment and encourages them to pursue knowledge. Rizal's words resonate as a call for societal progress, emphasizing the pivotal role of educated and empowered women in shaping a better future.

Rizal’s Letter to the Woman of Malolos_By Jose Rizal , 2024

Jose Rizal’s message to the women of Malolos is to acknowledge their bravery in fighting for educational rights. He was so astounded by how bold their decision was for their generation. One of the most significant reasons he penned this letter was to remind women not only in Malolos but across the country, that they are an integral part of this nation.

2022

Critically appraised Rizal's views on women in nation-building. Examine closely how Rizal instigated the women of Malolos to rise and take an active role in society. Rizal's letter was intended to the twenty Filipina ladies who had demonstrated such courage by petitioning for the establishment of a night school so that they may learn Spanish. The governor-general rejected their appeal, but the women persisted in their struggle for what they believed they were entitled to, and they were eventually successful on the condition that they be transferred to another teacher. The letter was written by Rizal in acknowledgment of and joy of the victory of these valiant females.

The Linacre Quarterly, 2006

Mother-child attachment in the early years of life lays the foundation not only for personal security and relationships, but also for spiritual life. The implications for society are enormous. Moreover, theologians and philosophers have developed reflections about the state of childhood that reveal realities about our relationship with God and our spiritual state. Our psychological experience and our spiritual experience mutually enlighten each other. These theological developments are an inner window which shed light on the deeper meaning of maternal-child bonding. Swiss theologian Hans urs von Balthasar brought attention to the theological importance of childhood, particularly in his small book, Unless You Become Like This Child (UYBY . He says: 176 It occurred to no one [in earlier cultures] to consider the distinctive consciousness of children as a value in itself. And because childhood was ranked as merely a "not-yet" stage, no one was concerned with the form of the human spirit, indeed the form of man 's total spiritual-corporeal existence, that preceded free, moral decision-making. But obviously, for Jesus, the condition of early childhood is by no means a matter of moral indifference and insignificance. Rather, the ways of the child, long since sealed off for the adult, open up an original dimension in which everything unfolds within the bounds of the right, the true, the good, in a zone of hidden containment which cannot be derogated as "pre-ethical" or "unconscious," as if the child's spirit had not yet awakened or were still at the animal levelsomething, it never was, not even in the mother 's womb. That zone or dimension in which the child lives, on the contrary, Linacre Quarterly reveals itself as a sphere of original wholeness and health, and it may be even said to contain an element of holiness, since at first the child cannot yet distinguish between parental and divine love. (UYB,12) Balthasar points out that this time holds dangers for both child and adult: Childhood is fully vulnerable because the child is powerless, while those who care for him enjoy an all-powerful freedom . Instead of leading him rightly, they can lead him astray in a variety of egotistical ways, oftentimes in a manner which is quite unconscious of its moral indifference. Hence Jesus ' terrible threat to such a seducer: "It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone round his neck than to lead one of these little ones astray." Lk.17 :2 UYB ,12-13.

2014

This thesis considers the representation of manly identity in the works of George MacDonald, and the way in which that identity is formed in relation to shifting power networks and contemporary social discourses. I argue that the environment of technological and societal change experienced in the mid-Victorian era (in the wake of industrialisation, urbanisation, changes in suffrage and war) led to a cultural need to re-align social, political, physical and economic power within a framework of male moral strength. Taking his lead from Thomas Carlyle and German transcendentalism, MacDonald promoted a paternalist ‗ideal' of manliness that articulated a synthesis of moral and physical power, yet which also served to promote a paradigm of domestic authority within diverse areas of male interaction. The dual purposes of this ideal were the defence of national identity (the purview of what I term the ‗Soldier body'), and the enforcement of a paternalist authority hierarchy that is swiftly subsumed within a hierarchy of social status. As a result, we see the growth of close interrelationships between the representation of manly identity and the language of class, heavily influenced by Christian socialist narratives of individual development through social education and quiescence. Moreover, we begin to witness disturbing scenes of violence and control, as aspects of MacDonald's culture defy confinement within his model of patriarchal domestic authority. 11 Two of MacDonald's brothers -John MacKay and Jamesdied in childhood. 12 This lasted until the potato-famines of 1846-48, at which point they changed to the far-less-profitable production of oat-flour (Hein, 1999: 32). xi George Senior and his sons corresponded regularly until his death in 1858, and there is evidence of a warm, open affection between all members of their immediate family. Indeed, Rolland Hein ascribes social importance to their relationship, claiming that MacDonald's bond with his father is the reason for his standing ‗amongst those thinkers of the nineteenth century who are responsible for replacing the wide-spread popular image of God as absolute tyrant with that of loving father' (Hein, 1999: 38). For MacDonald (as for many of his friends), this transference of the domestic-paternal onto the spiritual hierarchy is fundamental, upholding filial obedience as both a familial and religious duty. Nevertheless, in practice such obedience did not come without conflict. At the age of fifteen, MacDonald wrote to his father with the idea of becoming a sailor. He writes ‗I should be sorry to displease you in any way', yet begs, ‗I hope that you will not use your parental authority to prevent me, as you undoubtedly can' . This youthful pleawhich even MacDonald admitted to being ‗flighty' (MacDonald, 1840)is an early example of MacDonald's acceptance of a paternal authority that, in later years, became far more dictatorial. Raeper notes that George Senior ‗was someone whom MacDonald wanted to appease, but in practice he found it difficult' (Raeper, 1988: 74), and this is in particular evidence during 1846-1848, when MacDonald's occupational and financial uncertainties forced him to seek tutoring work in London. 13 In 1846, shortly after he arrived in London, he wrote to his father: ‗I am very sorry for my conduct to you in many instances for many years back. I shall not say forgiveness for I know you have forgiven mebut I do hope opportunities may yet be given me to show you how much I love you, and that I am sorry for my behaviour' (Sadler, 1994: 14). However, during these years, George Senior's complaints regarding his son's occupational ‗dithering' were sometimes sharp, provoking exasperated responses: ‗You cannot know living at home, how money is needed, and though I confess not to have been so careful many times as I ought, I have confessed, yet I would not like you to be the judge of the amount of money required on every occasion' (Sadler, 1994: 31). The paternal interventionand filial acquiescencealso extended to the region of personal health when, following a period of illness, George Senior demanded that his son give up his pipe. 14 MacDonald replied, ‗I should not have much right to claim much love for you, if I would not give it up at your request [...] So no more tobacco for me. Joy go with it' (Sadler, 1994: 19). However, while Hein cites MacDonald's relationship with his father as the origin for his 13 At university he had considered both medicine and chemistry as possible professions, yet was also strongly encouraged to consider the Church. 14 MacDonald's health was never strong; he suffered from weak lungs throughout his life, with bouts of pleurisy and asthma resulting several times in near-lethal lung haemorrhages. xv John Kennedy (Raeper, 1988: 51). During MacDonald's time in Aberdeen (1840-1845), the questions of poverty and insurrection were very much in the public mind. The 1843 Disruption of the Church of Scotland led to heightened religious tensions and the proliferation of Presbyterian denominations, while at the same time campaigns for and against the controversial Corn Laws were reaching new heights. 20 In the years that MacDonald knew him, John Kennedy was an active participant in these debates and others. Raeper describes Kennedy as a passionate campaigner on a national and local level. He spoke publically in favour of emancipation and against the Corn Laws, was an active temperance reformer and a frequent supporter of the Ragged Schools (Raeper, 1988: 51). However, MacDonald did not share Kennedy's rigid Calvinism; despite being raised a Calvinist within the Missionar Kirk in Huntley, he had never been able to reconcile the doctrines of the Elect and eternal punishment with his vision of a paternal God (Raeper, 1988: 50). When Kennedy became aware of MacDonald's ‗Morisonian leanings', he was called to a meeting and dismissed from the Sunday-school (Raeper, 1988: 52). 21 Chartism was also becoming a source of concern, both in Scotland and internationally. In 1841, MacDonald saw Fergus O'Connor (a Chartist leader and founder of the movement's newspaper, the Northern Star) speak at a rally in Aberdeen, and wrote home to reassure his father of the ‗peaceful disposition' of the group (Sadler, 1994: 10). 22 However, by 1848 the Chartist Riots had broken out in Britain, and social unrest spread across Europefuelled by the publication of Karl Marx's The Communist Manifesto and also by the desperate situation in Ireland and the Highlands in the wake of the potato famines. 23 Although some literary works (such as Charles Kingsley's Alton Locke) continued to articulate the peaceful nature of 20 The 1843 ‗Disruption' came at the end of a 10-year conflict in the Church of Scotland over the question of sovereignty, and the level of interdependence of Church and State. In May 1843 a large portion of the Church of Scotland separated to form the Free Church of Scotland. The Corn Laws ensured that the price of corn was not affected by cheap imports from overseas, and therefore acted to keep grain prices high. As such, they were perceived by some to protect the interests of wealthy landowners even while the poorer classes struggled to afford food. The Anti-Corn Law League (led by Cobden and Bright) eventually persuaded Peel to repeal the Corn Laws ‗at the expense of the agricultural interest' in 1846the same year that the potato famines swept through the Highlands (Hewitt, 2014: 12). 21 James Morison was thrown out of the Church in 1843 following his controversial assertion that Christ died for all men, not merely the elect (Raeper, 1987: 51). 22 Fergus O'Connor was a Chartist leader, and founder of the movement's newspaper, the Northern Star. MacDonald's comment is interesting, as O'Connor was recognised as a ‗fiery' orator who advocated the use of force to ‗obtain justice, and the acknowledgement of right' (Hewitt, 2014: 69). 23 MacDonald visited Cork in June 1848 to fill a vacant pulpit for a period of three months. While there, he wrote scathingly of the welcome enjoyed by Queen Victoria on her visit to the countrya welcome that he saw as inappropriate, ‗considering the state of the country' (Sadler, 1994: 32). xvi the majority of Chartists, Maureen Moran notes that the movement swiftly came to be ‗associated in the public mind with radical extremism', and with a drive to ‗destroy the social fabric in the name of political freedom' (Moran, 2006: 46). Donald Hall corroborates this, describing how Chartists in literature came to be associated with the image of a ‗lower-class monster', and he cites John Ludlow's complaint that there was a ‗practical atheism in the cry for Monster Meetings' (Hall, 1994: 52; 53). Ludlow's comment underscores the extent to which (in some circles) Chartism (or social rebellion) became synonymised with religious sectarianism, and with an image of the animalistic, uncontrolled male body. The dangers of social and religious ‗schism' were also extensively articulated by F.D. Maurice and A.J. Scott, both Broad Church ministers and social campaigners who lost their license to preach under charges of heterodoxy and heresy. Like MacDonald (who in later years became a close personal friend of both men), the root of their heterodoxy was a drive to unification, with Maurice exclaiming that the Book of Common Prayer was his one defence against the ‗tormenting devils' of divergent doctrines (Vidler, 1966: 23). However, it is striking to note the similarity of the language used to describe the consequences (and potential resolution) of agitation amongst the working classes. Just as Maurice describes the various religious denominations as devils ‗tormenting' the body of the Church, so does A.J. Scott portray social insurrection as the self-destructive action of one part of the body against another: ‗if there be incapacity in the hands or in any other region rightly to discharge their proper function, the whole body suffers with...

Ephemerides Mariologicae, 2010

Based on Mark 3:13-19, Joseph Ratzinger distinguishes in the call to the priesthood between being-with-him and being-sent-forth, which seems to be a paradox between inner recollection and outward, public service. 5 "For the man who, as priest, attempts to speak to his fellow men of Christ, there is nothing of greater importance than this: to learn what being-with-him, existing in his presence, following him means, to hear and see him, to grasp his style of being and thinking. The actual living out of priestly existence and the attempt to prepare others for such an existence demand growth into the ability to hear him above all the static, and to see him through all the forms of this world. To do this is to live in his presence." 6 If the priest is called out of, separated from, for the very purpose of being sent to, then being a priest necessarily means being-for-others. 7 Joseph Kentenich 8 offers a wonderful commentary on this: "'Taken from among men! And to what end?' … for humanitynot just for the one or the other but for all men and women without exception … that they be led into the things which are of God, educated so that they more deeply grasp their fundamental relationship to the living God, speak their inner 'yes' to this relationship and live it out in their practical daily lives. To put it differently, [the priest is called] to move all peoplenot just one or the other Catholicto move all without exception, to use the word of Our Lord, 'to love God with all their hearts , with all their souls, and with all their strength' (Mk 12:30)." If the priest … is essentially an evangelist, a herald of the Gospel, the good news, and if the category of mission, of being-sent, delivers the key to the understanding of his ministry then this is weighty in the consequences it holds for the form of priestly existence: he must be a man who lives off the Word, who is impregnated with the Word, totally at home in the Word, and who concretely finds in the Word the centre about which he builds his existence. 10 Cardinal Vǎn Thuận, who endured long imprisonment under the Communist regime in Vietnam, illustrates well the significance of this truth when he writes: "The principal attitude required before the Word of God that speaks and communicates itself is that of listening and accepting. 'Listen to him' is exactly the command the Father addresses to the disciples regarding his Son. This is a listening more of the heart than of the ears. The word, in fact, bears fruit only if it finds fertile soil, that is, it falls into a 'good and perfect heart' (Lk 8:15). But it is not enough only to meditate on the Word of God, not enough to penetrate it with the mind, to pray with it, to draw some considerations or proposals from it. Authentic listening to the Word is translated into obedience, into doing what the Word demands of us. We must allow ourselves to work by the Word, until we arrive at the point that it animates our entire Christian life. We must apply the Word to all the circumstances of our existence and transform it into life … In fact, by entering us the Word of God questions our human ways of thinking and acting, and it introduces us to the new style of life inaugurated by Christ… The Gospel, in short, awakens in us a profound sense of our lifewe know finally why we are alive, and it makes us hope anew. The result is that it is no longer we who live, but Christ who comes to live in us. Through the words of Scripture, the Word makes his home in us and transforms us into verba nel Verbo, 'word into the Word. '" 11