Interpretation: To the Child Jesus

Jose Rizal wrote the poem To the Child Jesus (in other references, Child Jesus) when he was 14 years old. A rather short poem only eight lines long, it follows the traditional Spanish pattern of poetry:

Why have you come to earth,
Child-God, in a poor manger?
Does Fortune find you a stranger
from the moment of your birth?

The poem begins with Rizal addressing the child Jesus and asking him why he had chosen a lowly manger as the place through which he would enter the world of humanity. He further enriches this question by asking whether Fortune - in this case it could mean wealth or power or prestige or all of the above - had decided to stay far away from the Lord the moment he decided to become a man.

Alas, of heavenly stock
now turned an earthly resident!
Do you not wish to be president
but the shepherd of your flock?

 "Alas" is a word expressing concern, grief, sorrow or pity and is commonly used in traditional poetry. When Rizal adds this expression to the second half of his poem, he signifies that he, Rizal, as a man and having the perspective of a mere human being, finds a part of himself that grieves over how much the divine has given up in the process of his incarnation. He then ends the poem with a rather rhetorical question: Wouldn't you rather be Lord above the earth than be a mere shepherd of simple sheep like the rest of us?

Early in a Filipino child's education, he is taught the basic truths and tenets of Christianity. It is highly probable that as a child, Rizal had already felt deeply for his country and hand great dreams for his motherland. It was easy for his young mind to connect the life and suffering of Jesus, God incarnate, to the present struggles of the nation against oppression, as Rizal believed in non-violence and clearly found a firm ally in the person of Christ.

Need more of this? Uncover the meaning of ALL of of Rizal's relevant poetry and verses by buying the book.  

Rizal's Poor Performance at the UST and the Parallel Universe in His Books

There were three main reasons for his struggling academic performance at the University of Santo Tomas (Guerrero, 1998):

Rizal was not satisfied with the system of education at the university.

• In the Ateneo,  Jesuit professors were encouraging and understanding. This motivated Rizal to develop his skills and talents.
• The Dominican system was obsolete and repressive.
• Rizal stressed this in the El Filibusterismo, through Father Millon, the professor in Physics and Placido Penitente, one of the Filipino students under him. Rizal, through the character of Placido Penitente, expressed how he disapproved of how instruction in science was done in the university and how Spanish professors treated Filipino students who had the potential to excel in class. (This is no longer true today, considering that UST is one of the best universities in the country) [Garcia, et.al., 2011]

There were plenty of things to distract a young man in the peak of his youth.

• Rizal became fascinated with women during this time, as any young man would.

1. Segunda Katigbak
2. Leonor Valenzuela
3. Leonor Rivera

• Some historians point out that Rizal "joined parties, took part in gang fights and even cut classes." [Garcia, et.al., 2011]

 Medicine was not Rizal's true vocation.

• He found out later that he was made not for medicine, but for the arts.

  

Rizal at the University of Santo Tomas 1877-1882

Jose Rizal, having completed his Bachiller en Artes at the Ateneo Municipal, was now eligible for higher education at a university. His mother, Doña Teodora, had second thoughts about sending her son to school because of the previous incident involving the execution of friars Gomez, Burgos and Zamora. However, it was Don Francisco who decided his son should to the University of Santo Tomas, a prestigious institution run by the Dominican order.

Undecided
Rizal, upon entering the university, was not certain which course of study he wanted to pursue. The Jesuit priests who had been his former mentors had advised him to take up farming, or to join the order and be a man of the cloth. However, his tastes went towards law, literature, or medicine. In the end, he decided to sign up for Philosophy and Letters during his freshman year because of the following reasons:

1. It was what his father would have wanted for him.
2. He had failed to seek the advice of the rector of the Ateneo, Father Ramon Pablo.

As part of the course, he had to complete units in the following subjects:

• Cosmology and Metaphysics
• Theodicy
• History of Philosophy

His report card was very impressive:

Shifting to Medicine

After completing his first year, Rizal decided to take up medicine as his university course. This change of heart was due to two factors:

1. Father Ramon Pablo, rector of the Ateneo, had advised him to pursue the course.
2. Rizal's mother had failing eyesight and he thought he owed it to her to become a doctor and cure her condition. 

Rizal's performance at the University of Santo Tomas was not as excellent as his time at the Ateneo. His grades after shifting to medicine had suffered as well:

 

 

Why the poor performance?

Unfortunately, Rizal was not happy at UST and this reflected on his grades (Zaide & Zaide, 1999). There were three main factors that contributed to his unhappiness at the university, namely:

1. The Dominican professors were hostile to him.
2. Filipino students suffered discrimination.
3. The method of instruction at UST was obsolete and repressive.

Likewise, there were three main reasons for his struggling academic performance (Guerrero, 1998):

1. Rizal was not satisfied with the system of education at the university.
2. There were plenty of things to distract a young man in the peak of his youth.
3.  Medicine was not Rizal's true vocation.

He would later find out that his real calling was in the arts, not in medicine. 

For more information on the above factors leading to Rizal's poor academic performance and how he reflected his university life in his books, click here.