diced b Jos e S. Arc a, - non

indirect, to the Franciscans. Paciano will later write his brother about theFranciscan tertiaries of Calamba, their activities, the rivalries among otherreligious associations, the superficial nature of certain pious practices, etc.Everything seems to show that the Franciscan tertiaries were an integral partof the life of the Rizal family. But let us return to Jose's letter to his mother.This rather tactless admonition of the young student in Madrid to hismother is received by her with surprise and disquiet:Since you say in one letter'2 that for you prayers in the church are of no value, letme tell you, that since you went away, in your regard I have made a most specialpromise for you and undertaken the duty of entrusting and praying [to win]patronage and protection for all those for whom I pray. Now, I shall go throughmy debts to God our Lord one by one."Rizal's concise but sharp phrase must have cut deeply the soul of DonaTeodora, a sensitive and intelligent woman, and presaged for her the futuretragedy of her son. And so, on 11 December 1884, deeply preoccupied shewrote again with more urgency and in phrases impregnated with Franciscaninfluence on the value of learning and the need to hold on to the faith he hadlearned from herYou no longer realize the sadness I feel every time I hear something about youfrom my companions. I therefore charge you not to get mixed up with mattersthat can becloud my heart .... What I now most earnestly beg of you, my son, isthat, above all, you do not fail in your duties as a true Christian. This to me seemsmore satisfying, instead of your becoming excessively learned, for learning issometimes the thing that brings us more misfortunes.'•3. Spiritual ShipwreckBut perhaps the well-meaning counsel of the distant mother arrived toolate to be accepted by the till shortly before courteous, respectful, and deeplyreligious Jose who had left the Philippines only two years previously. In aletter written shortly afterwards to his brother Paciano, he reacts, in aninexplicably brusque manner to what he considers an alarmist and excessivelymaternal concern of Dofia Teodora, concluding with a strong attack,apparently uncalled for, of certain current religious practices and the clergy inthe Philippines:. . [Paciano], by your example, with your prestige among the people there,should begin to consider within yourself [how] to kill feast days and other thingsthat do not bring any profit, like masses and other similar things. The money thatgoes to certain depositories does not circulate, and money not circulating is125