Written by Rev. Fr. Victor Badillo, SJ
Annotated by James Malabanan based from the updated and recent articles from Fr. Badillo before his passing in 2014.
Blogger’s note: As we celebrate the 125th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 350th anniversary of the Sacred Heart apparitions to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque draw near, it is appropriate to explore the remarkable history of the Sacred Heart statue that held a special place in the heart of Dr. Jose Rizal, the country’s national hero. The revered Father Victor L. Badillo, S.J., a renowned figure in Philippine astronomy and Chairman Emeritus of the Philippine Astronomical Society, illuminates the profound relationship between Dr. Rizal and the devotion to the Sacred Heart in his article. Father Badillo’s examination of this subject illuminates the spiritual significance of the Sacred Heart statue in the life of our National Hero.
The following article is an annotated edition of his essay on the Rizal’s Sacred Heart statue with updated insights that he later wrote in other publications before his demise in 2014.
While a student at the Ateneo Municipal in Intramuros, Jose Rizal made a small statue of the Sacred Heart, about nine inches in length. He carved the statuette in baticuling wood with a penknife at the request of his professor, Fr. Jose Leonardo S.J.
Rizal could have read religious literature when he was five years old. A play he wrte in Tagalog when he was eight years old was presented at a Calamba fiesta. At an early age, he showed his artistic talent in painting and sculpture.
Rizal’s formal schooling started when, at the age of eleven, he was admitted into the Ateneo Municipal in Manila. Five years later he was awarded a Bachelors Degree. He captured many honors in literary and artistic contests. He wrote a play in Spanish called “Junto al Pasig” in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was presented in school.
Rizal joined the Sodality of Our Lady and in due time became its Prefect. It is no surprise that he carved an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is from this time that Fr. Jose Leonardo, SJ requested to carve a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Fr. Leonardo intended to take it with him to Spain, but the domestic helper forgot to place it in his trunk. It was left behind and was taken by Rizal’s fellow students. It was then placed on a shelf above the door of their study hall where it remained for twenty years.
In August 1887, Rizal returned to the Philippines and stayed till early 1888. Now a liberal in matters political as well as religious, he visited his Jesuit friends at the Ateneo. On his way out, the Jesuit porter showed him the statuette. Rizal replied, “Other times, Brother, other times. I no longer believe in such things.”
In December 1896, after Rizal was sentenced to death by the Military Tribunal on charges of treason, he asked for some Jesuit priests to visit him. Fr Miguel Saderra Mata, SJ, Rector of the Ateneo Municipal, together with Fr. Luis Viza, SJ, went in haste to Fort Santiago to the cell where Rizal was imprisoned.
They were greeted warmly by Rizal and asked them if the statuette of the Sacred Heart which he had carved as a boy was still at the Ateneo. Fr Viza, in reply, took the statuette out of the pocket of his soutane. He had guessed rightly. Rizal would remember it at the hour of his death. Rizal took it and kissed it in his hands and placed it on the table where he would soon write the Ultimo Adios.
The statuette remained in the cell. On the night before his execution, it was to Fr Jose Vilaclara, SJ, his former Physics teacher, that Rizal made his last confession and was reconciled to the Church. The following day, December 30, 1896, before leaving his cell to go to Bagumbayan, Rizal held the statuette to his lips for the last time. With two hands holding it close to his heart, expressing his acceptance of the Heart of Jesus that Jesus graciously offered. He moved slowly to give it back to the Jesuits who were with him to the last day.
When the fire of 1932 engulfed the Ateneo, the principal concern of the Jesuits was the safety of the students. No one got hurt. Many valuable irreplaceable collections went up in smoke. The Ateneo resumed operations in Padre Faura. In 1945, the Ateneo was destroyed completely during the liberation of Manila.
Some time in 1952, when Ateneo was in the Loyola Campus, Quezon City, the statue was returned, presumably by the student who saved it from the 1932 fire, and inadvertently from the 1945 fire as well. Replicas made from ash from the bowels of the earth hurled into the sky by Mount Pinatubo in 1991 were distributed to friends.
After some twenty three years in the Board of Trustees room, Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, SJ, then the President of Ateneo de Manila University, turned it over to the Ateneo University Archives.
Musings
Rizal carved the statue for Fr. Leonardo. Did the Jesuit need one for himself, or did he want Rizal to develop his talent? Why did he ask Rizal to carve an image of the Sacred Heart and not of someone else, like Our Lady? Because he had seen the excellence of the statue of Mary that Rizal had carved. Rizal was at that time the Prefect of the Sodality of Our Lady.
What thoughts passed through Rizal’s mind as he carved? Did he have pictures of the Sacred Heart in mind? Did he research his subject? What did he know of the devotion to the Sacred Heart? What did his devotion, if any, to the Sacred Heart consist of? What does the actual statue say? What was the state of the devotion at the Ateneo? How did he think of carving a statue with a hole in the chest?
It was painful for the nameless Brother that Rizal refused to even look at his statue. Would he have a statue if the houseboy had not forgotten? Would Rizal have thought of his statue in his cell if the Brother had not brought the statue as Rizal left? Did the Brother on his own or had someone asked him to show it to Rizal? How did Rizal feel when he gently rebuffed the gesture of the Brother? Did he feel sad? Was it like meeting a girl friend he had outgrown?
On leaving his death cell, Rizal held to his heart, the statue of Jesus holding his heart against his heart.
Theological Interpretation
The statuette is that of a man whose left hand is hanging by his side with palm facing away from him. His right hand is bent at the elbow with his fist high against his left chest where his heart was. Held in that fist is a heart surmounted by a flame.
Jesus is offering his heart which he has torn from his chest. In offering his heart he tells us, in deeds and not in words, that he loves us to the extent of giving his life for us. This is the message of the crucified Jesus. This is the message of the Heart of Jesus. On the cross, blood and water flowed out. By this he died. By giving us his heart, he dies.
He is offering his heart not to be put beside our hearts. No. He is offering his heart to replace our hearts. In Ezekiel 36:36, God says: “I will take your heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh.” In Rizal’s statuette, He presents Jesus in this manner echoing the words “I will take your human heart and replace it with the Heart of God.” God work is not accomplished until he has replaced with his heart the hearts of every man. And He calls us to join Him in his mission.
He is not a giver until his gift is accepted. Jesus did not redeem the world by his suffering and crucifixion until the Father accepted it, when he raised him from the dead.
He gives us his heart so that in turn we give our heart, his heart, to others. To have his heart is to love as he does. Greater love than this no man has than that he lay down his life for his friend. He loves us so that we become able to love like him. We cannot love like him until we have his heart.
At the feeding of the multitude, he feeds them with his word and then feeds their bodies. Later he tells them, “You come to eat bread. Whoever chews my flesh and drinks my blood will live forever.” In the feeding of the multitude, he lets his disciples distribute the bread. As they do, they tell the people, “This bread is the gift of Jesus.” At mass, the priest says, “This is the body of Jesus.” At the Last Supper, Jesus takes, blesses, breaks and says, “Take this broken body and eat it. Take this spilled blood and drink it.”
The Society of Jesus has accepted the responsibility to spread the devotion to the Heart of Jesus as a munus suavissimum (most sweet mission orders). The Jesuits introduced devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was introduced to the Philippines by the Jesuit Order in 1856, centered at the Church of San Ignacio. Years later, in 1872, the devotion was further spread through the establishment of the Apostleship of Prayer, with its first centers at Ateneo Municipal, Sta. Isabel College, and the Colegio de la Concordia in Manila. Since then, the Association has grown and extended its network and membership across the country.
In the book of Rev. Fr. Jesus Ma. Cavana y Manso, CM “Rizal’s Unfading Glory” it is shown that Rizal was said to be a member and promoter of the Apostleship of Prayer, hence it helped in carving his statue of the Sacred Heart.
Rizal’s representation of the Heart of Jesus as Jesus with His heart in His fist and with an emptied chest is not only unique, but dynamic and effective. Conventional representations show a symbolic heart adorning his chest, almost passive.
Before his execution, as he symbolically accepts the Heart of Jesus and received His promise of refuge in his last moment, he gave the image back to the Jesuits. He now had the Risen Christ with Him, walking with him and at the supreme moment carrying him over the threshold into life. Jesus would not desert one who so made of wood proclaim eloquently the totality of His love.
Rizal’s request to be shot by the firing squad was refused. But with a heroic effort, he turned his body after he was shot and fell face forward. To kiss Filipinas, his heart against the land.
About the author:
Father Victor L. Badillo, S.J. (January 23, 1930 – October 26, 2014) was a distinguished Philippine Jesuit astronomer, he carried on the scientific legacy of Father Fedirico Faura, SJ Father Miguel Selga, SJ and others. His humility, compassion, and unwavering dedication to advancing astronomy in the Philippines inspired countless young and seasoned astronomers. The International Astronomical Union honored him by naming Asteroid Badillo (minor planet no. 4866) after him. As Chairman Emeritus of the Philippine Astronomical Society, Father Badillo made his humble mark in Rizal studies as he wrote articles on the statuette of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that he carved during his adolecent years.
References:
Badillo, Victor, SJ, “Jose Rizal’s Statue of the Sacred Heart”, Originally published in pedrocalungsod.blogspot.com, Springs for The Source, Steps to The Summit, Retreived from: http://fonsetculmen.blogspot.com/2011/06/jose-rizals-statue-of-sacred- heart.html on June 28, 2023.
Flores, Manuel, SJ “The Complete Book of the Sacred Heart”, The National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Makati City, 2022.
“History of Ateneo de Manila University”, Retrieved from: http://www.ateneo.edu/history on June 28, 2023.
Photos:
Ateneo de Manila University
James Benedict Malabanan
Philippine Republic Stamps
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