Wenceslao Retana, noted Spanish specialist in Philippine history, called Dr. Jose P. Rizal "El Verbo de la Revolucion (The Messiah of the Philippine Revolution)." Miguel de Unamuno, Rector of Spain’s University of Salamanca, after poring over Dr. Rizal’s life and works, called him "El Cristo de Filipinas (The Christ of the Philippines)." Others called Dr. Rizal the "Apostle of Philippine Freedom" and the "Pride and Hero of the Malay Race." These show the esteem in which Dr. Rizal was held by his countrymen and foreigners alike.

"If you want to know the future of the Filipino people," he wrote, "study their past." He stressed the idea in his message to the Women of Malolos that the women are the foundation and future of the nation. Love of one’s own language is found in his poem "Sa Aking Mga Kababata" which he wrote, when he was only eight years old, that he who does not love his own language is worse than a rotten fish – "higit sa hayop at malansang isda." His La Liga Filipina advocated national unity as the foundational of national progress. His Last Farewell stated his readiness to sacrifice his life for the sake of the country’s freedom.

The execution of Dr. Jose P. Rizal created a national symbol for his countrymen. A Spanish scholar wrote that Dr. Rizal’s death gave birth to the Filipino nation and rang the death knell for colonial rule in the country. Living Dr. Rizal’s ideals in our own lives is one lasting way of honoring him during our observance of his 145th birth anniversary.