A "Turning Cradle" For Others (Homily At The Final Vows Of Fr JM Manzano SJ By Fr Ramon Ma L Bautista SJ)

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t today’s Mass on the eve of the Solemnity of St Joseph and in which Jomari will pronounce final vows in the Society, I am reminded of Hospicio de San Jose, an institution in Manila run by the Daughters of Charity (or DC sisters). It is a very special home for orphans, abandoned babies, children, and even the unwanted sick and elderly.

In the past, any mention of Hospicio de San Jose was often followed by a reference to the Turning Cradle. The Turning Cradle was literally a cradle or a crib shaped like a basket that was built into the wall of the Hospicio, where unwanted babies could be placed or deposited by mothers who felt they had no choice but to abandon their baby. Instead of leaving their baby in some isolated place, they could come to this wall, open the Turning Cradle, place their baby inside, and close it. Then they could ring the bell attached to the wall, to notify the sisters inside the compound that a baby had just been “deposited” in the cradle. After that, they could simply walk away, no questions asked, and just disappear. It would then be up to the sisters to take care of that baby, to feed, clothe, shelter, and even educate the child, until s/he is old enough to leave and face the world.

This is the overall inspiring spirit of Christian hospitality in this most welcoming place called “Hospicio de San Jose.”

Interestingly, in Spanish “hospicio” could also refer to a person, someone who is accommodating, hospitable, open, and welcoming. In fact, English words like hospice, hospital, hotel, and host all derive from the same root word as “hospicio.” This makes it most proper and fitting to combine in the name of the orphanage “hospicio” and “San Jose.”

Because San Jose, our beloved Patron of the Society of Jesus, was exactly that. He was most accommodating, most hospitable, most open and welcoming. Here is where we can learn so much from San Jose especially in our secular and individualistic culture today.

Pope Benedict once warned about secularism: “What is secularism? It is that lifestyle that leaves little or no room for others… little or no room for God in our hearts. And so today we have grown accustomed to thinking only of ourselves.” It shows in the tendency to think more in terms of my needs, my concerns, my comfort and convenience, my agenda and plans, my future, and so on. But if we take a close look at San Jose, we realize that his overall tendency and disposition was the total opposite. He left his interiority so uncluttered of the things of this world, that he created so much space for others and for God in his heart.

Like the Turning Cradle of the Hospicio, San Jose’s heart was always open and welcoming, such that he had so much room in his life for Mary, for the baby Jesus, for God and his will.

Jomari, you took your first perpetual vows right here in this same chapel as a novice in 2003—23 years ago! Today you take your final vows as a Jesuit, out of your deep desire to be fully incorporated into the body of the Society. Of course, these two sets of vows are different. The fundamental difference actually lies in what we may call their “canonical implications.” At your final vows tonight, the entire Society of Jesus of around 14,000, represented by Fr Xave, as it were formally confirms and attests the first perpetual vows you made back then, acknowledging your full incorporation into her body as a true companion and brother in Christ, for better or for worse.

Looking at your Jesuit journey across those 23 years, with your multiple assignments and ministries, we can well ascertain that from the very start you were proactively creating much space for God in your heart. Indeed, you were involved in ministries like Center for Ignatian Spirituality, regency in Ateneo de Manila High School, Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan, and of course pastoral work in Cabanglasan, Bukidnon, where you were parish priest, coordinator of the Indigenous Peoples ministry, and school director all rolled into one. Today your present assignment at Sacred Heart Novitiate allows you to serve as giver of Ignatian and Laudato Si Retreats. No doubt in all this, you have so generously stretched and opened yourself to the point of emptying yourself, so that your heart itself may become in essence another hospicio, a true dwelling place for our God, who is above all a God of Hospitality. With so much inhospitality around in violence, killings, and bombings, turning to our God of Hospitality makes sense.

What better day is there to make your final vows and prayer of total self-entrusting (paubaya) to God than on the eve of the Solemnity of San Jose! So at this special Mass, my prayer for you, Jomari, is this. Through God’s overflowing grace, may you learn as a Jesuit to be truly accommodating, hospitable, open and welcoming to all the people you serve and to our Lord himself, just like San Jose, the man with an uncluttered heart, who always left much sacred space for others and for God in his life.

St Joseph of Nazareth, Patron of the Society of Jesus, pray for us!

Preached on 18 Mar 2026, in the Chapel of the Sacred Heart, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, Philippines.