ABOUT US
Nazareth House was founded in 2016. We belong to the international fellowship of the Catholic Worker movement where each house of hospitality is autonomous, and so we do not purport to speak for or represent the movement as a whole.
Though the Catholic Worker Movement originated from and is rooted in the Roman Catholic tradition, the movement itself came to have non-Roman Catholic adherents- Episcopalians, Mennonites, Presbyterians, Mormons and Orthodox, to name a few. When we use “catholic” to designate ourselves, we do so to reflect our belief that God’s love is universal and does not exclude. Thus, we welcome into our house people of different faiths. Ecumenical in orientation, we are not an official organ of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines.
Because LGBTQs and persons living with HIV/AIDS are one of the most discriminated and oppressed groups of people in the Philippines, Nazareth House was begun as a ministry to LGBTQs and persons living with HIV/AIDS and will remain to be the focus of our ministry.
We follow Dorothy Day’s personalism, that is, a belief that each person, that each Christian must care for his brother or sister in need. The love of neighbor is our supreme Christian duty imposed by Christ and not to be regulated by the State. Because we exercise our ministry from the point of Christian duty to love, we do not secure permission from, or register with the State to love our neighbor. Thus, we do not exist as a legal corporation, and we have no formal organization. Because we are not a registered charity, we cannot legally accept financial donation.
We support ourselves and each other through our own income- wherever that comes from. However, no one is required to do so because “each one should give what he/she has decided in his/her heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9: 7). This is the practice of voluntary poverty- the sharing of our resources to take care of one another- and that comes from hearts expanded by generous love (Acts 2:5). To focus on fundraising, and accumulation of resources other than what is needed threatens, in fact, our Christian way of voluntary poverty. [Other residents can solicit personal gifts for their own personal use from their social orbit but not to fundraise for the House.]
While it is true that if we have more money, we could have a bigger house, bigger programs, lots of services, etc. We are told that if we have lots of money, this will guarantee our survival and sustainability. First, survival is not our prime motivation but prophetic witness. Precarity and perhaps failure is built into our way of life. Secondly. from the beginning, we follow the “little way” of Saint Therese of Lisieux, and our “little way” simply means just running a tiny shelter for LGBTQs living with HIV/AIDS. Our aim is not to get bigger and run more programs. There are lots and better places which do that. [Our residents, however, can branch off to do whatever ministry they feel called to do.] Simply, our “little way” is a life of doing “little” acts of mercy, kindness and love in the world and in our “little” community where we can pay attention to one another. We hope that others would be able to read the Gospel through our “little” witness, and thus become inspired to do their own “little” witnessing to the love of God.
© 2019-2025 Nazareth House