Walking with Mary and Joseph

By Brenda Nettles Riojas

The Valley Catholic

Nine days before Christmas, beginning on Dec. 16, many parishes and families organize posadas in their communities to walk as pilgrims with Mary and Joseph, recounting their journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem as they looked for a place to stay.

The Mexican tradition dates to the 16th century as an initiative of Augustinian missionaries to catechize, utilizing the customs of the indigenous people and adapting them to tell the story of Mary and Joseph. Originally it started with the celebration of nine Masses, one each day leading it up to Christmas. It has since grown to include the procession of pilgrims seeking shelter followed by celebrations in joyful anticipation.

Deacon Luis Zuniga, director of the San Juan Diego Ministry Institute, said the posadas remind us also that it is not just Mary and Joseph who are looking for a place to stay. “It is the Baby Jesus who is knocking at our hearts. He is looking for a place to be born, and it starts in our hearts,” he said.

The posadas, where groups are divided into those who are representing the holy couple and those who are the inn keepers, are infused with lessons. Deacon Zuniga said they tell us of the rejection of the world toward faith, of the coldness and indifference of people to the vulnerable. “There is a chorus on repeat, ‘I don’t have time.’”

No me importa el nombre / déjenme dormir / pues ya les he dicho / que no voy a abrir. (I don't care about the name / let me sleep / because I've already told you / that I'm not going to open.)

If you follow the song used of for the posadas, he said you also find a moment of conversion. “We go from not having room in our homes or our hearts, to recognizing who is knocking on our doors, our hearts.”

¿Eres tú, José? / ¿Tu esposa es María? / Entren peregrinos, / no los conocía. (Is that you, Joseph? / Is your wife Mary? / Enter pilgrims; / I did not recognize you.

“The posadas are a reminder to welcome Jesus in our hearts and in our lives,” said Deacon Zuniga.

Bishop Daniel E. Flores asked during a staff posada: of the two groups, who’s the most worried?

Part of us take the role of Mary and Joseph, looking for a place that will receive them, and some will take the role of those who have a chance to let them come inside.

He said the ones who are indoors are likely the most worried. “We don’t have room,” they say. “They invent excuses not to let them (the Holy Family) enter.”

He adds, “We can find a lot of reasons to be preoccupied, and most of them have to do with finding reasons not to let Jesus in. They don’t have room in their worried minds, to make room for somebody else who might need something.”

Los más libres son José y María. The least worried are Joseph and Mary. They trust. “God will take care of us. The ones who are freest, trust the Lord. There is great faith in Mary and Joseph. They know God will provide something. They just don’t know where.”

Bishop Flores said, “We need to be like Mary and Joseph, confident that Jesus will open the path before us. Diosito va a abrir el camino.”

“My invitation (as we participate in the posada) is to see yourselves on both sides of this.”

He added, “Try to be on the side that is less worried; the side that trusts Jesus will alleviate our preoccupations.”

Pidiendo Posada