La Posada is a South American Advent custom which we have brought to our Parish this year!
‘Posada’ means a roadside ‘inn’ and refers to the various places in which Mary and Joseph stayed on their way from Nazareth to Bethlehem, while awaiting the birth of Jesus.
The Posada (the image of The Holy Family prior to the Birth of Jesus) travels around our. homes during Advent, spending a night here and there (as did Our Lady and S Joseph), sharing in the lives of those who offer them ‘shelter’. The final hosts bring the Posada to the Crib Service in Church on Christmas Eve, representing the arrival of the Holy Family in Bethlehem.
The en route ‘hosts’ keep a ‘diary’ of what happens (from the point of view of the Holy Family as it were) and have an opportunity to reflect on what it means to have Jesus ‘hidden’ yet Present at the heart of our circumstances (with all our joys and challenges), just as did Mary and Joseph as they journeyed towards Bethlehem that first Christmas, many years ago. Keep checking this site and Facebook as we will be sharing the diary entries and pictures as La Posada makes its special journey this Advent.
Whether or not we host the Posada, that message is for each one of us as we approach Christmas 2016 – and every year.
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