Las Posadas

I went to Mass last night and a few minutes before it started I saw my parents walk in (of course they sat with me). It was the night that St. Pius' sister Parish (St. Adalbert's) joined so it was more crowded than usual and Mass was spoken half in Spanish and half in English. Father Bob gave the homily in English first and then repeated it in Spanish (his Spanish is pretty good).After Mass I introduced my parents to Fr. Bob and he was really happy to meet them =]

Fr. Bob had told me earlier in the week that he was asked to be St. Joseph for the Las Posadas (a Catholic tradition that retells, through song, the journey of Mary & Joseph seeking shelter). He told me it would be fun and that I should go. My parents saw the sheet (explaining about the tradition) that he gave me and wanted to go too.

*Edit*
We went to the Posada tonight...Fr. Bob did a good job as Joseph. When we got to the "shelter" there was food & music...we also got to meet some new people from St. Adalberts too! =)

He knocked on several doors, each time making the same desperate plea. “My wife is very pregnant and my donkey is hungry,” Joseph said. Each time, the response was the same: “No lugar.” That is Spanish for “No room.” Joseph and his wife, Mary, moved on, undeterred. Finally, an innkeeper reluctantly allowed them use of a bar, where, alongside the livestock, Mary gave birth to the baby Jesus.
Since learning it from Spanish missionaries in the 15th century, Mexicans have long celebrated Las Posadas, Spanish for “hotel” or “inn,” a re-enactment of the first Christmas.

Tonight, Latino members of St. Adalbert Church in South Bend shared the tradition with members of St. Pius X Catholic Church in Granger. A group of about 200 people walked around the block near St. Adalbert Catholic Church, knocking on the doors of a church building, a home and the parish rectory, where priests live.

At the last stop, the church’s Heritage Center, Joseph and Mary - played by St. Pius associate pastor the Rev. Bob Lengerich, 26, and St. Adalbert member Evelyn Gonzalez, 13 - finally were granted entrance. Inside, the crowd enjoyed live music, ate Mexican pastries, drank champurrado, a Mexican form of hot chocolate, and cracked open a pinata.This was not the Sponge Bob- or Scooby Doo-shaped pinata now commonplace at many children’s birthday parties, but a Sputnik-shaped traditional one. Each of its seven points represents one of the seven deadly sins: greed, gluttony, sloth, pride, envy, wrath and lust. Cracking the “sins” with a stick yields little treats and treasures, a reward for keeping faith in Jesus Christ.


So here are some events I am going to this week:
~ Tuesday = Work on Christmas Presents; Advent Taize Prayer Service @ 7
~ Wednesday = Work 10-4; Advent Lessons & Carols @ 7
~ Friday = Finish up Christmas shopping/wrapping presents, pack for vacation
~ Saturday = Work from 10-4; Leave for Grandpa's house
~ Sunday = Go to Uncle Bob's for Christmas