As a Hispanic Catholic Sister, I’ve always felt there is something very magical and mystical about walking under a starry night with friends and family, the flicker of candlelight guiding the way. Add the melodies of familiar hymns, statues of St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary, perhaps a live donkey, and you have the transplanted Mexican Christmas tradition of Las Posadas. In many Catholic churches across the United States, the Advent season will include this nine-day devotion to the Holy couple’s search for room at the Inn on their journey to Bethlehem. Posada in Spanish means “inn” and Las Posadas is a solemn, yet festive, re-enactment of the many inns and innkeepers who turned away the Divine Child.

The devotional celebration begins December 16 and is reenacted every day to December 24. The nine days are from the tradition of novenas - nine days of private or public devotions for special graces. Las Posadas have their origin in the efforts of the early Spanish missionaries to convert the native people of the Americas. During the Middle Ages, Spain began a devotion of preparation for Christmas and the nine days also represented the nine months Our Lord was in his Mother’s womb.

In the United States, the tradition can take several variations. It begins with a procession, which includes statues of the Holy couple or teens dressed as Joseph and Mary. The couple is accompanied by children dressed as angels or shepherds, musicians, a donkey, and parishioners carrying candles to light the way.

The group stops at different homes to ask for lodging, singing a special Posadas hymn to make their request. In the song, Joseph asks for consideration for his beloved wife, the Queen of Heaven who is to be the Mother of God. The “innkeepers” do not recognize the pilgrims, and sweetly sing their rejection and send them on their way. At last, one of the innkeepers recognizes who they are and invites them in.

All of the guests enter and say special prayers, which may include the Rosary. Singing of traditional Mexican Christmas songs follows, including Noche de Paz (Silent Night). After the singing everyone gathered enjoys light refreshments.

The refreshments might be Mexican chocolate, a drink with a taste of cinnamon; buñuelos (tasty fried tortillas soaked in sugar and cinnamon); tamales (meat-filled corn dough, wrapped and cooked in corn husks); or pan dulce, Mexican pastry. Typically, refreshments are light and simple, to enable even the most modest home to serve as the host each evening. On the 24th, the celebration is larger; the meal is more of a banquet and feast, with a piñata for the children. In some parishes the last home will be the Church hall.

In some communities, Las Posadas has taken on a bilingual flavor where all can enjoy the devotion and celebration. The solemn yet joyous tradition brings people together to be reminded of the need to open our hearts to each other, in a spirit of hospitality and caring. Breaking bread between one another is an act of intimate sharing, and Mexican traditions are rich in the sharing of special foods during feast days. It is no wonder that everyone enjoys a Mexican celebration, and the Advent season has more than its share.

The search for room at the Inn is not unlike our own search for meaning in our lives, as we frantically spend our time knocking on the doors of different activities, careers, and lifestyles. When we stop knocking long enough to listen and see, we might recognize Our Pilgrim Lord knocking at the doors of our hearts. He has been knocking since our Baptism, when we first received His call to become Children of God and proclaim His Kingdom. It’s not hard to become deaf to the call, in the midst of so many other things calling much louder for our attention, time, and commitment.

The symbolic nine days of Las Posadas has meaning for us in the need to spend enough time to listen, focus and prepare for the gift the Lord offers us. When we unwrap it, we may be surprised and delighted to see it is using our talents and gifts in life-giving, life-sustaining ways that answer our Baptismal call. The knocking may be a calling to serve, through a vocation, whether you are married or single, as an activist or teacher, as a day care provider or a business executive. How to know whether that knocking is a calling?

One answer is LifeChoices®, a spiritual and vocational guidance program designed to help both young women and men thoughtfully explore big picture questions about career, lifestyle and spirituality and how they all fit together in service to God’s people. LifeChoices® is a ministry of my Congregation, the Adorers of the Blood of Christ (ASC), an international community with 2,200 sisters in 26 countries, including more than 430 in the United States.

As you take time to reflect and meditate on the magical and mystical reality of Our Lord’s Incarnation, choose to say, as the innkeepers of Las Posadas, “Enter, holy pilgrim. Come into our humble dwelling and into our hearts. Here beneath our roof we choose to shelter the Son of God.”

For more information about LifeChoices®, or to learn more about the Adorers Vocation Program click here.