Preparing Holy Week

Preparing Holy Week

Preparing Holy Week The most sacred week of the Christian calendar is celebrated intensely in the Hispanic world. Artisans in Guatemala prepare rugs of flowers and feathers from the quetzal for the feasts of Holy Week. Groups of the faithful practice their roles as Jews or Romans for the Way of the Cross in many places from Mexico and Texas to Chicago. Penitential fraternities prepare spiritually to carry heavy sacred images through the streets of…

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday The official liturgy of the Church for Palm Sunday is beautiful and full of symbolism, but it is also somewhat paradoxical. It shows dramatically the inconsistency of human beings. We enter proclaiming hosannas and applauding and in a short time we are shouting, “Crucify him, crucify him!” According to the rite, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist take place inside the church, but the Mass usually begins outside…

Epiphany

Epiphany

Epiphany Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar are the names that tradition has given to the magi. But who said there were three? According to the evangelist Matthew (2:1–12), they were magi of the Orient who brought gold, incense, and myrrh to Jesus. The Christian imagination decided that each gift required someone to present it, and so the number of wise men was set at three. Since they were magi who came following a star, they had…

Feast of the Holy Family

Feast of the Holy Family

La Sagrada Familia El primer domingo después de la Natividad de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo los  cristianos celebramos la fiesta litúrgica de la Sagrada Familia. Los latinos somos un pueblo muy unido a la familia. Familia para nosotros no es un pequeño grupo compuesto de padre, madre e hijos. Para los latinos, la familia es un conjunto grande de abuelos, tíos, tías, primos, comadres, compadres, y otros parientes además de padre, madre, hijos, e hijas. Para…

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

  O Come, O Come, Emmanuel In addition to preparing us for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus Christ, Advent is the season during which we remember that Christ is about to return. As Latino Christians our trajectory of faith has spanned about five centuries; like all Christians we await the second coming of the Messiah, Jesus. Our waiting is shared by two millennia of Christians who have sought to see him arrive on…

The Origin of the Mexican Piñata

The Origin of the Mexican Piñata

La Piñata Hoy día la piñata nos hace pensar en una fiesta de cumpleaños. Muchos no saben que la piñata es un símbolo del Adviento. La tradición mexicana de las posadas es acompañada con una piñata. Aunque hay piñatas en forma de animales, caricaturas y otras imágenes, la piñata de la posada originalmente es una estrella con siete picos. El origen de la piñata mexicana es doble. La piñata llega con los misioneros españoles quienes…

The Tradition of Las Posadas

The Tradition of Las Posadas

Las Posadas De las muchas tradiciones latinoamericanas para celebrar el Adviento y la Navidad, las posadas parecen ser las mejor conocidas en los Estados Unidos. Tienen su origen en la última mitad del siglo XVIII cuando las estrepitosas Misas de Aguinaldo dejaron de ser celebradas en México. Para reemplazar esas Misas los laicos decidieron celebrar en sus casas tomando lo que habían visto dramatizado en los templos, el recorrido de los inmigrantes galileos, José y…