Br. Carlos feeling festive for the big night!
Last week, Cristo Rey St. Viator held Las Posadas on campus with staff, students, alumni, and families coming together for this Advent prayer. Br. Carlos Flórez, CSV, Director of Catholic and Viatorian Identity, organized the special gathering, and Fr. Tom von Behren, CSV, Founding President, presided over the prayer and ritual.
“In a very Viatorian way, Las Posadas allowed us to make Christ known, loved, and served by honoring culture, strengthening relationships, and welcoming families into the life of the Cristo Rey St. Viator,” Br. Carlos said. “It was a living expression of our Viatorian mission: forming community, nurturing faith, and educating hearts as well as minds.”
Las Posadas literally refers to “the inns.” Altogether, Las Posadas is a reflective procession ritual that acts out the efforts of Mary and Joseph to find lodging during their travels, as Mary went into labor and then gave birth to Jesus, ultimately in a manger.
The Las Posadas procession around campus, including Fr. Tom and Br. Carlos at the ritual entry door (top left).
CRSV celebrated Las Posadas bilingually. Members of the community stepped forward to act out the ritual, provide music to the prayer and ritual, and to prepare and serve food for a big community meal. Br. Carlos especially appreciated the presence of alumni, as the school, now in its seventh year, sends more and more students off to college and careers. “The presence of our alumni was a blessing. Their participation beautifully expressed that our school is not only a place of education, but a lasting spiritual home and family,” Br. Carlos said.
As Advent leads to Christmas, Br. Carlos shares his Viatorian greetings from the school community. “May the words of our founder, Fr. Querbes, speak to us with renewed meaning: ‘Let us love one another as brothers and sisters, and let charity be the bond that unites us.’ May this spirit guide us as we prepare our hearts to welcome the Christ Child, and may the joy we experienced at Las Posadas continue to shape our life together as a community of faith.”
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The fellowship continued into a big community meal!