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Wasn’t sure if this would make it to our Web site before Christmas, but I wanted to make sure to share it all the same. Merry Christmas.

Catholics commemorate the Holy Family's search for lodging in the days before Christ's birth.

By J.D. Long-García, The Catholic Sun

NOGALES, Mexico — In the days leading up to the birth of Christ, Mary and Joseph looked for lodging in Bethlehem, but found “no room for them in the inn.”

This line from the Gospel of Luke is the basis for Las Posadas, a nine-day commemoration of the Holy Family’s search for a suitable place for Christ to be born. The custom has its roots in Spain, but is also practiced by Latin American Catholics throughout the Americas.

It has become a custom on the U.S.-Mexico border, where the Archdiocese of Hermosillo and the dioceses of Tucson and Phoenix join together every December to remember the Holy Family’s plight.

“As we follow Mary and Joseph, let us pray fervently that the Lord might bless us with justice and peace, especially in this area,” Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas prayed during the Dec. 19 Posadas, a few hundred feet south of the border.

“We look forward to the day that we realize we are one family without borders,” he said. “We are one family in Christ.”

Bishop Gerald Kicanas address hundreds gathered for the border posadas in Nogales, Mexico Dec. 19.

The bishop spoke on the grounds where the Kino Border Initiative will build a shelter with room for up to 200 deported migrants. The initiative, a collaborative effort led by the California Province of the Society of Jesus, has been caring for deported migrants for nearly a year.

The initiative has already established a center for human rights, which documents human rights violations by U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officers, according to Fr. Cayetano Cabrera, pastor of Cristo Rey Parish in Nogales, Mexico.

“People will continue to cross,” he said. “We have to prepare ourselves to face the crisis. We must do our part to proclaim the kingdom of God here.”

The posadas were reenacted at three different stations, where Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist and Jesuit priests read passages calling for welcoming the stranger.

Jesuit Father Sean Carroll, executive director of the Kino Border Initiative.

The first location was just south of the port of entry, where deported migrants first enter Mexico. The last station, less than a half a mile away, was the location of the future migrant center.

“The posada is a form of advocacy for the ‘littlest among us’ as they come to our doors, our border and seek shelter and livelihood,” said Joanne Welter, with the Tucson Diocese’s Catholic Social Mission office.

“We are called to live the Gospel in these times,” she said. “Global migration and the tremendous migration in our hemisphere calls us to shed the light of the Gospel on this human phenomenon.”

The “Diocese Without Borders” partnership between Phoenix — Tucson and Hermosillo — began in 2002 when bishops of the three dioceses signed a pledge of solidarity. The dioceses then began sharing ministries, materials and exchanging popular and cultural customs.

“The very name (Diocese Without Borders) reminds us of the universal nature of the Catholic Church,” said Phoenix Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted. “Our bonds in Christ reach beyond all political and cultural borders. They bring us a precious gift and also a responsibility for one another.”

Ten parishioners from St. Andrew the Apostle in Chandler joined hundreds of others in the border posadas. They heard testimonies from three deported immigrants who recounted their journey.

“It’s important for Catholics to experience the stories of the immigrants,” said Fr. John Coleman, pastor of St. Andrew Parish. “People see it as a political issue. But all issues that affect human beings have a moral aspect to them.”

Jesuit Father Pete Neely, Isele Gabriela Jaramillo and Jesus Figeroa.

The priest said Catholics should learn the Church teachings on migration before entering into bristled discussions on the hot-button issue.

“We’re not arguing for open borders,” he said. “We’re arguing for a reasonable immigration policy. We should be in solidarity with out brothers and sisters in the south that are suffering.”

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