Welcome to The Examine, your daily prayer hosted by Father James Martin and brought to you by America Media, a Jesuit ministry.

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I'm Father Jim Martin. I'm about to lead you through a traditional Jesuit prayer that will

help you notice where God has been in your day. But first, let's begin with our

weekly reflection, which is released every Sunday. To everyone listening to this podcast this week,

I want to wish you a Merry Christmas. And I hope that in the middle of whatever way you mark Christmas Day, that you take some time

out in prayer to ponder the deeper meaning of Christmas.

Around this time of year, I'm often asked by a variety of people about the real meaning

of Christmas, as if it's some big secret.

And perhaps these days it is something of a secret,

because at least in the West, the celebration of Christmas

can feel like it's almost overwhelmed by commercialism.

The other day, a friend of mine said to me

that living and working in Manhattan

can make it feel especially hard to appreciate Christmas

because all you think about are the crowds.

So what is the real meaning of Christmas?

Well, it's that God became human.

And that is still a tremendously subversive message.

The ineffable, inaccessible, incomprehensible creator of the universe

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