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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notes. 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. How does it feel now that we finish

the Christmas season and have returned to ordinary time? And if you didn't know, we're in the second week of ordinary time.

There might be a bit of sadness, since the beautiful anticipation of Advent,

the glory of Christmas, and the wonder of the feasts of the Epiphany,

and the baptism of Jesus, are such rich times, liturgically and spiritually.

And the Advent and Christmas seasons can be so exciting with special Masses and liturgies,

the beautiful daily readings, lessons and carols, as well as time spent with family and friends,

and even some nice gifts. So there might be some letdown as you

return to ordinary time. Yet for some people, Christmas can be a hard time. It's natural to feel

a little sad that as you age, Christmases aren't quite as exciting as they were when you were

younger. There are also the inevitable holiday stresses that go with anyone who spends time with their family,

and some may even feel lonelier at Christmas.

So for many people, ordinary time can't come quickly enough.

Let me suggest one thing that we might all agree on.

Ordinary time offers us a measure of calm after the holidays.

Holidays they were either exciting and fun or stressful and sad.

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