Beginning of Ordinary Time
With the celebration of the Baptism of Jesusthis past Sunday, we come to the end of the Christmas season. These have been weeks in which we have contemplated the mystery of a God who is close to us, who allows himself to be found in simplicity and who reminds us, again and again, of our deepest identity: we are beloved daughters and sons.
With Christmas over, the Church now invites us to enter into Ordinary Time. A time that, although it bears this name, is neither indifferent nor routine, but a privileged space for daily life, for the small things, for what is taking shape day by day, helping us to live our faith step by step.
This time is experienced in different ways depending on the place: in some countries it coincides with days of rest and vacations;
in others, with winter and the full rhythm of the course, work and responsibilities.
Whatever the context, this first Ordinary Time of 2026 will be brief, as this year Lent will begin on February 18.
A spiritual itinerary for ordinary life
If we take a closer look at the journey we are about to make, we may be surprised to see that the Gospels of these Sundays of the TO propose a true spiritual itinerary, very close to Ignatian spirituality: to begin by looking at Jesus, letting ourselves be affected by Him and discerning how to orient our own life according to His way of loving.
The journey begins with the invitation to recognize Jesus: “This is the Lamb of God” (Jn 1:29-34). Before acting, the disciple is called to look and contemplate, to allow himself to be touched by the Spirit that rests upon him.
From this experience is born the call to discipleship (Mt 4:12-23). Jesus approaches the concrete life and pronounces a word that asks for a response. In Ignatian terms, discernment opens up here: listening to what the Lord is asking of me today and daring to choose.
The beatitudes (Mt 5:1-12) introduce us to the school of the heart. Jesus proposes a lifestyle that questions our desires and criteria of happiness, inviting us to order our affections according to the Kingdom.
The faith received becomes mission: “You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world” (Mt 5:13-16). Contemplation leads to action; the disciple is sent to find God in all things, even in the small and everyday, being contemplative in action.
Finally, Jesus invites us to a deeper justice (Mt 5:20-34), which is born from within and is expressed in words, in relationships and in daily decisions. The following of Christ is concretized in choosing from love.
Thus, these Sundays of Ordinary Time, which we will travel from Christmas to Lent, offer us a profoundly Ignatian path; a simple and authentic path, so that the Gospel may give shape to our ordinary life: look to Jesus → listen to his call → let ourselves be shaped by his style → be sent → choose how to live from the heart. A way to grow in interior freedom and so that, in the ordinariness of life, everything may be for the greater glory of God.
Time of attention and care
It is given to us as a special time of attention and care. It is also a propitious time to let settle in our hearts all that we have shared and celebrated in this journey of filial rebirth: the certainty of filiation, the call to live in trust, the peace that comes from knowing that we are sustained by God and the call to make him come alive in our daily lives.
As we begin this Ordinary Time, What concrete step is the Lord inviting me to take today to follow him more closely in my daily life?
May this Ordinary Time help us to integrate what we have lived and to walk our daily life with and like Jesus.
