February 10, 2026 // Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Mark 7:1-13
Reflect on the Word //
A few years after my conversion, I was determined to have The Best Lent Ever. I was going all in. No caffeine, alcohol, or sweets. I was swapping my novels for spiritual reading, donating items daily, and even exercising more. The list was exhaustive, and just a few days into Lent I was exhausted. Caffeine withdrawal led me to be cranky and I was intolerable to be around.
In my determination to show my commitment to God, I had lost sight of what was important. Maybe I thought that if I just did everything right, I would be miserable enough to grow holier. In reality, the misery was leading me to be less virtuous and less loving to those in my care.
Reading the Gospel today, I am comforted by the words of Christ (see Mark 7:1-13). We should not be so overly concerned with the laws that we lose sight of the love that should inform our every action. Love, not legality, will lead us toward a closer union with the Lord. Sometimes that legality, the rules and promises we make to ourselves or others, can actually be a sort of spiritual attachment, keeping us focused on our own actions rather than on our Savior. There isn’t a checklist to follow that will result in holiness as the reward. The Lord desires our love—our very hearts, not more words, directions, traditions. He has given us Scripture and the Church to guide us as we conform our hearts to God’s will.
We are now just a few days into Lent. It is common to feel the weight of extreme promises and the self-chosen Lenten commitments that overwhelm. Maybe it is time for a heart check—is your heart in the right place? Are our Lenten commitments helping to clear the attachments as distractions away, or are they themselves keeping us distant from the Lord?
Relate to the Lord // Take time in prayer for a heart check. How are your Lenten commitments leading you closer to Christ? If they’re not, consider what He may be asking of you instead.
Dr. Mary Ruth Hackett is a writer, national speaker, and podcast host covering topics in psychology and faith. She holds a PhD in Educational Psychology and works at the important intersection of faith and developmental science, blending them in the original harmony God intended. Dr. Mary Ruth is the author of Daughter by Design: Discovering Your Identity as God's Beloved Daughter, and co-coauthor of Spiritual Discernment for Beginners: Learning to Hear God and Defeat the Lies of the Enemy. She is a contributing author to All She Had and our children’s devotional prayer book called Rise Up. Find out more about her here.
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