February 13, 2026 // Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Mark 7:31-37
Reflect on the Word //
The church was quiet after evening Mass. I stayed in the pew, staring at the flicker of the sanctuary lamp. My prayer felt empty, like words falling into a void. I was listening, but could not seem to hear God’s voice or feel His presence. The silence pressed in, but then in the stillness this short phrase rose in my heart: Be opened.
In the Gospel of Mark, people brought a deaf man with a speech impediment to Jesus: “He took him off by himself, away from the crowd. He put His finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then He looked up to Heaven and said to him, ‘Ephphatha!’ (that is, ‘Be opened!’)” (Mark 7:33–34)
This healing is such a simple moment, so full of tenderness. Jesus does not speak from far away. He steps close with His healing touch. There is an intimacy in that gesture. The man is seen. He is not alone.
Sometimes I see myself in that man who needs to be opened. My ears can be slow to hear words of truth and encouragement. My voice does not always have the courage to speak up in difficult conversations. My heart sometimes freezes with hesitation or fear.
Yet Jesus does not turn away. He draws near. He meets the closed places of our hearts with gentleness. Just as He did for that deaf man, He proclaims, Be opened. Christ desires us to hear Him more clearly. He has an abundance of gifts to give. He slowly opens us to receive His life of grace. It is there that we find courage, freedom, and joy.
Sister, Christ still says, “Ephphatha!” to us today. Jesus opens our hearts gently to the depths of His mercy. When we let Him touch our closed-off places, grace rushes in. Listen carefully, because Jesus wants us to begin to hear His tender voice again.
Relate to the Lord // Spend five minutes in silence with the Lord today. Ask for the grace to be open to His voice and presence.
Rose Coleman is an elementary school teacher with a heart for pilgrimage. She traveled the globe on a ship during college and spent some years in the convent as a religious sister. She was a contributing author to All She Had, Blessed Conversations: Rooted, and our children’s devotional prayer book called Rise Up. Find out more about her here.
Be a Woman of the Word
