February 13, 2026
Friday of the Fifth Week in
Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 333
Reading
1
Jeroboam left
Jerusalem,
and the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road.
The two were alone in the area,
and the prophet was wearing a new cloak.
Ahijah took off his new cloak,
tore it into twelve pieces, and said to Jeroboam:
“Take ten pieces for yourself;
the LORD, the God of Israel, says:
‘I will tear away the kingdom from Solomon’s grasp
and will give you ten of the tribes.
One tribe shall remain to him for the sake of David my servant,
and of Jerusalem,
the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.’”
Israel went into rebellion against David’s house to this day.
Responsorial
Psalm
Psalm 81:10-11ab, 12-13,
14-15
R. (11a and
9a) I am the Lord, your God: hear my voice.
"There shall be no strange god among you
nor shall you worship any alien god.
I, the LORD, am your God
who led you forth from the land of Egypt."
R. I am the Lord, your God: hear my voice.
"My people heard not my voice,
and Israel obeyed me not;
So I gave them up to the hardness of their hearts;
they walked according to their own counsels."
R. I am the Lord, your God: hear my voice.
"If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
Quickly would I humble their enemies;
against their foes I would turn my hand."
R. I am the Lord, your God: hear my voice.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Open our hearts, O Lord,
to listen to the words of your Son.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus left the
district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
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 groaned, and said to him,
"Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!")
And immediately the man's ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone.
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
"He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021326.cfm
Commentary on 1
Kings 11:29-32; 12:19
The prophecy made in the time of Solomon is now being
carried out. Solomon has died and his son Rehoboam wants to take over the
throne. But as we saw, God was greatly displeased with the idolatrous behaviour
of Solomon and would deny the kingdom to his son.
Instead, Jeroboam, a former servant in Solomon’s court, will
become the ruler and Rehoboam will be rejected by the people. Jeroboam was from
Ephraim and, as a resourceful and rich young man who impressed Solomon, he had
been put in charge of the whole labour force of the tribe of Joseph.
In today’s reading, as Jeroboam is leaving Jerusalem, he
meets with the prophet Ahijah. There are just the two of them present and the
prophet is wearing a new cloak. Then, in a highly symbolic gesture, he
indicates what is going to happen. (It is not unusual in the Old Testament for prophets
to make statements by symbolic actions which are not only meaningful, but
produce actual results—see Jeremiah 18:11.)
Ahijah takes his new cloak and cuts it into twelve pieces.
At the same time, he tells Jeroboam that the kingdom is being taken from
Solomon and ten of the tribes of Israel (each one was named after one of the 12
sons of Jacob) and will be given to Jeroboam. They will form what will be known
as the Northern Kingdom (called Israel or Ephraim).
The two remaining pieces represent just one tribe left for
Solomon’s successor, namely, Judah which had absorbed Simeon. They would become
the Southern Kingdom (or Judah). In fact, his division goes back to the time of
the Judges, but under David and Solomon the two territories had become temporarily
united. Now they were splitting again—and for good.
The reason that part of Solomon’s kingdom will remain within
his family is because of God’s loyalty to David and also for the sake of
Jerusalem, which was in the territory of Judah. It was God’s chosen city, the
city of David and the place where his earthly presence was symbolised in the
Temple.
It is not in our reading, but Ahijah goes on to give the
reasons why most of Solomon’s kingdom is being taken from his family and his
immediate successor. It was because of Solomon’s worshipping of false gods and
departing from the statutes that had been so faithfully observed by his father,
David. Nevertheless, Solomon would be allowed to keep his throne up to his
death and then one tribe would be given to his son to rule over. And, if
Jeroboam is faithful in his service of Yahweh, God will be with him. He will
have a lasting dynasty and it will be the kingdom of Israel.
When Solomon heard about this, he regarded Jeroboam as a
rebel and a threat to his rule. Jeroboam was forced to flee in exile to the
royal court of Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Solomon. This spelt
the end of David’s kingdom, but it will be resurrected—in a very different
way—with the coming of Jesus.
Today we have to acknowledge that, in a way, the kingdom of
Jesus is divided into many factions, both within the Catholic Church and
between many Christian denominations. It is surely not his will as expressed in
Jesus’ prayer to his Father at the Last Supper:
I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of
those who believe in me through their word, that…they may be one, as we are
one…that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as
you have loved me.
(John 17:20-23)
Let none of us be a source of division in our own church or
parish, or in our relations with Christians of other denominations. Let there
be for all of us, one Lord and one Shepherd.
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Commentary on Mark
7:31-37
Jesus is still in gentile territory. He has now moved east
from the Mediterranean coast to the interior, on the east side of the Sea of
Galilee, in the area of the Decapolis (Greek for “Ten Towns”).
A deaf and mute man is brought to Jesus for healing. He
takes the man aside, puts his fingers in the man’s ears, touches his tongue
with spittle, looks up to heaven and prays, “Be opened”. Immediately the man’s
ears are opened, his tongue loosed and he is able to speak plainly. As often
happens in this Gospel, the people who witnessed the miracle are told not to
say anything about it to anyone:
…but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they
proclaimed it.
The people “were astounded beyond measure” and they said:
He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to
hear and the mute to speak.
As often happens in the Gospels, and especially in Mark,
what we have here is much more than a miracle story, i.e. the healing of a
physical ailment. We are approaching a climactic part of this Gospel, and this
passage leads into it. What Jesus does to this man is something that is meant
to happen to every one of his followers, including his immediate disciples.
We all need to have our ears opened so that we can hear and
understand in its fullness the message of Jesus. In addition to that, once we
have heard and understood, the natural consequence is that we go out and speak
openly to the world about what we have heard and understood. Both hearing and
speaking are inseparable for the Christian disciple.
And so, in the older form of the baptismal rite, the
celebrant touched the ears of the one being baptised and put saliva on the lips
(saliva was then still believed to have healing powers). This rite symbolises
the grace of the sacrament by which the newly baptised (in speaking about an
adult) hears and accepts the Word of God, and undertakes the responsibility of
proclaiming it in word and action.
And, as in today’s story, when we have truly experienced the
power of that message and the love of God in our own lives, we cannot but do
what that man did—broadcast it far and wide.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/o2056g/
Friday,
February 13, 2026
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
Father, watch over Your family
and keep us safe in Your care, for all our hope is in You.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who
lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Mark 7: 31-37
Jesus left the district of
Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the
Decapolis. And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and
begged him to lay his hand on him. 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 groaned, and said to him, "Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be
opened!") And immediately the man's ears were opened, his speech
impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. He ordered them not to tell
anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. They
were exceedingly astonished, and they said, "He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."
Reflection
In today’s Gospel, Jesus cures a
deaf-mute. This episode is not known very much. In the episode of the Canaanite
woman, Jesus goes beyond the frontiers of the national territory and accepts a
foreign woman who does not belong to the people and with whom it was forbidden
to speak. In today’s Gospel we notice this same opening.
•
Mark 7: 31. The region of the Decapolis. At that
time, returning from the territory of Tyre, Jesus went to Sidon toward the Lake
of Galilee, right through the Decapolis territory. Decapolis literally means
“ten cities.” This was a region of ten cities in the southeast part of Galilee,
and its population was gentile.
•
Mark 7: 31-35. To open the ears and to loosen
the tongue. A deaf-mute man was brought before Jesus. People wanted Jesus to
place His hands on him. But Jesus goes far beyond this request. He leads the
man aside from the crowd, puts His finger into the man’s ears and touches his
tongue with spittle. Looking up to Heaven, He sighed deeply and said, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” At
that same moment, his ears were opened, and at once the impediment of his
tongue was loosened and he spoke clearly. Jesus wants the people to open their
ears and to loosen their tongues!
•
Mark 7: 36-37: Jesus wants no publicity. And He
ordered them not to tell anyone about it, but the more He insisted, the more
widely they proclaimed it. Their admiration was unbounded and they said,
“Everything He does is good; He makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.” He
prohibits that the cure be proclaimed, but in fact that does not happen. Those
who have experienced what Jesus has done go and tell others, whether Jesus
wants it or not! The people who were present at the cure began to proclaim what
they had seen and summarize the Good News as follows: Everything He does is
good; He makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak! This affirmation of the people
makes us remember creation, when it was said, “God saw that everything was
good!” (Gen 1: 31). And this also recalls the prophecy of Isaiah, where he says
that in the future the deaf will hear and the dumb will speak
(Is 29: 28; 35: 5, cf. Mt 11: 5).
The recommendation not to tell anybody. Sometimes, the
attention which Mark’s Gospel attributes to the prohibition of Jesus to
proclaim the cure is exaggerated, as if Jesus had some secret that He wanted to
keep. In the majority of cases in which Jesus works a miracle, He does not ask
for silence. Rather, He once even asked for publicity (Mk 5: 19). Sometimes, He
orders not to announce the healing (Mk 1: 44; 5: 43; 7: 36; 8: 26), but obtains
the opposite result. The more He prohibits it, the more the Good News is
proclaimed (Mk 1: 28, 45; 3: 7-8; 7: 36-37). It is useless to prohibit! The
interior force of the Good News is so great that it spreads by itself.
Growing openness in the Gospel of Mark. Throughout the
pages of Mark’s Gospel, there is a growing openness toward the other
populations. Thus Mark leads the readers to open themselves toward the reality
of the world around and to overcome the preconceptions which prevent peaceful
co-existence among the different populations. When He passed through the
Decapolis, a gentile region, Jesus responded to the request of the people of
the place and cured a deaf-mute man. He is not afraid to be contaminated with
the impurity of a gentile, because in curing him, He touches his ears and his
tongue. Two Jews and the disciples themselves have difficulty hearing and
understanding that a gentile who was deaf and dumb can now hear and speak
thanks to Jesus who touched him. It recalls the Song of the Servant, “The Lord
God has opened the ears, and I listen to Him” (Is 50: 4-5). In driving the
merchants out of the Temple, Jesus criticizes the unjust trade and affirms that
the Temple should be a house of prayer for all peoples (Mk 11: 17). In the
parable of the wicked tenants, Mark refers to the fact that the message will be
taken away from the chosen people, the Jews, and will be given to others, the
gentiles (Mk 12: 1-12). After the death of Jesus, Mark presents the profession of
faith of a gentile at the foot of the Cross. In quoting the Roman centurion and
how he recognizes the Son of God in Jesus, Mark is saying that the gentile is
more faithful than the disciples and more faithful than the Jews (Mk 15: 39).
The openness to the gentiles appears very clearly in the final order given by
Jesus to the disciples, after His Resurrection: “Go out to the whole world and
proclaim the Gospel to all creation” (Mk 16: 15).
Personal Questions
•
Jesus shows a great openness toward people of another
race, another religion and of other customs. We Christians, today, do we have
the same openness? Do I have this openness?
•
Definition of the Good News: Everything Jesus
does is good! Am I good News for others?
Concluding Prayer
Sing a new song to Yahweh! Sing to
Yahweh, all the earth!
Sing to Yahweh, bless His name! (Ps 96: 1-2)
